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July 31, 2007
The Parable of the Orchestra
A certain king prepared an orchestra for his son’s wedding, that the orchestra might play a concert to honour his son at the wedding feast.
Everyone was invited to join the orchestra. To each person who accepted the invitation was given an instrument, that they should learn to play in harmony with everyone else.
Some of the players used their instruments every day, practising in preparation for the great day. They began to join with others to practice together, and they started playing in public. Some people laughed at them. But many loved the music. And some said they would come to the concert, and that they too wanted to learn to play.
Other players were too busy, or too afraid of people laughing at them, and so they practiced in secret, but never joined with other musicians to play in public. And so they never got as good as they should, and they never learned to play in harmony with an orchestra. And the people didn’t understand when they said they were musicians, for they never heard the music.
Still others wrapped up their instruments carefully and hid them in the cupboard so that they would not spoil. They were glad they had received the gift from the king, and that they were to be in the orchestra. But when others said they should use their instrument, they got angry. “The instrument is for the king’s feast. It is for his pleasure, not for the pleasure of the people”, they replied. “You think you can earn your place in the king’s orchestra. We cannot earn our place by being good enough – it is given to us. We should keep ourselves for that day.”
On the day of the great feast, the orchestra assembled. But there were those who brought their instrument, still shiny like new, but they were unable to play. And they were covered in shame on that day.
“Did I not freely give you your instrument and a place in my orchestra?” asked the king. “And should you not therefore have used your instrument for others, so that my concert hall might be full, and that a beautiful symphony might be played to honour my son? For it is in playing for others that you would have learned to play for me. But now you cannot play. So what now shall I do with you…?”
Tags: christianity church parables orchestra mission faith kingdom of god
Posted by Keith at July 31, 2007 01:25 PM
