Community seen in music

I was part of a team meeting for an Emmaus walk today. Part of the agenda was singing. The music team decided to end this section of the agenda with the song Sanctuary, but the keyboardist didn't have the music for it. She said, "Wait just a minute." I don't know what to call what she did, but she fiddled around for just a minute on the keyboard, playing chords, and then said, "OK," while the song leader nodded. Somehow, she had discovered the song on her keyboard (no written music), and she started playing it.

So we sang it through once, and then, at a whisper from the song leader, the keyboardist played the beginning chords of the song as we started through it again, and then she stopped, while we sang a cappella.

It was beautiful, the voices combining together, singing as one.

As I think about it, I think the experience says something about community.

1. One or two people with talents and gifts, when they share them, can lead the community to do something we could never have done without their gifts.
2. As the keyboardist dropped out, she humbled herself to the leadership of the song leader. In her silence on her instrument, she allowed beauty to spring forth without her. There are times when our silence -- our withdrawal -- is what the community needs
3. As a community, we can create something beautiful just by listening to each other -- the timing, the notes -- we just followed each other.
4. Together we can create worship and praise of God.