Tis the Season! The school concert season is here. There have been some changes, even since my own now-grown children were in school. The most notable change to me is that the schools no longer hold Christmas concerts. Nowadays, the concerts are advertised as winter concerts; some may go so far as to call them holiday concerts, although they won’t declare up front exactly what holiday it is. But, call it what you will, Christmas has a way of sneaking into the program. At my granddaughter’s concert the other night their final number was “Silent Night”. I thought that was bold for a public school. The audience was even invited to sing along with the first verse. The second verse was instrumental only. And the third verse the children performed in sign language. So, unless you understood signing, Christ, the Savior being born probably snuck by you. Hopefully, since most of the faithful know the song so well, enough people were following along with their hearts.
I am a veteran of many Christmas concerts – singing and
school bands. Michelle and I raised four now-adult children of our own; and, we now have eleven grandchildren ranging in age from
college freshman to 4K in school, with one more still too young waiting for his turn. Then you also need to add that Michelle taught as the middle school religion teacher at Our Lady of Lourdes in West De
Pere for twenty years. But some things about
children remain the same, and I see them every year. Here are some reflections
and observations from my many years of Christmas concert attendance.
By Christmas time the fourth-grade band has only been
playing their instruments just about four months, and they will definitely
sound like it. Nothing worthwhile comes
too easy. It takes patience and
persistence, from the teachers as well as the children and those who listen. “Keep playing,” God says. “Keep playing. Your squeaks and flat notes will become beautiful
music someday. You will surprise
yourself, but not me. I can already hear
it in my heart.”
From the Kindergarten chorus whose eyes twinkled and
faces beamed with the excitement of the night and being on stage in front of
several hundred friends and family members for the first time. I pray that you always approach this holy day
and all of your life with the excitement and anticipation of a five-year-old.
From the boy in the middle of the back row of the
third-grade choir who looked totally disinterested and obviously had no
intention of singing. The song had a
hole in it where your voice belonged.
The community, the Church, has a hole in it where your heart belongs when
we don’t come to Mass every weekend.
Faith is not just for Christmas. Please
add your voice to the choir!
From the parents and grandparents who listened with great pride and joy and no doubt some feeling that they wish they could make it all
easier – take away the struggles and the mistakes and the nervousness – but
they can’t. All they can do is to be
present, to smile, encourage and to applaud the efforts. Know that God aches at our struggles too, but
Christmas reminds us that He is Immanuel, “God with us”, and he is present in
all our pain, wishing He could take it away.
From the middle school choir who spent their two songs
sneaking peeks at each other to see if it was OK to sing or not. They were taking their cue from each other more
than the director. We do the same when
we forget about the will of God and instead of following His lead we take our
cue from the world around us. But, if we
rely on the Holy Spirit to guide us we will find inward peace instead of
self-doubt and the courage to step up and live our faith boldly. Don’t worry about who is watching you, tip
your head back and sing.
From the music teachers who led all the choirs and the
fourth & fifth grade bands, the concert bands & the jazz bands and
smiled and patiently directed their way through all the off-key voices and
squeaky instruments. They always ended
the night praising their students for their hard work and willingness to stretch
themselves. It was obvious that they only
saw and heard the potential of each student.
And so it is with the way that our God looks at us. For all who today are a little afraid to draw
near, afraid to believe that God can see past the missed notes in our own lives
know that He sees right through those mistakes to the potential and the beauty
of the soul he created and loves.
From the little girl who played Mary, smiling the
entire time as she cradled her little baby Jesus doll, a reminder that joy
comes to the world one heart at a time as we draw close to Christ and realize
that before He can open his arms for us on the cross we have to open our arms
for Him and welcome Him into our hearts.
He feels so much love for you as you hold your baby Jesus doll so
closely.
And a huge thank you to all of the adult instrumentalists
who volunteered to help the children remain on time and key. Your willingness to share your love of music
is a gift to all these children. I
especially remember Jean from years ago who was played piano with light fingers
and a bright smile despite her 75 years of age, and despite knowing that was her
last concert because she received the news a couple of weeks prior that her cancer had returned and
there was nothing they could do for her this time.
Fear not, for the angels bring tidings of great joy. For unto you Jean, unto us, unto everyone, a child is
born unto us who is both Christ and Lord!
His Peace <><
Deacon Dan
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