Archives for November 29, 2008

I just returned from playing at the First Presbyterian Church in Hasting with Ed Englerth, Mitch Myers, et al. I”ve never played at this church before, being neither Presbyterian nor a Hastings resident. But at Ed”s invitation, I joined in for an evening of Advent reflections to help lend a bluesy tinge to the music.\r\n\r\nThe number of musicians was literally more than the number of people who came to the meeting. Six people occupied the pews–a sparse gathering, to be sure, but I honestly didn”t mind. This evening was good, exactly what I needed. Not big fanfare, but something small to help me center in on what this season is really about. Or, to be more exact, Who it”s about.\r\n\r\nWhen Jesus was born, it was to a nation that wasn”t expecting its Messiah to come wrapped in the powerlessness and dependency of a baby. That is the humility of God, that infinity should arrive in so small and limited a package.\r\n\r\nLife is so busy, and so filled with diversions. Tonight, for a while, I enjoyed both playing my horn with the guys and also setting it down to quiet myself inside and contemplate a meaning and purpose that can”t be found in music alone. My abilities on the saxophone only count to the extent that they weave into a greater purpose. When I stand before my Master, what I”ll want to be able to feel good about isn”t that I mastered a bunch of cool licks, but that I loved my Lord and the people he has given me sincerely, deeply, passionately, and effectively. That is my heart”s desire.\r\n\r\nThe drive to excel at the things I do comes from God. Whatever I set my hand to, I have an innate desire to do it well. I feel it”s important that I push myself to grow as a musician, a stormchaser, a writer. Important, but not preeminent. Those things all must submit to the overarching principle of love. Love has a way of combining freedom with responsibility, and gain with sacrifice. The kingdom of heaven is filled with such seeming paradoxes.\r\n\r\nTonight, I thank my heavenly Father for the gift of music. But greater than that, I thank Him for the gift of seeing beyond music to the things that count most. I thank Him for a season to reflect, and to contemplate the Life that dwells in me–the Life born long ago in a manger, now alive in my heart. Jesus, the meaning behind the music.