Growing older isn’t too bad, especially if your children know how to give gifts you can never forget. Are you like Pat and I who often searched for something to give our parents when our parents already had everything? The chest that holds my sweaters is full. If I received a new one in that chest would have to go! Tools? Well, there are never enough tools! But, we don’t need anything for the house. (The attic has more pictures than will ever be hung on our downsized walls.) But, we have children who give us memories!
Last year one of our Christmas presents was a gospel concert with some of our favorite artists, a delightful meal and hotel room near the concert site. This year Candace, Otis and Alison took us to a performance of Handel’s Messiah at the Church of the Holy Trinity on Philadelphia’s Rittenhouse Square. How could one ever forget an evening like that? The pre-performance meal was authentic Italian and the short walk to the church in driving rain, added to the winter ambience. The highlight was hearing the text, The Bible, set to Baroque music. Ah, life is wonderful!
Soprano, alto, tenor, bass, chorus and symphony converged to present Good News! At times musicians painted scenes of slowly-lapping waters at the edge of a calm lake and moments later one might imagine mighty tides of torrential truth probing the spirit like wind-driven rainy sleet. We were moved from the Tenor’s tender "Comfort ye, comfort ye," to the chorus’ rousing answer, "And the glory of the Lord shall be revealed."
Life is richer when one listens, absorbs and mediates while soprano and alto voices mingle, reminding us that "He shall feed his flock," and "Come unto Him, all ye that labor . . . " The chorus immediately follows with "His yoke is easy and his burden is light!" Ah, that truth is redeeming, refreshing and reason for rejoicing.
The message throughout Messiah is powerful because it is God’s Word set to music. The lyrics melt into melody and then flow like relaxing rivulets and roaring rivers . . . As I type away now I am listening to The London Symphony Orchestra present "For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given." Isaiah is alive and well in my spirit! Isaiah 6 just may be my text when I preach Sunday!
Ah, what an evening! Our granddaughter Alison was easily the youngest person in the building. She is only ten years old but she has already been introduced to a wonderful family tradition. To view the Church of the Holy Trinity is worth a trip to Philadelphia, and spending several hours in its sanctuary listening to the Gospel is heavenly! Nothing can be better than spending several hours reveling in salvation truth! Ah, growing older with children who delight us with profoundly rich experiences has to be what God Himself had in mind for family!
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