The Complexity of an Organ
Several years ago I helped to unload a truck with a new Organ for the sanctuary at St. John's. It was a big truck. As its contents were unloaded, the sanctuary became more and more cluttered with woodwork, tools, and a pipe here or there. The pedal pipes from the old organ look like boxes and they are scattered across the backs of the pews. There are large bass pipes strewn across the pew cushions. Trays of pipes, filled with the mid and high notes, clog the middle aisle. The windchests are waiting to be placed in the pipe chambers where they hold the wind that will make the instrument speak for the first time. A small crowd gathered and waited for the beautiful new console to be rolled out of the truck and carried up the stairs. For a brief moment, as those of us who were carrying it caught our breath, it rested in a familiar spot. Facing the opposite direction, the manuals stared up at the lectern. It stood sentinel, close to where the previous console held rank for all those years. A new day was dawning. The worship life of St. John’s is rich and deep. On this day, a new chapter was being penned.
All the pieces and parts that covered the sanctuary fit into those two small rooms that flank the chancel. I joked with Charles Kegg–the mastermind behind the creation of this instrument–that I’m glad he knew how all the pieces fit together. His dismissive reply gave me confidence in his craft and reminded me how easy it is to know complicated things when your soul is involved in creating them.
The complexity of the organ and its many pieces and parts, serve as a beautiful metaphor for us as followers of Christ Jesus. Each component of the windchest works in tandem with the console. Every wire triggers a pipe. Every key triggers a wire. And the wind flows through so much of it to make the music come alive. Without one piece, the instrument isn’t whole–it is something less.
The Same is True for Us
The body of Christ is dependent upon the parts. As Mr. Kegg does for this instrument, our Lord has brought us together too. He knows how we fit together and He knits our gifts to work in tandem in order that we would sing a beautiful song. Together.
For just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function, so in Christ we, though many, form one body, and each member belongs to all the others.Romans 12:4-5
The organ makes beautiful music because each part works in concert with the rest. It is one instrument and yet, on days when the parts are all over the sanctuary, it is easy to see that there are many moving parts. As we live together as the body of Christ, it is a helpful reminder to look beyond ourselves. As the Organ was put together it became harder and harder to see the pieces. As our organist, Dr. Schuder, first played the keys, beautiful music came out of those pipes. But the complexity of the instrument was no longer as visible. We may be aware of the pipes that are making the music in the chambers above, but the unity of the organ’s parts are hidden. The opposite is true for the body of Christ. It is far too easy for us to see the pieces and the parts. We see people and we fail to see the bond that yokes us together. We struggle to see unity and oneness. And so, as the organ is put together and the wind flows through and she speaks her praise for the first time, don’t forget that her sound is a bringing together. As we join in the song, there is an unspoken reality. Singing praise unifies us. We are united in our praise of the Triune God. Worship is a testimony of what happens when the Wind of God flows through our lungs and joins the voice of those we stand next to and those who stand with us on the other side of the building. We join with every Christ follower of every time and every place. We are one body. We are His body. And we were made to sing!
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Photo Credit: Stephen Dettling