Bible Sunday
From Wellington Cathedral of St Paul
18 July 2010: 5pm
Revd Alison Camplin
- Romans 15: 1-6
- Luke 4:16-24
I would like to share with you a little of what I have been doing over the past two weeks. 2 weeks ago I was one of the parent help or in my case grandma help at the Winter Choir School. I went thinking it would be a wonderful opportunity to get to know our choristers better.
What I witnessed was a group of 50 8-15 year olds come together from different parts of the North Island, from different choirs, from different backgrounds and very quickly become a community. I witnessed a community where there was encouragement, discipline, role modeling, a genuine care and concern for one another. What I witnessed was church.
As in all communities, life did not always flow smoothly. There was learning by some that you have to accept the consequences of the choices you make. These consequences seem harsh at the time but they provide opportunities to learn and grow through.
Through living with the Choristers for a week, eating with them, watching and listening I came away knowing the choristers better and with a huge respect for the hard work that goes into the wonderful music that they provide.
In the reading from Romans we heard “we who are strong ought to bear with the weakness of those who are not strong, and ought not to please ourselves. Each of us should seek the best for our neighbour for the good purpose of building up. As Jesus tells us we are to love our neighbors as ourselves by being there for them, by offering encouragement, by offering love and care.
This building up is what I witnessed every day at the music school. The Cathedral Director of Music Michael was the director of the school and Glenda Ryman a choir member was a tutor. Along with two other tutors they gave their time freely to encourage and nurture the children to sing together in unity. This was no easy task as there were some children who had just started singing at the beginning of the year and others who had been to several Choir Schools.
As the group repeated the singing skills over and over again it wonderful to see how they all grew in confidence. How when they followed the conductor and stayed together they produced beautifully moving music.
Just as the children had to repeat and repeat the basic skills to produce music that touched my soul we have to be taught and instructed. We need the Bible to inform and reshape our minds. As the children discovered being part of choir, a group, a community means they can not just please themselves, we all have to live with others in mind. There is no one star who makes the music it is a group together.
Learning the basic skills over and over was extremely repetitive but they never gave up. The children knew that they were building good solid foundations that would ensure when they sang it was as one.
As we navigate through the Christian life we need to have firm deep solid foundations for all our behavior, individually and as a Christian family.
This is what Paul is encouraging in the Romans reading. When we engage with the words of the Bible we hear God speaking to each of us personally, into our very lives, bringing guidance and hope, insight and strength for living as God would have us live. With the Bible in our hands and hearts we have the courage to live in patience and hope. The Bible explains the roots from which we have grown. It gives us the foundation on which we can build securely for the future. The more we know about what God has done for us in years past, the greater the confidence we have about what God will do in the days ahead.
As we read and trust we are becoming equipped to live life in harmony. The Bible is a wonderful source of advice for our daily life. As a child growing up I thought my father was amazing as he had some wonderful phrases. Phrases that I heard others use and assumed that Dad had passed them on for example; “Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry, from Ephesians 4 26 was one of his favorites.
Knowing the bible and quoting from it is only one part of Christian living. It is how we put it into our daily life with the help and guidance of the Holy Spirit. Throughout the bible we read of people giving encouragement, build others up and in Jesus we see the servant leader.
The children learnt and improved their skills though the role modeling of others. People who were willing to give up their time to mentor and walk alongside them. People who had benefited from others when they were younger are now passing on their skills.
This role modeling flowed onto the children. It was a delight to witness the older children as they encouraged the younger children not only with the music but also in their free time. I watched as a 14 year spent over an hour helping an 8 year old draw a picture of a person. She talked about shape, shading, and proportions. She had a genuine interest to share her gifts and encourage the younger child.
Like the children we all need people to walk with us on our journey. We can not be a lone Christian. We need to have someone who we can share with, who we can ask advice from, who will pray for and with us, who is willing to share their story with us and willing to listen to ours.
Just as we receive this mentoring we also have to be willing to help and share others. We are to love one another, to build each other up.
It is as we allow the Spirit to work in us we will love, respect and tolerate one another.
This is exactly what I saw in my week away at the Winter Choir School. When the children using their skills sang as one there was harmony. Amen.
