“Live in harmony with each other. Don’t be too proud to enjoy the company of ordinary people. And don’t think you know it all!” – Romans 12:16
When I was growing up, it seemed that there was an unwritten parental rule that all children must learn to play a musical instrument. No questions asked. It didn’t matter if you wanted to play a musical instrument. It didn’t matter if you had musical talents or not: you were going to learn to play a musical instrument!
My mother decided that I should learn to play the piano. A teacher was found and lessons were set up. Every week, my teacher came resolutely to my home to create a virtuoso out of the raw clay of my talent. I was never sure if it was my playing capabilities (or definite lack thereof) that caused what happened next or not. Whatever the reason, my piano teacher eloped with her boyfriend and never returned. Thus ended my keyboard career!
Mom was undaunted. She had a parental epiphany that I was really meant to play a saxophone. What ensued were lessons, playing in the school band and command performances in front of family and friends who were forced to endure them.
Nowadays, my musical ambitions are confined to the top shelf in my garage where my old saxophone case gathers dust and produces a twinge of guilt whenever I happen to notice its presence. Truth be told, I wish I could play piano today. The sax was nice, but it was limited to one note followed by another, but a piano? A piano can play waves of notes in wondrous harmony! That is the marvel of being able to play chords — differing notes that, when played simultaneously, create brilliant sound.
When I read our biblical passage for today, I think that is what Paul, the author, had in mind. Each one of our lives plays a musical note, beautiful in and of itself, but when we join our note with the life-notes of those around us, amazing things can happen. It can’t be forced or faked. If it’s a top-down agenda or a commandment, then the results fare as well as my mom’s musical career plans for me. No, it has to well up inside of us out of a passion to play and be a part of the group musical experience.
To me, that is Loma Linda University Health at its most powerful. Individuals serving, loving and caring wherever they are working or studying. Adding music and grace to the lives they come in contact with. But connect those lives and their notes together, and Loma Linda University Health becomes a place of harmony. It becomes a beautiful song whose content reflects Jesus, His teaching, His ministry and, best of all, His love. But just wanting to be a musician doesn’t make it happen. It takes time and practice. Repetition builds skill.
So, to, in the music of service and caring we are engaged in. And, let’s be honest, we all have moments and seasons of dissonance in our life journey that break the harmony. Those are the moments that we have to attend to. And, just like my childhood lessons, sometimes it takes a mentor, a friend or a skilled professional to help us get back on track and reach new heights.
Playing alone makes you a soloist. At Loma Linda University Health, all of us unite to play a symphony. A symphonic orchestra is not composed of just one kind of instrument; it is made up of brass, woodwind, strings, percussion and keyboards. That diversity, coupled with harmony, makes the music soar.
Whatever you play, play your part. Join in the music. Without your note, the song is incomplete. You know what? All this talk about music is inspiring me to quit dreaming about playing the piano and start taking those lessons again. It’s going to be challenging, but the best things in life are.
—Terry Swenson, DMin, is chaplain of Loma Linda University.
