How Humanity Lost God’s Tune
Humanity lost its way when it started to make its own music instead of following the Great Conductor, Tony Meehan writes in this reflection.
In an orchestra, the first violinist begins the customary tuning before the start of the concert. All the other players join in with their individual instruments. The strings: violin, viola, harp and double bass. The woodwinds: clarinet, oboe, bassoon and flute. The brass: trombone, French horn, tuba and trumpet. Percussion: cymbals, piano, timpani, triangle, gongs, chimes, and many, many more.
This is an orchestral practice and convention prior to the arrival of the conductor. The result is often a cautious discordant cacophony of sound; all jumbled together, yet a discreet euphonious melody of this ritual introduction. A symphony or philharmonic orchestra can comprise more than a hundred musicians, all with variations of character, style, nationality, and gender, all using many different types of instruments.
After a few minutes, the first violinist taps his bow on the music stand and a respectful silence descends on the orchestra and the audience. The conductor then emerges from the wings and approaches the rostrum, accompanied by a surge of applause. After addressing the audience and the orchestra with a deep bow, the silence returns.
The conductor raises his baton! At one single moment in time, like a “big bang” of audio, passionate, explosive and mystical collisions of all these diverse people’s souls start to play in unison; with strict order and flawless discipline. The concert begins.
Why and how? What makes all of the above get to be? What is its genesis? How does it evolve? The very simple answer is love!
To fall in love with this abstract emotional element of life and yearn to study and pursue it further, one must become fervent and desirous of this magical concept called music. Secondly, it will be necessary to choose something suitable to express and nurture this love. Some or other instrument, or even one’s voice projection or something that will flourish, develop and refine that love to play or sing and reproduce the magnificent works of the many brilliant composers.
All is good! Love, discipline and order… glorious “MUSIC”!
Didn’t keep in tune
At one single moment in time, the Great Composer raised His “baton” and orchestrated the heavens and the earth and all its attributes. All was good! Man and woman were created, and all the necessities for the world to evolve to the purpose of mankind. All was good, and indeed it was very good!
The first man was put into the Garden of Eden to keep it “in tune” and care for it. There were all kinds of trees that were pleasing to the eye and good for food.
After a time, the man became confused and lost his sense of his new world rhythm, and due to the abandonment of his Conductor’s orders and disciplines, he regrettably set in motion a world of good and evil.
Since then, with the out-of-tune squealing, screeching and screaming of undisciplined morality and a variety of deferences to the bizarre and evil, the world has become a selfish egotistical mess. A do-as-you-please society has evolved to become just a tuneless noise of Godless nowhere-to-go people, trying to justify the devil’s tuning fork.
This is so sad! There is so much great music and love to strive for and enjoy, now and in the future, here on earth and beyond this life. The music of love, love for one another and for the world in which we live. It is so easy: Yearn, study and pursue the magic of love and learn that God is that love!
“If music be the food of love, play on,” William Shakespeare wrote. So, before we capitulate and concede defeat, it’s time to take stock and compose a new world symphony in which we can all heartily play and sing along in perfect tune with hope, love and peace! God bless us all!
Tony Meehan writes from Cape Town.
Published in the June 2024 issue of The Southern Cross magazine
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