“H” is for Harmony (Feb. 22, 2013)

…Opening To…

We come this morning –
Like empty pitchers to a full fountain,
With no merits of our own.
O Lord – open up a window of heaven,
And lean out far over the battlements of glory,
And listen this morning. (James Weldon Johnson)

…Listening In…

God is faithful; by him you were called into the fellowship of his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord. (1 Corinthians 1:9; context)

…Filling Up…

This Lent, we are exploring our faith by running through the alphabet. Today, “H” is for Harmony. Yesterday, we talked about joining God’s dance and finding God’s rhythm. Now we are going to talk about our participation in God’s music. This music plays in each one of our hearts. Sometimes the music is soft: a half-whispered lullaby, barely discernible over the din of the world. Sometimes the notes crescendo to a deafening fortissimo that knocks us, weeping, to our knees. Most often, the music sounds as the percussive TUB-thp of our hearts — a rhythm that, if you listen closely, beats in time with the rest of the performing forces of creation (the “grace” we mentioned yesterday).

Each one of us has the music of God resounding within, but the symphony is incomplete until we have found each other, until we have joined together in fellowship as the orchestra of God. In Greek, this fellowship is called koinonia, but I’ve always thought that “fellowship” is a rather limp translation. For the sake of our metaphor, let’s translate koinonia as “harmony,” which lands much closer to the descriptive intent of the Greek word. Musical harmony is the collection of notes that adds structure, color, tone, depth, and meaning to the main tune. This tune, called the “melody” is the music of God within us. The combination of our own unique passions, trials, joys, griefs, and loves creates the harmony of the music of God.

As followers of God, we play together the koinonia, the harmony, of the music of God to a world so accustomed only to noise and clatter. The movements of our symphony resonate with the movement of God in this world. God provides the melody, and we harmonize with it together.

…Praying For…

Dear God, your creation sings out your praise. Help me to provide my voice to that song in such a way that I add a pleasing harmony to the life of your creation. In Jesus Christ’s name I pray. Amen.