Creekside Church Sermon of March 4, 2001 "An Excuse for a Song" Ephesians 5:15-19	Rev. David Bibbee
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A light snow was falling upon Princeton, New Jersey one serene Christmas Eve. Some young carolers strolled door to door, till they stood at his door. He was a great violinist. "O little town of Bethlehem, how still we see thee lie," they sang. He opened the door and smiled, then disappeared for a moment and returned with his violin. Such music they made as he accompanied them. It was as if the boys and the master knew that words would only disturb the holiness of the moment, so the carolers slowly walked away and the violinist softly closed the door

The boys had brought this man out of retirement to give a one-song recital. He didn't have to open the door, much less accompany them, for he was a Jew…a Jew who was such a genius he had once been offered the presidency of Israel. He became a musician because of his love of Mozart's sonatas. It was not duty or curiosity that led him to Mozart. It was love.

Once when discussing the ravages of modern warfare with a friend, he observed that soon it would be possible for humans to destroy the world. He mused about the destruction of beautiful things and said, "The disappearance of Mozart will signal the end of civilization." To the violinist, Mozart was a discoverer, not a composer. Celestial music was waiting to be discovered, and Mozart had found it.

The violinist had an insatiable curiosity about the universe, and he set out to study its mysteries. Those who knew him said he was looking for the celestial music that Mozart had found. Most people thought his idol should have been Sir Isaac Newton, but in his heart, he knew he would always be a musician.

The man who worshipped Mozart…the genius who could have been president of Israel, discovered. He altered the meaning of infinity while hoping to discover music. His name? Dr. Albert Einstein.

If Mr. E = MC squared could speak to us today, maybe he would say the universe didn't begin with a big bang, after all. Maybe God sang it into existence in the key of G in 4/4 time. Is it out of the question to imagine that at the moment of creation's conception, God did it with musical accompaniment? Music is intrinsic to creation. Nature obeys the rhythm of the seasons. A daily rhythm orders our lives as we wake, work, eat and sleep. Our hearts were made to beat in a specific rhythm. If the rhythm is too fast or too slow, we experience difficulty. Along with rhythm, there is harmony. We know how wonderful life can be when there is harmony in our homes and relationships, and how stressful life can be when things are not harmonic. Einstein was right. There is music in the universe waiting to be discovered.

Someone said, "God respects us when we work, but God loves us when we sing." God is a music lover who loves nothing more than the music of creation and the praise by his children. The psalms are filled with such references. "Sing to the glory of God's name." "We'll sing of God's steadfast love." Singing our praise is what God wants done. But to sing to God is also what we need to do.

Those who know they are blessed; those who have been pummeled by problems and pain and have emerged stronger than before …those who know the constancy of God's provision and his grace that makes life worth living…they don't need much of an excuse for singing. St. Paul says we should look for any excuse for a song to God, or, as Robert Lowry wrote in 1869, "Through the tumult and the strife, I hear that music ringing. It finds an echo in my soul. How can I keep from singing?"

The young people in the Concord Choir are learning an important discipline, but it isn't just singing. They are learnng what it is like to add their voice to the harmony of the whole. Maybe they don't know it yet, and many of us haven't discovered it yet, but a unique part has been written for us each by the Master Composer. There is a composition which is God's alone, and God wants to add the harmony of your life and mine.

Einstein sought celestial music. So can we. We can add our voices to the music of the spheres. No audition required. Not much of an excuse needed. Simply singing to the Lord for who he is, all he has done, and all he will yet do in our lives… is the only excuse necessary.

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