An Icon in Music

From Wellington Cathedral of St Paul

An Icon in Music: 8th May 2011: pm: The Very Revd Frank Nelson

• Psalm 91
• Haggai 1: 13 – 2:9
• 1 Corinthians 3: 10 - 17

Each builder must choose with care how to build on it. No one can lay any foundation other than the one that has already been laid; that foundation is Jesus Christ. (1 Cor 3: 10b – 11)

Among my early memories is that of a family holiday to the remote parts of Zululand in South Africa. One visit took us to a Roman Catholic mission station. There are two particular memories associated with that visit. The first involves a life-size crucifix carved out of a single tree trunk. Quite apart from the enormous skill it took to shape and fashion the wood under his hands, the carver had done something which looked really odd to my eyes. The face of his Christ was very African – complete with wooly hair and broad nostrils – quite unlike my own much sharper European features and wavy long black hair. I’d always thought of Jesus looking a little bit like me. Quite naturally, when he wanted a model for his Christ, the blind carver had felt his own features and transferred them to the wood under his hands.

The second memory is that of the very tall stone bell tower. Not only was it quite the tallest tower I had ever seen, but there were three very distinct styles of building – reflecting the three different stone masons who had worked on it. Each had his own unique style, and it showed clearly how the building of the tower had progressed under the different builders over some decades. The ringing of the bell for the Angelus while we were there showed that the purpose of the bell tower had been achieved.

These memories speak to me tonight as we have listened to the two readings – one from that hard to find little book hidden towards the end of the Old Testament called Haggai; the other part of Paul’s majestic 1st letter to the church in Corinth. Both have to do with buildings and the perceptions that people have. Haggai reflects a critical period in the history of God’s people. The two chapters that make up the scroll give us an inkling of the struggle to rebuild the Temple after the long years of Exile. In an intriguing verse the prophet asks who among the people can remember what the original temple looked like. (Haggai 2: 3) We know only too well how our memories play tricks on us. We filter out some things and allow others to grow in the telling. I suspect that the bell tower that fascinated me when I was ten is actually quite small and insignificant. In my mind, and so in the story that I tell, it is huge. The same is true of how we picture Jesus Christ. I suspect that for most of us, the earliest pictures we saw of Jesus, or perhaps the first nativity scenes we remember, shape the way we imagine Jesus looks. Try it for a moment. What does Jesus look like for you?

St Paul was well aware of the differing view points which can colour how we understand a particular issue. The passage from 1 Corinthians read tonight is a snippet of a debate about leadership in the early church. There were factions in Corinth. Some supported Paul; others supported Apollos; while still others were supporters of Cephas. Paul’s point is to encourage people to see that each person, each leader, like a master stone mason, will add another layer on to the already laid foundation. Don’t lose sight of the foundation. As we have seen only too vividly in recent months, the foundation of a building is critical to its well-being.

St Paul urges the good people of Corinth to look to their foundation – regardless of who the particular builder is. For Paul, the foundation of the church is Jesus Christ – none other. Paul, Apollos, Cephas, or anyone else – is simply a builder adding the next level, the next part of the construction.

This is quite a sobering thought for someone who comes into a church or cathedral to take up a leadership position – such as a dean or director of music. She or he is not the foundation, but a builder on a foundation already laid.

Tonight we give thanks for the ministry of Michael Fulcher as Organist and Director of Music here at Wellington Cathedral over the past six and a half years. And there is much for which to be thankful. I have written a few words in the latest edition of the Cathedral News. Many of you have already written your own words of appreciation on the giant card that will be given him. Michael leaves us knowing that he has done good work here, that our spirits have been lifted through soaring music, occasionally disturbed by clashing harmonics and comforted by more dulcet tones. But this is not the end – just as it was not the beginning in October 2004 when Michael arrived.

The board in the ambulatory containing photos of past and current Directors of Music suggests that Michael is the 15th to hold the position. The first was one Major Withers way back in 1846. It is hard to see anyone beating the record for longevity of tenure set by Robert Parker who served in his position from 1878 – 1937. A number of former Directors of Music still worship regularly with us – I think of Eric Copperwheat, Richard Prothero and Peter Godfrey. Stanley Jackson, much loved and respected by many of our senior former choristers, died just a few months ago. We still sell CDs produced under the direction of Philip Walsh and Andrew Cantrell. These photos remind us that each person added another layer, another chapter, in the music ministry of this Cathedral. Like those stone masons who so fascinated me with their different building styles, each Director of Music adds his own particular emphasis, approach and interpretation of music.

Sometimes it is hard for those of us who are staying to think beyond a particular person. There is a natural human tendency to want to cling to what we know, what is familiar, and what seems good for us. As you well know, there is nothing worse than someone who is constantly harping back to the ‘good old days’, constantly comparing the present with the past, constantly criticizing the present incumbent. In her speech when I left Oamaru the People’s Warden said I was just a few minutes away from joining the ranks of the sainted former vicars – against whom the new person could scarcely measure up. Thankfully it was that way round and not the other!

Michael – thank you for the gift you have been to us and to the many people who have enjoyed your music and your particular interpretation of the traditions we hold dear. You have built well on the foundation of Jesus Christ, and the work done by your predecessors. You have often talked about music as an icon – needing to be so good that it draws people to God. While I would not want you to go away with a swollen head, for no one is perfect, you have, yourself, been an icon for many – junior choristers, choir members, congregation, clergy and dean – using your undoubted talent as a musician, choral and orchestral conductor, organist and vocal coach. The fact that emails sometimes took a while to be answered suggests that you too are human and fallible.

May God bless you and Amanda, and those for whom you play and with whom you work and worship in the years ahead. Thank you, thank you, thank you.