I’m sitting in Radina’s right now, having almost cried over one paragraph in Brian McLaren’s A Generous Orthodoxy that washed over me so powerfully that I have to make it known.
“When one plays the clarinet, one is not thinking about the pressure of the lower teeth against the lower lip, nor of the tightness of the lower lip against the reed, nor of the touch of the upper teeth to the mouthpiece, nor of the pressure of the fingers on the holes and keys, nor of the contraction of the hand and finger muscles, nor of the weight of the instrument borne by the right thumb and right elbow and right shoulder, nor of the tapping of the left foot to keep time, nor of the air pressure produced by the diaphragm on the lungs and in turn on the windpipe and in turn on the inner mouth and reed. Rather, through the unconscious absorption of the instrument into the body, through indwelling the instrument through one’s fingers and breath, one attends through it to the notes, to the tone filling the air and room outside one’s body, to the feeling of the musical phrase, to the passionate exuberance of the melody, to the free play of improvisation, to the rhythm and movement of the band, to the almost intangible but real response of the audience as it sways and smiles and maybe even dances. One focuses through the instrument to the music, and through the music to the audience. If one were to think consciously of all the intricate movements of muscles, tendons, bones…one would go nuts and be completely unable to play.”
The Holy Spirit is trying to play us in a concert before God. Do we experience the spirit’s music, or are we obsessed with having our fingers in the right positions?
I feel like writing one hundred more paragraphs interpreting this, but I will let it speak for itself. Besides, I need to keep reading…
