Tip of My Iceberg

‘Tis the season for celebration and music.

Several of us were able to attend a community concert that our good friend Holly was singing in. She has a beautiful voice, but in a choir of 275 to 300 people, individual voices weren’t often singled out. Holly did participate in an ensemble, and the sweetness of her singing brought tears to my eyes.

The magnificence of all those combined voices plus the symphony which accompanied them was magical. The sound of one voice is something wonderful. The combination of many voices is splendid.

To paraphrase an old African proverb, “It takes a village to create a communal sound.”

The beauty of many voices singing in harmony is that everyone sounds better together. Weak singers combined with strong singers, experienced singers combined with novices, people of all ages and backgrounds simultaneously singing the same notes creates a richer sound than an individual singing alone.

It was a process. They came together for months of practicing to deliver different renditions of Christmas songs. The only one who knew what it was supposed to sound like was the director. My friend explained that it wasn’t easy learning some of the songs; not all of the singers grasped the direction, especially when they sang in different languages. But with practice, they corrected their misunderstandings and created a concert that was spectacular.

How much easier would it be for all people to consider each of us part of a global choir, different abilities, different expertise, working together in harmony? Dealing with our differences by listening to a Director who knows what the song should sound like, who understands the rhythm and melody and how the harmony works together.

C.S. Lewis understood the Master Conductor when he wrote “The Magician’s Nephew”, the third volume of “The Chronicles of Narnia”. Aslan sang creation into being.

“In the darkness something was happening at last. A voice had begun to sing. It was very far away and Digory found it hard to decide from what direction it was coming from….Its lower notes were deep enough to be the voice of the earth herself. There were no words. It was hardly a tune, But it was beyond comparison, the most beautiful sound he had ever heard.”

Aslan was a picture of Jesus, the heart of all creation. The fact that Lewis imagined the world being sung into being reflects the harmony that God embraced with His creation. He created us for community, to live together, help each other, encourage one another, even in our differences. Music reflects what God’s hope for the world could be–harmonious, with everyone having a part to sing.

“He has given me a new song to sing, a hymn of praise to our God. Many will see what He has done and be amazed. They will put their trust in the Lord.” Psalm 40:3.

Jesus has given those who seek Him a new song, a song of hope, joy, and anticipation of what will be. A song of unrivaled delight.

What Holly and her friends accomplished in the concert was beautiful. An experience of the wonder of harmony.

God is the standard of all harmony.

Wouldn’t it be wonderful if we could live in that harmony?