Dear St. Paul’s Family,
Woodwinds, brass, and strings hold at the ready, awaiting the first sweep of the baton. At once, the orchestra begins a rendition of Impossible Dream from the musical Man of La Mancha. With gestures of hand and head, the conductor prompts and guides the musicians to the selection’s end, which the audience receives with thunderous applause.
When the Detroit Symphony concluded this performance last week, the crowd’s appreciation was for more than just the music. It was for the conductor that directed it. He – or rather, it – is named ASIMO, a robot built by the Honda Motor Corporation in a groundbreaking moment of robotic technology.
When I first read this story, I pondered some obvious questions about the purpose and importance of a conductor to an orchestra. I remembered the words of Benjamin Zander, director of the Boston Philharmonic and noted motivational speaker, who reminds audiences that the conductor is the only member of an orchestra who doesn’t make a sound. It is the conductor’s job to elicit music from those who do.
Naturally, ASIMO falls far short of matching a conductor’s greatest importance to a symphony. The conductor’s personality, imagination, and interpretation are as valuable as gestures and mechanics. The ability of the conductor to persuade and to lure music out of the performers constitute a symphony’s heart and soul. But like ASIMO, a conductor plays no instruments, makes no sound, and certainly does not manipulate or coerce musicians like puppets on a stage.
The true value of a conductor is not in the power to manipulate, but in the power to persuade.
I’m reminded of the words of Tyron Inbody, one of my seminary professors and author of the book Transforming God: An Interpretation of Suffering and Evil:
The creative power of God can be represented in poetic form as well as in metaphysical language. Formulated in metaphor, God is creator of the world as a composer or a conductor, writing the score a few bars ahead of the orchestra or conducting the orchestra; or as an improviser in a jazz band rather than a performer of the music ex nihilo.
WHAT’S SO AMAZING ABOUT GRACE?
John Wesley engaged numerous arguments about the power of God and its relationship to human free will. As was the case in much of his theological constructions, he was able to forge a both/and resolution to a proposition that had many either/or advocates. He came to the conclusion that the power of God and the faculty of human choice are not mutually exclusive. Instead of understanding God as one who coerces, Wesley understood God as one who directs humanity at every moment with powerfully persuasive signals, gestures, and nods, prodding us toward a collective production of beauty and harmony, rather than sinful cacophony.
It is this interplay between God’s power to persuade, along with humanity’s God-given capacity to respond, that lies at the heart of Wesley’s understanding of grace.
The United Methodist Book of Discipline defines this persuasive, prevenient grace as:
"...the divine love that surrounds all humanity and precedes any and all of our conscious impulses. This grace prompts our first wish to please God, our first glimmer of understanding concerning God's will, and our 'first slight transient conviction' of having sinned against God. God's grace also awakens in us an earnest longing for deliverance from sin and death and moves us toward repentance and faith.”
We continue our journey through the heritage, doctrine, and practices of the United Methodist Church with a sermon titled: “What is a Methodist? One Who Lives in Grace.” We will learn more about the distinctives of Methodist theology, remembering that we are neither puppets on a cosmic stage, nor soloists in isolation. Under the direction of God’s constant, grace-filled prompting, we co-create for the world a masterpiece called the Kingdom of God.
Grace, indeed,
Magrey
Ephesians 2:1-10
1 You were dead through the trespasses and sins
2 in which you once lived, following the course of this world, following the ruler of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work among those who are disobedient.
3 All of us once lived among them in the passions of our flesh, following the desires of flesh and senses, and we were by nature children of wrath, like everyone else.
4 But God, who is rich in mercy, out of the great love with which he loved us
5 even when we were dead through our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved—
6 and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus,
7 so that in the ages to come he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness towards us in Christ Jesus.
8 For by grace you have been saved through faith, and this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God—
9 not the result of works, so that no one may boast.
10 For we are what he has made us, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand to be our way of life.
"The Meaning of Methodist"
A Five-Part Series exploring the heritage, belief, and practice of the United Methodist Church
May 25
“One Who Lives in Grace”
(United Methodist Beliefs)
Ephesians 2:1-10
June 1
“One Who Practices Daily”
(United Methodist Disciplines)
Psalm 119:97-112
June 8
“One Who Connects With Others”
(The United Methodist Church)
Exodus 18:13-27
June 15
“One Who Impacts the World”
(United Methodist Mission)
2 Corinthians 5:11-21
VACATION BIBLE SCHOOL REGISTRATION
VBS is coming! Now is the time to register your child for what will be an exciting, fun-filled adventure. The theme is “Power Lab!” and is for kids grades pre-K through fifth grade. It takes place from 8:30am-12:30pm June 9-13. Cost is $5.00 per person. To register, contact Carmen Teoli or the church office.
SUMMER WORSHIP SCHEDULE
Sunday worship moves to 9:30am starting Sunday, June 1. Also, if you are interested in helping with the summer Fellowship Coffees, please call Betty Point. Three couples are needed for each Sunday to bring three dozen bars or cookies.
AID FOR BURMA AND CHINA
The United Methodist Committee on Relief (UMCOR) is actively working to respond to the major disasters in Burma and China. If you would like to contribute to their efforts, make your check payable to St. Paul’s UMC and designate it for either Burma or China relief. More information about UMCOR is available at http://new.gbgm-umc.org/umcor <http://new.gbgm-umc.org/umcor> .
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