DAILY BYTEA few weeks’ ago we took our kids to the movies. Our daughters, aged 7 and 5, were quite emphatic about what we were going to see – High School Musical 3. I realized straight away that this was one of those occasions when reasoned negotiation would be a complete and utter waste of time, and so like a good Dad I dutifully paid for the tickets and consoled myself by supersizing my popcorn.
As the name suggests, High School Musical 3 is a movie about kids in high school, who spend a lot of their time singing and dancing in a well-orchestrated kind of way, which figures because this is the third time around that they’ve done essentially the same routine.
Let me say that I’m greatly comforted by the fact that all the kids in this movie have finally graduated from High School, which hopefully means that High School Musical 4 will never be made – unless, of course, they start doing the High School Reunion thing.
But before I start sounding too much like a grumpy old fogey, let me say that it was actually a very pleasant excursion to the movies which I thoroughly enjoyed. Especially watching our kids lapping it up with rapt attention. At times our 5 year-old even got off her chair to offer her own choreographic interpretation of some of the dance sequences. Now THAT was something to see, and well worth the price of the ticket all on its own.
What is it about musicals, at least the half-decent ones, that seem able to touch something deep inside of us? On reflection I’ve realized that my most memorable theatre-going experiences have all been of musicals – the Phantom of the Opera, Beauty and the Beast, Cats, The Lion King.
When the universal experiences of the human condition – like love, and betrayal, and discovering who you are, and suffering, and redemption, and finding the courage to follow your purpose – when these are truthfully expressed in music and song, something resonates within us. Something soul-stirring, and suddenly we discover that we’ve been moved into something bigger, we’ve been transported into a broader realm of imagination and possibility, and life itself seems larger than before.
In about 10 days’ time there will be the chance to listen again for the song of the angels rejoicing in the news of Christ’s birth. A simple declaration, even by the Archangel Gabriel, was just not enough to convey the glad tidings of the birth of the Messiah. This great news could not be so neatly contained. All of the heavenly host simply had to burst into song:
“Glory to God in the highest heaven,” they sang, “and on earth peace to all in whom he delights.”
If we allow this song of Christmas to sound deep within us, we will be changed by it. Because it echoes with the music of hope and promise and the irrepressible life of God bursting into the world.
In our devotions this week, as we prepare to hear the Christmas story again, we’ll do so by listening to some of the other songs that were sung around the Christmas story as recorded in Luke’s gospel. And hopefully, as we listen to Luke’s Christmas playlist, something will be stirred within us.
PRAY AS YOU GO
Lord, there are some things that words alone cannot adequately express. There are truths that cannot be grasped simply with our minds but must be felt and experienced in our souls. Thank you for the gifts of music and song, that can open us to the deeper mysteries of life. Amen.
SCRIPTURE READING
Luke 2:10-14
The angel said, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. Today in the town of David a Saviour has been born to you: he is Christ the Lord...”
Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying,
“Glory to God in the highest heaven,
and on earth peace to all in whom he delights.”
FOOTNOTE
For those of you living in Durban, a reminder that there will be Carols by Candlelight with the KZN Philharmonic Orchestra at the Botanical Gardens tonight at 6pm.
