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Carol and I went to a concert at Wheaton College Artists Series last night. It featured The King's Singers who were concluding a three-and-half-week US tour with this near sell-out performance. You may know their work - high quality capella singing. Just six men (two countertenors, one tenor, two baritones and one bass) filled the auditorium with beautiful harmony, in a wide variety of music ranging from medieval madrigals through to a Beatles number! Some of it was high-brow and (towards the end) low-brow. It was all very English - after all the group began in King's College Cambridge in 1968!
But the point of this posting is that the organizer of the Artist Series, Tony Payne, invited us to go in the interval to meet and greet the famous six, together with other members of the Artist Series Guild. As soon as the intermission began, Carol and I inched through the masses to find the door to backstage was barred by two determined students in tuxedos. They doubted that we had permission to go through, but one went and checked. He returned and said we were welcome to see them.
To our immense surprise (never mind their's) Carol and I spent the entire intermission with the singers undisturbed. They were delightful, reminiscing about English life. One singer had been to the same school as our boys in Blackburn, and now living near Cambridge has one child in a school where Carol taught as substitute teacher! I revelled in recalling my university music memories. They were extremely kind and interested in us, but also shared much about themselves. It was remarkable!
You can imagine how flushed with excitement we were returning to our seats, and how personally involved with them we felt for the second half. Aren't there some surprises in life? We puzzled why others didn't come through?
It struck me that the experience had something to say to me as I continue to write about the huge subject of Christian worship and the privilege of access. On the biggest scale, how can we really get close and involved when it comes to knowing and experiencing God? Yet, precisely through Christ, by the Holy Spirit, we are welcome into fellowship with God the Father. Now that is the most remarkable happening!
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The part that stuck me as you equate your experience to the priviledge that we each might enjoy because of Christ's sacrifice is that the masses might go but few did. Boldly, you and Carol asked to be given entrance and when denied initially, you mentioned the reason you thought you should have access. You had been invited by the organizer. Isn't that like it is for us as we approach God? The masses are there barred from entrance yet believers ask to be admitted explaining that we have our admission paid for and that we have been invited by the Creator. It really struck me powerfully. Yet the sad part is that the bulk of the crowd will not gain admittance although they, too, have been invited. They are chosing not to go like your members of the Guild. The analogy breaks down a bit but there are enough similiarities for it to speak to strongly to my heart.
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