Opposites attract

Just reflecting on my life...

Last night, my dinner club got together for the third time. We had a fantastic southern inspired dinner with ribs, sweet potatoes and polenta with goat cheese. My fried zucchini even fit in pretty well. We had two guests for dinner as well, our host's nephew and her mother. It was a very pleasant evening hearing stories about their life back home in Kentucky. We were there for close to five hour just eating, talking and laughing.

And now for something completely different...

Tonight, I was asked to take a visiting missionary out for dinner after he talked to our communtity. He is a priest from India, and runs a vocational school there. This was his first trip outside of India, and he winds up in Indiana. Ironic? Anyway, our discussion as we enjoyed our Chicago style pizza ranged from music to poverty to global political structures. How different from the night before, but still as engaging and enjoyable for me.

Some days, I really love my job.

Unanswered Prayers

On a more personal note...

Ever have one of those series of experiences that really makes you wonder about your life? About whether you are really connecting with the people YOU feel like you are? I've had some of those lately. For me, this experience has come in the form of weddings. Two of the women I have cared about more in my life than I'd care to talk about, got married. A couple months apart, both of them married men who seemed to make them unbelieveably happy. The funny part is, I was an important part of their life when they met their to-be husbands.

I guess its the fact that I was hoping that I would be the one to make them happy, or maybe it is the jealousy I feel when I know someone can really feel like that. On a positive note, I have been successful in stepping back and really caring about them enough to say that their happiness is SO much more important than my selfishness. "If you love them, set them free." Right?

On a slight tangent, I was watching Drumline last night. One of the big catch phrases in that movie is "One Band, One Sound." Toward the end of the movie, the band director calls aside the head of the drumline and asks him, "Do you remember why I said you would be a good leader for this group? (or something like that)" He replied, "You said I liked the sound of the line better than the sound of my own drum." I've seen that movie four or five times, so I dont know why that just struck me like it did last night. Maybe because I believe that the love I have for those around me isn't about how I "sound" to them, but how my contributions can help them sound the best they can.

I think this lesson applies to these two women and their pursuit of happiness. If I was to be selfish and want them in my life more, then maybe they wouldn't have found these great men who make them so happy. I would have stood in the way of their voice being heard.

I also apply this lesson to my life as a Director of Music as well. Many people in the parish here think that I need to do more solo work, and lead with my voice. I tend to step down and give all the support, training, and encouragement to the leaders in this program, helping them to shine with all they have. I have opportunities to make a difference here, but usually its when someone (or a group) really does well. I am so proud of each and every person who I work with here. We have made some beautiful music together (metaphorically and actually speaking).

I used to pray to God to bring someone back into my life. I've been through quite an emotional rollercoaster with a few people along the way. Maybe I just need to be thankful for unanswered prayers. God hasn't let me down yet. Its about the sounds of the line (choir, community, family, friends) after all.

June WitW

Wow, its been a while since I posted anything. Amazing how time flies by when you're having fun. So, I think I'll post two, just because I've had so much running through my head lately. Here is my newsletter article from this month. I already blogged about it, but this article has gotten me more comments than anything I've written so far.

You know, unity is a funny thing. We sing about it, we pray for it, and we hope for it among Christians and fellow citizens of this country and the world. I recently had a parishioner come up after mass and comment on the inappropriateness of one of our songs because it was too “Baptist.” We may not be in unity with other Christians in our doctrine or structure, but can we be unified with them in the Spirit?
The early Church struggled with the same questions. They were faced with quite a few non-Jewish people wanting to follow the teachings of Jesus in community, but some people would have nothing to do with it unless they followed the “right way.” They struggled over issues ranging from following the Jewish calendar or prayer styles to circumcision. We have many of the same questions today. For example, how do we deal with a non-Catholic person who wants to teach in a Catholic school? How do we feel when a member of our community decides to leave the Catholic Church and go to another?
Jesus talked about one faith, one God, and one Spirit. One image I’ve always liked is that of the “body of Christ” with a body, a mind, and a spirit. The body is the structure – a particular denomination’s buildings, rules and specific rites. The mind is the doctrine – the teachings and beliefs. The spirit is the Holy Spirit – the animator of our faith life and inspiration for all holiness. If we can’t be unified in the first two areas, maybe its best to work on the latter, and most important, one.
Of course, to even begin to imagine a unified Christian church, we need to work on unity among ourselves, person-to-person. If we can succeed at connecting with each other one-on-one, then maybe we can show the world the power of Christ still present after all these years. I think that working and praying together in a faith community is exactly what Christ had in mind.
I’ll leave you with the lyrics to one of our most well-known songs here at Good Shepherd, “One Bread, One Body.” My favorite line is “and we, though many, throughout the earth, we are one body in this one Lord.” Let’s continue to strive for unity among ourselves as a faith community, and therefore witness to the world that Christ is alive and thriving here.