Today is Thanksgiving Day, so here’s a journal from my archives. It comes from November 2001, just after 9/11.
Thankful,
Phil
When Thomas Edison turned the crank of the first phonograph, stunned people for the first time in history heard the sound of their own voices. The poor heard music designed for kings. Those who had never met a President heard him from one of the wax records. The voice of an opera singer or the laughter of a comedian could be played whenever, wherever a person desired.
But as remarkable as Edison’s contraption was, some of the most famous artists of his day would not condescend to allow their music to be recorded by such a crude instrument. The reason why—the Edison phonograph produced almost as much background noise as it did recorded sound.
The wind up motor that drove the turntable ground like a meat grinder—grrrrrrr. And the diamond needle scratching across the cylinder hissed like a leaking tire—hssssss.
Today we have iPods that produce pure sound. But in the early days along with the sound of the music came the grrrrrrr of the motor and the hssssss of the needle.
The other morning our family was getting up for Sunday church. Sunday starts at 4.30am for the McCallum’s. Levi has to be at his lighting ministry by 6.00am, Laurel at the children’s ministry by 6.30am, as well as Leslie and I for 7.00am. As they piled in the car there was a lot of grrrrrrr and hssssss in the background. (In case you’re thinking I’m the one who drags the kids out of bed at 4.30am, it was actually their idea to serve in these ministries.)
It was then that I remembered the old Edison phonograph that I have stored back in Australia. I told the kids what I just wrote for you to read. Then I added, “Our lives are producing something far more important than music. We are playing our testimony of Jesus in the work that we do for him. We may be doing the work for him, but are we adding background noise of grumbling and complaining. People may see a little bit of Jesus in us, but in the background they hear a lot of grrrrrrr and hssssss as well.â€
Something must have been absorbed into their souls, because before long I heard laughter from the back seat. We may have even sung a song as we drove through the pre-dawn darkness. There is nothing like an MP3 rendition of our service for Jesus with no background hiss, just pure sound.
“And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.†Colossians 3:17
This has been a tough year for the United States. I read on one church sign the topic of this week’s sermon, “What’s Left of Thanksgiving?†I detected a sound of grrrrr and hssss in the background.
With the attack on the twin towers and the present state of war on terrorism it is a time many Americans are huddling close together to count their blessings.
We’ll be sharing Thanksgiving with a number of families including the Lockwood family. Glen has just returned from New York where he was the second in charge for the American Red Cross’ operations at Ground Zero in Manhattan.
Coming from the centre of the disaster one would think there would be much background noise of complaint to serve in such a disaster. But in talking with Glen shortly after he returned I didn’t hear a single scratch. Glen spoke in hushed tones of thankful awe that he had been allowed to participate in the disaster relief. He told of his sense of regret to leave and the sense of responsibility he left behind.
If Glen could serve at Ground Zero “in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him†then it must be possible to reproduce the life of Jesus without interference whatever our condition might be.
I hope you have a happy Thanksgiving, not just in name only but in practice. Try it, you’ll be amazed how good it makes you feel. Most of all the Lord will enjoy it and others will thank you as well.
