I was talking with a student last night and I hit upon a metaphor for my faith life that really appeals to me right now. Be warned that I haven't completely thought this through so please don't expect it to be an airtight theology but rather a loose metaphor through which to examine my relationship with God. Maybe, after I've given it enough thought and prayer, it will become more in time.
I dig jazz. At first I liked jazz because it could swing but now I like it for a lot deeper reason. I like jazz because it is improvisational. It is organic. The musicians agree to live by a couple of rules as they play together. The agree on a time signature (i.e.-how the beat goes), a key in which they are going to play and what chord changes are going to happen. Beyond these "rules" the musicians are allowed to play in any fashion that strikes their fancy. The key to good jazz is that the musicians collaborate to create something organic that flows from the community. Each player, if the music is going to be any good, has to listen to what the other players are expressing and respect that in their playing. Each player is, in their time, given the freedom to express themselves with the support of the other players.
There are a couple of things that make the music a lot better. The first is that each musician understands the basics of music. They know how to play their instrument in a technically competent way. This is achieved through practice which may take hours each day or may take a number of years to reach a point where they can interact within the group. They must understand the history of the musical form. If they want to play Kind of Blue, they have to know how Miles played it and how other musicians played it to understand the structure of the composition and how they can work with it. Finally, they have to know and respect the other musicians that they work with. They have to be able to trust the other musicians. When you have a group of artists that have these things, the music they create in the moment is more beautiful than anything that is carefully scripted and planned out. The beauty in the work is that it forms organically out of the experiences, moods, talents and desires of each of the players both in an individual and a collective sense.
I think our relationship with God is lot like jazz. God gives us some broad rules within which we must live but He leaves a lot of room for interpretation. He wants to come into a relationship with us that allow us to, with Him, improvisationally create our lives. To do this well we have to know the basics of the faith and work to become aware of those rules that God imposes on the music of our lives and how they affect and influence our "playing". We should understand the journeys of those who have gone before us. We are not the first to have come this way, and those who have gone before us offer much about what works and what doesn't; what is in harmony with God and what is painfully dissonant. Finally, we must come into relationship with God to a point where we not only respect Him but that we can trust that when He takes the music in a direction, we can follow His lead and if we decide to explore a path that is within the boundaries of the rules, He willl follow us there.
Once we do this, our life with God can become a wonderful improvisation. I wonder if, when Jesus told those gathered around Him not to worry, this is what He meant. I wonder if He was telling us that together He and they would create through improvisation a beautiful work of art out of the lives they lived. I like the thought of life as jazz; that I can come into relationship with God and He, the creator of all things, will work with me to make something that is truly unique in all the universe. That while He could do it without me, He has asked me to "sit in" and make something unique to my experiences, the talents He has blessed me with, my moods and our desires.
Here's a quote I found that maybe sums some of this up:
"Jazz music suggests an astonishing range of human expression. A jazz quartet can utter things in the presence of God that words cannot express."--BIll Carter
Just some thoughts.
Thanks for Reading.
