Beautiful Music
When I was in high school I used to play bassoon in the school orchestra. Now the bassoon, for those of you that don’t know, looks as funny as its name sounds. What does it look like? Well, it is a long tube that looks like a bamboo periscope coming up from the orchestra pit. The bassoon, when played right, makes a lovely sound (or so I have been told). Bassoon players are often frustrated people because they seldom get to play the melody. Their parts consist of “off beats” and what seems like a hundred bars of “uum-pah-pah’s.”
I used to practice at home. After I would stop, my mother would give me a word of encouragement or two. Something along the lines of, “That was good honey. Now what tune was that?” And when my buddy who played the french horn (another “uum-pah-pah” instrument) would come over to practice with me, my brother would remark that we sounded like two wounded water buffalos. Granted our parts did not sound like much when we played them at home, but when we came together with the entire orchestra, we certainly made some beautiful music.
I no longer play the bassoon in the school orchestra, but I have spent many years working in God’s church. I can see a close similarity between the two. CONSIDER how In God’s church, we all have our separate parts to play. Some of us have a little of the melody, while most of us have the “uum-pah-pah” parts. Regardless of the part, it is not designed to play alone. As Paul reminds us, we are all part of God’s body. Don’t be content with the sound of your own instrument; join with others to make beautiful music before the Lord.
“Make a joyful noise to the LORD, all the earth, break forth into joyous song and sing praises! Sing praises to the LORD with the lyre, with the lyre and the sound of melody! With trumpets and the sound of the horn make a joyful noise before the King, the LORD!” (Psalm 98:4-6)
Rev. Wendell Mettey
Revised 5-17-2013
