Musicians…wow. As performers, we usually aim to have our “reward in full”. We want—no, LONG—to be known, seen, heard. We shamelessly seek the full attention of others, wrestling with “approval addiction,” as Rich illustrated in his sermon of April 14. In my early career, a conducting mentor once coached me, “Stop talking so much in rehearsal! This isn’t about YOU proving how much you know. The rehearsal is for THEIR work; turn the singers loose on the music with as little interruption from you as possible. Let THEM create.”
The spiritual discipline of secrecy (that is, doing your work for God and others in unseen, quiet ways) requires guidance, observation, and elusive examples. So where do we find these unseen life-patterns of service and giving? Who are our examples of those practices?
In Joppa there was a disciple named Tabitha (in Greek her name is Dorcas); she was always doing good and helping the poor. —Acts 9:36
The disciple Tabitha is first introduced as someone who is “always doing good….” Take an inventory of people or groups you know who are always doing good, making service a life-pattern. I can think of teachers, coaches, retired persons with their richness of wisdom and humility, women’s organizations, those who build Habitat homes, garden clubs—I could go on and on; so can you. The examples are all around us; they are people who don’t sing their own praises. In fact, they would rather not be in the proverbial limelight. Their examples are the quiet, shining light of the world, as Jesus taught. We just need to employ the practice of finding that light, seeking those people, and acting like them. They really are everywhere, and whether they intend it or not, they are the faithful presence of Christ in the world.