The Day the Piano Moved into the Church of Christ

...Parsonage

(Would you believe I ran out of room in the title line before I could get the word "Parsonage" in?)

This past Saturday the movers brought Angie's piano from her parents house...and moved it right into the parsonage. I quietly mused about what the neighbors would think as they saw it being moved in. That's when I came up with the blog title. As of then, I didn't have any idea what type of article I would write to go with the title - but it is a great title (in my own mind).

Then a great thing began happening. The article started coming to me... Note by note it was composed in my ears and my heart and my face. If you were to put words to the notes it would be something like, "Jingle bells, jingle bells, jingle all ... all ... all (wrong notes can be tricky) the way." Unbeknownst (spellchecker says that's not a word - if I get the right letters, I'll see if Words with Friends will accept it) to me, the kids have obviously been tinkering around on the piano at Granny and Granddads house. Unfortunately, that's the only song they've been learning to tinker.

As I listened to the singing and the playing at the piano, I could not help but think about a couple of verses from the Bible. Psalm 8 says, "from the lips of children and infants you have ordained praise." God was receiving a Christmas concert in February and March (and if the kids don't learn any other songs I am afraid he will continue to get the same concert in April, May, and June), and I was privileged to be a front row spectator...which is pretty cool. Another verse that came to my mind was Psalm 100, "Worship the Lord with gladness; come before him with joyful songs." In my mind I kind of lumped those two verses together - they are one of the verses that I thought of when the kids were playing.

Here's the other verse I thought of while the kids were playing the piano. Isaiah 1 - "Hear the word of the Lord, you rulers of Sodom; listen to the law of our God, you people of Gomorrah! 'The multitude of your sacrifices - what are they to me?' says the Lord. 'I have more than enough of burnt offerings, of rams and the fat of fattened animals; I have no pleasure in the blood of bulls and lambs and goats. When you come to appear before me, who has asked this of you, this trampling of my courts? Stop bringing meaningless offerings! Your incense is detestable to me. New Moons, Sabbaths and convocations - I cannot bear your evil assemblies. Your New Moon festivals and your appointed feasts my soul hates. They have become a burden to me; I am weary of bearing them. When you spread your hands in prayer, I will hide my eyes from you; even if you offer many prayers, I will not listen. Your hands are full of blood; wash and make yourselves clean. Take your evil deeds out of my sight! Stop doing wrong, learn to do right! Seek justice, encourage the oppressed. Defend the cause of the fatherless, plead the case of the widow.' "

Now I'm not to the point God was at in Isaiah with the kids piano playing. At least not I'm not there yet, but I can see it on the horizon... I can see that there will be a day when the kids are told to do something and they make their way to the piano instead. I can see that there will be a day when they will plead with me to let them play me a song instead of doing the things they need to do. And on that day, the sound of Jingle Bells in my ear will not be a pleasing sound...even if they get all the notes right.

Life as I know it works best when we do not limit worship to the performance we make in a large room somewhere on Sundays, but instead allow it to overflow to the people we meet each day. The most pleasant sound of worship is a life lived learning to do right, seeking justice, encouraging the oppressed, defending the cause of the fatherless, pleading the case of the widow.