I love piano recitals, as long as there is a grandchild involved. Sam’s past performances all have been spectacular, of course, and I’m sure that the upcoming one will be just as wonderful.
Crowd watching is particularly rewarding at recitals of the very young children. It is great fun, trying to figure out just which grownup is matched up with each child. Clues abound. Just look around. As a kid approaches the piano there is an adult (or two or more, counting grandparents ) who is suddenly on alert, straining forward to catch each note. Videos cameras and cell phones whirr, click and flash. Someone is always to be spotted holding her breath until that one particularly hard passage is done. Heads nod in time to the music. Bodies, both young and old, visibly relax as the last note is sounded. Kids immediately steal a glance at their families for praise and support. While it is good manners to applaud each child, families do tend to clap just a little longer and louder for their own kin. This is a proud moment all around, celebrating this wonderful child.
This wonderful child? Do you suppose that’s how God is with us? Does God watch over us with the same mix of pride and tension and love, head bobbing along as we play out our life song? Are the cherubim and seraphim shown the video, over and over, as God says, “now watch this part … here I’ll rewind it for you. Wasn’t that a superior performance? My heart is bursting with love for my kid.” Is that how God feels about each of us? Could that really be true?
The Good News is that the answer is YES. Each of us is the beloved child of that heavenly parent, who loves us so much and never forsakes us, even when we hit a few sour notes on the way to that final performance.
Amen.
