SOMETHING SPECIAL

    A decade ago Bobbi and I were at Philips Arena to hear Simon and Garfunkel in concert. I had read and  forgotten that the Everly Brothers were part of the program and for a delightful evening, we reminisced over "Bye Bye, Love," "When Will I Be Loved," and "Wake Up, Little Susie," not to mention "Scarborough Fair" and "The Sounds of Silence."   It was a wonderful evening, shared with good friends, and it came to mind last week with the news of the Phil Everly's death at 74 years.

I am not a music historian but those folks agree that the Everly Brothers were "the architects of rock 'n' roll harmony." Critics agree that the music of Simon and Garfunkel and even The Beatles would have been "unimaginable" without the brothers.

   But the brothers did what brothers often do. They fussed and disagreed with each other and were on again, off again in their professional life. It was said that the "real-life" harmony of the two did not match what was on stage. Apart, their voices were somewhat "unremarkable," and "...only when (their voices) merged as a single, new voice did it become special.... (Sometimes) singers discover that the sound of their voices together creates a magic that isn't there when each is alone."

    So now let's talk about the church. I am convinced that the spiritual "music" that we are capable of creating is a much different creation when done in the community that is the church. Oh, I believe strongly in personal prayer, personal study, and personal reflection. I believe in the life-changing experience of salvation. But I also believe in the life of the church and the community of faith. Simply put, I don't believe any of us can get through this life alone. We need other people to laugh and cry with us, to remember and anticipate, to pray and believe with us. We need the corporate community and we are stronger when we participate in it.

    2014 has begun with a great deal of sorrow in our church. We had seven funerals among our membership in the first seven days of the new year. But I have watched you comfort one another. Sunday School classes, circles, prayer and study groups, and a world of other common experiences brought you together and I watched you comfort one another. Together, the sound of your voices created a magic that would have been impossible had the funeral home or sanctuary been empty. The same is true for weddings and baptisms and every other event of worship. When our voices are merged in faith, the church is, indeed, something special.

    I'll see you this Sunday.

 

  

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