Friends

As morning gets underway in our part of the world, I listen to the birds outside greeting the morning and each other with their various songs. Thinking of songs, my mind moves to a quote I heard recently: "A friend is someone who learns your song and will sing it for you when you forget or can't sing it for yourself--and will continue until you can sing it again."

The world is full of acquaintances--people we know by face or by name--people we'll nod or smile at when we pass them in the aisle at the store or on a Sunday morning before or after worship. But when the line is crossed into friendship--when we begin to learn and sing each other's songs--we realize we've found someone who will sing us through the tears, through the dark times, until we can again greet the morning.

Each of us may have many acquaintances, or even several true friends. Who knows your song? Whose songs do you know?

Nonviolent Living

This Sunday we begin a new study course based on The Powers That Be and "The 'System' Belongs to God." The book is the condensation of Walter Wink's "Powers" trilogy and the video series records his discussions with James Forbes and Janet Wolf about the main themes, claims, and theses in Wink's work.

To put it in a nutshell, the main thesis is that violence is not an inherent part of our nature, nor of society's--that it's "added on" rather than "built in"--and that we can seek and find means to learn to live and coexist with others in nonviolent ways.

Looks like this will be an interesting course. If you live nearby, grab a copy of The Powers That Be and come join the discussion. --Or start one where you are.

To Hear and To Do

Several recent conversations, some in person, some online, have gotten me thinking and then clarifying a very broad taste in music. And not just music, but for this post, I'll limit my comments to a musical metaphor.

Someone commented that his taste in music was very narrow, limited to a single musical style; thus, he knows that style and the names and titles very well, but all he knows about other styles, performers, and groups, is that, since they're outside "his" style, he doesn't care for, nor expose himself to their "sound."

I've often said that in my house, on any given morning, one might hear Mozart, Bach, Handel, Dolly Parton, Kathy Mattea, the Beatles, the Eagles, Chant (in any of several languages, including Latin and Russian), and/or several dozen other possibles.

While my friend might be said to have musical taste "one inch wide, but a mile deep" could it be said of me that my tase is "a mile wide, but an inch deep"? On reflection, I think not. Here's why.

My friend is "stuck" with one specific "style" of music, and--good or bad--it's all he will voluntarily listen to. He listens to the "style" and compromises on "quality." I realized that what I want from the time I spend listening is to listen for the quality, no matter what the style happens to be. It doesn't matter if the medium is classical, C&W, R&B, Jazz, R&R, gospel, or what, but the singers and players need to be excellent in performing and interpreting the musical work they're presenting.

This is what I also hope for the Sunday Liturgy, that what I/we offer to God is done as Gabe Huck would say, "with style and grace," and also, with passion. There are musical styles I prefer and there are liturgical styles I prefer, but leading, participating, or observing, the more important standard should be the quality of our effort, rather than the style we choose to express it. For this I always pray.