Practicing Our Scales
Imagine if our walk with Christ, representing his kingdom in the world, were as practiced and pure as Hania Rani’s fingers on the piano keys.
INNtöne Jazzfestival 2021 | Wikimedia Creative Commons
A few years ago, my wife and I, and another couple, co-led a small group for young adults ⏤ the Friends and Followers group. There, I harped on about the benefits of ‘practicing our scales.’ That meant returning to a short list of essential statements that would (hopefully) guide our formation. The idea was that if we worked to practice these ‘scales,’ they would become embodied. Lately, I have been savoring Hania Rani’s piano genius. Just imagine if our walk with Christ ⏤ representing his kingdom in the world ⏤ were as practiced and pure as Hania Rani’s fingers on the piano keys.
If you don’t like the weather, just…
People’s attitudes can swing as quickly as the Spring weather. From Palm Sunday to Good Friday, Jesus’s stock fell from a hoped-for king to a criminal worse than Barabbas, an insurrectionist.
We are going up to Jerusalem,” he said, “and the Son of Man will be delivered over to the chief priests and the teachers of the law. They will condemn him to death and will hand him over to the Gentiles — Mark 10:33
When we visited Arkansas one April, we woke up at 2 a.m. to the sound of pouring rain, then drifted back to sleep. At 6 a.m., we woke to the hiss of heavy sleet brushing against the windows like cymbals. When it was time for breakfast, we walked through a quiet snow shower. And for the walk back from breakfast, it was sunny and 65 degrees.
Today, on Palm Sunday, I’m reflecting on how people’s attitudes can shift just as quickly. In the span of just a few days, from “Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! Blessed is the king of Israel!” to “Crucify him!” Religious and political leaders collaborated to rid themselves of a shared problem and the crowds were carried on those cultural winds.
Happy Thanksgiving!
God's manifold grace. A day to be grateful and to accept responsibility.
And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him. — Colossians 3:17
Two gauges of spiritual maturity to consider today. The first is gratitude. Do we recognize that everything we have is a gift from God— his grace? Can we show him our gratitude? Another gauge is responsibility— faithful stewards of the many forms of God's grace. We enjoy his gifts as we share them with others.
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