It’s time to pull out Sonny Rollins Saxophone Colossus, Matthew Sweet’s Girlfriend, and Van Morrison’s Days Like This. One of the great joys of May is rotating out the “late-winter” music in favor of “springtime” music.
Vivaldi’s Four Seasons can obviously be listened to all year long, as well as any Miles Davis, Lyle Lovett, and Ray Charles, but there are some cds and albums that are best listened to when spring is in full swing. Driving around with the windows down, mowing the grass, and eating ice cream outside each beg for appropriate soundtracks.
You may not like any of these recordings, which is fine. I won’t make you listen to them. Our relationship doesn’t depend on us liking the same music. While we might have some shared interests, you and I are drawn to each other for another reason. And it isn’t about what food we like or don’t like, how much money we have or don’t have, sports teams, education, or cultural heritage. Actually, it isn’t about us at all.
In the midst of our differences, we are brought together and learn how to coexist because of Jesus Christ. It sounds simple, but can be extremely challenging to put into practice. Part of the joy – and struggle – of life together is learning to appreciate our differences and to see beyond ourselves.
Soon after moving into the freshman dorm at Wittenberg University, I discovered that my
roommate didn’t rotate his music. “What?!? Doesn’t everyone do this?”
I was pulling out my “Moving into the College Dorm” music, when he mentioned that he didn’t really listen to music at all.
Over the next months, we had to be intentional as we learned how to navigate our little dorm oasis. I wanted to wake up with John Coltrane, while he wanted to wind down late-night with television. Conversations and compromise served us well and helped us understand each other.
Jonathan Wilson-Hartgrove, in his book New Monasticism, talks about our need to be in community. He suggests that life lived together is at the heart of Jesus’ life and mission. He says, “Whatever else Jesus may have been about here on earth, it seems pretty clear from all accounts that he came to make it possible for those who believe in him to be reconciled to one another and to God... ‘Love one another’ wasn’t just about being nice but meant learning to negotiate the real differences between people who were trying to live together.”
As our world and neighborhoods become increasingly diverse on all fronts, it is imperative that we engage each other with attitudes of hospitality and a willingness to listen to one another in the name of Jesus. He instructs us to work for justice and to care for the orphans and widows. He challenges us to welcome the stranger and love our enemies. It is hard work, but there’s no room in our life of faith to retreat to ourselves. We need each other.
Don’t check out – tune in. Listen, because everyone has a story. Discover what you have in common and explore the variety that can open you up to new worlds. Celebrate how God is at work in others and recognize that God is moving through you.
Peace.
Pastor Lowell