This morning I was encouraged to think about the music of
the gospel. I had a real revelation. As a cellist, I have never reached a
degree of musicality where I could fly free from the printed sheet.
Occasionally I work out a slight harmony or variation, but I am not confident
with my keys and chords and therefore, to take off on a flight of creative
musicality is not possible. I once felt I was getting close to being set free to
do that, but the group I was in encountered problems with finding a time to
practice together, and so we disbanded. Practice, for me, would have been key
to unlocking the sense of freedom to fly.
This morning I thought about how wedded to tradition, or, dare
I say, even our preferred version of the Word, we can be. We can become so
focused on the printed music of our religious tradition that we are unable to
experience the freedom Jesus came to give us, the freedom the gospel sings out.
I think that Jesus’ teachings are the scaffold on which our
faith is built, and within his teachings we are given freedom of expression.
That’s why I love The Source translation of the New Testament, which revisits the
originals and comes up with new understandings of, in particular for me, the
difficult bits concerning women. Some translations seem to fly in the face of
the dignity and respect Jesus raised women to, whereas The Source harmonises
beautifully with his teachings.
May we all be set free from a slavish adherence to man-made
rules, regulations and translations, set free to sing uninhibited love songs to
our Saviour through all we are, do and say.
One day (it may not be until I’m in heaven…) I will be able
to soar free with my cello, allowing it to sing its heart out as I praise the
Lord with it. I pray that we will all be set free here on earth to soar in
faith and love, living out the spirit of the word Jesus is.
Maranatha.
No comments:
Post a Comment