Rhythm and Syncopation
My friend Rusty Butler is pastor of Christ UMC in Salt Lake City. He recently reflected on our new state of being...and I am blatantly stealing and playing with his idea:
The rhythm of our lives has been upset. From orientation to disorientation to reorientation...the cycle repeats itself almost on a daily basis. That too is the story of the Final Week, as Jesus moves from event to event and he and the disciples keep having to reorient to a new way of being. During these out-of-sync days, I hope that you will find some light to hold onto and to share with each other....
I'm a musician. When I read about rhythm--I automatically think about music. Here are a three definitions of rhythm:
1. movement, fluctuation, or variation marked by the regular recurrence or natural flow of related elements (Merriam-Webster)
2. movement or procedure with uniform or patterned recurrence of a beat or accent (Cambridge)
3. a regularly repeated pattern of sounds or beats used in music, poems and dances (American)
For the most part, when we think of rhythm, we're thinking of regular, repeated, dependable patterns. Musicians depend on the rhythm of a piece of music to be it's framework--the element that holds everyone together and moves us forward. Farmers and gardeners and outdoors people might perceive the rhythm of the seasons flowing one into the other, dependably cycling through the year. We all have certain rhythms and patterns that we embrace: our morning routine; our weekly family dinner; our evening walk; the regular patterns of our work. We are familiar with the rhythms of life...and for the most part, we like and depend on them.
So what happens when the rhythm changes? When things that used to fit so well together are suddenly out of place? When our expectations for our lives are called into question?
That's when we are asked to embrace syncopation:
1. a temporary displacement of the regular metrical accent in music caused typically by stressing the weak beat (Merriam-Webster)
2. rhythms which are in some way unexpected, used to convey an off-beat feel to music (Dictionary.com)
Syncopation is what moves us from straight 4/4 marching time into creative and off-beat sounds. Syncopation moves us from classical music to jazz or reggae or blues music. Syncopation is what inspires us to dance the rhumba or tango or salsa. It shakes us out of the easy and expected pattern of music...and of life.
Now...I love to dance...in the privacy of my own living room with the drapes closed! I'm shy about dancing in public, and I really don't have the body coordination to master salsa dancing. But I do love to play and sing syncopated music. It's fun when the rhythm of a song surprises you with unexpected syncopation.
So why does it feel so much less fun when syncopation comes to real life? My friend Rusty is right--the regular rhythms of our lives have shifted into syncopation without our permission to do so. The flow of our days and our actions has been completely disrupted. And there is not a darn thing we can do about it! This novel coronavirus is definitely novel--it's throwing all kinds of novelty and newness and syncopation our way. Just when we have our heads wrapped around one set of instructions for how to live our lives--a whole new set of recommendations comes our way.
Orientation--Disorientation--Reorientation. Rhythm--Syncopation--New Rhythm.
And when the situation is completely beyond our individual, human control, our only real option is to learn to dance to a new, syncopated tune.
Romans 12:2
Don’t be conformed to the patterns of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your minds so that you can figure out what God’s will is—what is good and pleasing and mature.
Prayer Requests: continued prayers for the Stauffer family on Cheryl's death and Kirk's illness; for healing for Loretta Booth and Connie White and others with physical illness; for protection for those vulnerable to domestic violence; for our Dineh brothers and sisters as the infection rate increases on the Navajo Nation and among other indigenous peoples; for all of the medical and emergency personnel, especially Jennifer Gaddis, Tye Sprague, Chris Luddington, Jordan Haley. Please let me know additional names of medical, EMT, police personnel so we can include them in our prayers.
PROGRAM NOTE: Pastor Jean will be online on Sunday morning, April 5th at 10am. You will be able to join the online gathering by following the link that I'll send in a separate email. You can join by computer or telephone. We'll have a brief time of fellowship and worship for Palm Sunday.
Peace and all good,
Pastor Jean
The rhythm of our lives has been upset. From orientation to disorientation to reorientation...the cycle repeats itself almost on a daily basis. That too is the story of the Final Week, as Jesus moves from event to event and he and the disciples keep having to reorient to a new way of being. During these out-of-sync days, I hope that you will find some light to hold onto and to share with each other....
I'm a musician. When I read about rhythm--I automatically think about music. Here are a three definitions of rhythm:
1. movement, fluctuation, or variation marked by the regular recurrence or natural flow of related elements (Merriam-Webster)
2. movement or procedure with uniform or patterned recurrence of a beat or accent (Cambridge)
3. a regularly repeated pattern of sounds or beats used in music, poems and dances (American)
For the most part, when we think of rhythm, we're thinking of regular, repeated, dependable patterns. Musicians depend on the rhythm of a piece of music to be it's framework--the element that holds everyone together and moves us forward. Farmers and gardeners and outdoors people might perceive the rhythm of the seasons flowing one into the other, dependably cycling through the year. We all have certain rhythms and patterns that we embrace: our morning routine; our weekly family dinner; our evening walk; the regular patterns of our work. We are familiar with the rhythms of life...and for the most part, we like and depend on them.
So what happens when the rhythm changes? When things that used to fit so well together are suddenly out of place? When our expectations for our lives are called into question?
That's when we are asked to embrace syncopation:
1. a temporary displacement of the regular metrical accent in music caused typically by stressing the weak beat (Merriam-Webster)
2. rhythms which are in some way unexpected, used to convey an off-beat feel to music (Dictionary.com)
Syncopation is what moves us from straight 4/4 marching time into creative and off-beat sounds. Syncopation moves us from classical music to jazz or reggae or blues music. Syncopation is what inspires us to dance the rhumba or tango or salsa. It shakes us out of the easy and expected pattern of music...and of life.
Now...I love to dance...in the privacy of my own living room with the drapes closed! I'm shy about dancing in public, and I really don't have the body coordination to master salsa dancing. But I do love to play and sing syncopated music. It's fun when the rhythm of a song surprises you with unexpected syncopation.
So why does it feel so much less fun when syncopation comes to real life? My friend Rusty is right--the regular rhythms of our lives have shifted into syncopation without our permission to do so. The flow of our days and our actions has been completely disrupted. And there is not a darn thing we can do about it! This novel coronavirus is definitely novel--it's throwing all kinds of novelty and newness and syncopation our way. Just when we have our heads wrapped around one set of instructions for how to live our lives--a whole new set of recommendations comes our way.
Orientation--Disorientation--Reorientation. Rhythm--Syncopation--New Rhythm.
And when the situation is completely beyond our individual, human control, our only real option is to learn to dance to a new, syncopated tune.
Romans 12:2
Don’t be conformed to the patterns of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your minds so that you can figure out what God’s will is—what is good and pleasing and mature.
Prayer Requests: continued prayers for the Stauffer family on Cheryl's death and Kirk's illness; for healing for Loretta Booth and Connie White and others with physical illness; for protection for those vulnerable to domestic violence; for our Dineh brothers and sisters as the infection rate increases on the Navajo Nation and among other indigenous peoples; for all of the medical and emergency personnel, especially Jennifer Gaddis, Tye Sprague, Chris Luddington, Jordan Haley. Please let me know additional names of medical, EMT, police personnel so we can include them in our prayers.
PROGRAM NOTE: Pastor Jean will be online on Sunday morning, April 5th at 10am. You will be able to join the online gathering by following the link that I'll send in a separate email. You can join by computer or telephone. We'll have a brief time of fellowship and worship for Palm Sunday.
Peace and all good,
Pastor Jean
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