Let Us Praise God With Drums and Dancing
What do you see in the above photograph? The Congo drums are obvious. Six drums. Various sizes. Various sounds. Busy hands are beating out the rhythm and the men's voices are loudly shouting the melody across the room. The room is full of sound, and the sound waves are rocking and socking. The man sitting in the center of the photo is the leader. He is the brains, the gift, the drive, the catalyst for "it" all. "It" wouldn't happen without someone who was as gifted as this young man. The group of men and women singers sang happily for more than an hour, but this young man was the sparkplug for all the music and dancing. He was a teacher, a leader, "a professional" who did other gigs around this region of the country. He was good, good not only at the drums but good at mobilizing other people to bring and share their own gifts of dancing and singing. He knew how to bring out the best from his younger friends so they could put on a production for the visiting guests from LWR.
It seems to be the same wherever you go. No matter where you go on this earth, you discover people who have sets of gifts that are similar to the people you know from home. I "knew" this young man in my own parish. The musician. The catalyst. The sparkplug. The man (or woman) who made it happen! Who made the ministry happen! Who made the music happen! Who made the Sunday School pageant happen! Who made the homeless ministry happen! Behind every successful event, there seems to be a leader or several leaders to "pull it off." God seems to work through a coalition of leaders and workers who meld together to make "it" happen.
Why is it that young people love the rhythm and sound of drums so much? Why do young families and children fill our sanctuary when the Gospel is filled with rhythm and beat? Is it the beating of the human heart? The beating of the drums? The rhythms of the Gospel?
LET US PRAY: Lord Jesus. We are forever thanking you for the goodness that you bring to our lives. We thank you for life itself, for your Presence in our daily lives. We thank you for all the gifted men and women we have known who have made this world and our world better. We thank you for the rhythms of the Gospel and the sounds of your Presence. In Jesus Name.
