Before processing into the Church, the choir master asks, "All those who are not here, raise your hand." It always invokes a few smiles and more than a couple of hands waving from those willing to play along with the joke. But the meaning is serious: Are we really here, not just physically, but emotionally. Are we prepared to do the things that need to be done, to put our voice into our song, to lay life on the line.
That's what it's all about: The Hokey-Pokey trivialities that demand our awareness. Are we willing to take charge and claim responsibility for our actions, or do we persistently deflect accountability and acquiesce to circumstance. One thing is clear; the endless dance presents countless opportunities to put your left foot in, or out. We decide how to play the game.
We are forever being called to begin over and over. How will we respond? Are we ready to catch it or shall it pass without regard? In "Begin the Begin," rock icon, Michael Stipe of R.E.M., sang, "Birdie in the hand / for life's rich demand / The insurgency began / and you missed it." We may not realize it, but every moment requires a response that is either life-affirming or -denying. The choice is ours. Shall we be mindful enough to take hold of life?
Perhaps this is what the gospel is exhorting us to this morning. Jesus is confronted with a solicitous invalid begging for a chance to begin again. The divine, recognizing his determination, scandalously reaches out to him. Because he denies his limitations and asks, he is given an opportunity.
As the choir lines up before the service we are given our chance. On the wall outside the choir master's office, there is a quote from Goethe which reads, "There is one elementary truth, the ignorance of which kills countless ideas and splendid plans: That the moment one definitely commits oneself, Providence moves too…Whatever you can do, begin it. Boldness has genius, power, and magic in it. Begin it now." There is no other time than now to change your life, and impact another's, forever.
love, always,
pia
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