By the Way: Harmony is wonderful and pleasant
By Medicine Hat News on November 25, 2017.
There’s no accounting for taste, it’s said. This is certainly true when it comes to taste in music. Some people like country; others classical. Some like opera and others prefer rock. And yes there are diehards such as myself who still cling to disco! What about a mashup of heavy metal and polka? There is a group called “Die Heimatdamisch” that has done a cover of an AC/DC hit! It should be no surprise that one of the greatest musicians of all times would like harmony as well. That musician was King David. He wrote: “How wonderful and pleasant it is when brothers live together in harmony! For harmony is as precious as the anointing oil that was poured over Aaron’s head, that ran down his beard and onto the border of his robe. Harmony is as refreshing as the dew from Mount Hermon that falls on the mountains of Zion. And there the LORD has pronounced his blessing, even life everlasting.” (Psalm 133) Harmony doesn’t require that everyone sings the same note. In fact, in a choir or orchestra different voices and instruments may sing or play entirely different notes. It is the blending of that difference which produces beautiful music or harmony. This psalm is a word to individual Christians and to the broader church. Harmony in the body of Christ doesn’t mean that we all sing the same note (that is literally what the word “monotony” means). Each segment of Christ’s Body as expressed in the different denominations has its own gifts to bring. We live in the same city, the City of God as St. Augustine put it, but we do not and should not all live in the same house. In the past month I have been blessed to be part of several joint efforts. One was held in Wittenberg, Germany on the occasion of the 500th anniversary of the Reformation. This conference brought together Lutherans, Catholics, Messianic Jews, Anabaptists, Orthodox, Armenian, and other Protestants to repent and to reconcile. In other words, we found harmony. We processed through the streets of Wittenberg from the conference hall to the “Stadt Kirche” (Martin Luther’s church) and from there to the local Roman Catholic parish. “How wonderful and pleasant it is.” Then on Nov. 12t, Lutherans, Catholics, Anglicans and others gathered together right here in Medicine Hat to praise our God in beautiful harmony. Harmony is “wonderful and pleasant.” Harmony is “precious.” Harmony is “refreshing.” “And there the Lord has pronounced his blessing.” Pastor Jim Bredeson is senior pastor at Victory Lutheran Church. 10-9
