LIFE AS MUSIC

I recently wrote an op-ed piece as an assignment for a class I am taking through Mars Hill Church in Seattle. That article can be seen here. The assignment was to interpret and comment on a particular aspect of culture from a Christian worldview. I have invited some of my friends from the Albuquerque portion of the class to share their papers as a guest post on this blog. I will be sharing some of their pieces over the next few weeks. As a side note, several of their papers deal specifically with Albuquerque culture. However, all of them have some great insights that are relevant and applicable to a variety of cultures. Enjoy!

LIFE AS MUSIC

WHAT TUNE DO YOU PLAY WHEN LIFE IS HARD? 

by Stephen A. Mirabal

Recently, living in the northern San Juan Basin has been a roller-coaster of difficulty. In the midst of this hardship, I believe that knowing ‘who we are’ and ‘whose we are’ in this piece of music called ‘life,’ will give us the answer we have all been looking for-Jesus Christ. By allowing him to shape us as musicians, we can be harmonious and effective in this life.

Music is an integral part of my life as well as our beautiful region. Unfortunately for me, music hasn’t always been my forte. My first guitar lesson I was horrible. I would obnoxiously glide my guitar pick against the ridges of the strings to annoy the other students. I’m not sure I even understood what melodies or harmonies were, much less improvisation!

I was sitting in my room playing my guitar along with a CD one day and finally began feeling my role within its flowing ethos of beautiful melody and tonal structures; I finally fit. Merriam-Webster defines harmony as, “the structure of music with respect to the composition and progression of chords”. It was an incredible feeling to have harmonious purpose in playing an instrument rather than a ridiculous unmusical noise. I feel the same about life. Until we have this ‘light-bulb’ moment, we will continue to be out of sync with the players around us. Completely out of tune and off-rhythm.

The difficulties of this area are vast and multifaceted, but pinpointing a few would be helpful for anyone to know how to respond appropriately and learn to play our tune within our cultural musical arrangement.

The first and most obvious trial we are facing as a region is the sinking price of natural gas, which is the economic stream for this area.  Jason Sandel, a local leader in natural gas production, has said, “If we can't find work for the rigs, then the employees will have to be displaced…” For a lot of us, this is bad news, especially when a business leader is predicting lay-offs. When news is not so good, we often find what is important to us in how we respond. Unfortunately, we often respond with fear, which will only lead to more confusion and dissonance. Whenever someone needs to improvise in music, we need to know what chord structure is expected before we can play along. This is the same in life. God, the Composer of Life, has a song for us to play. Active listening is faith and prayer. An orchestra with no faith in their composer is an inharmonious orchestra at best. The role we should play in times of uncertainty is the act of faith. Faith in Jesus Christ to hold things together, and trust in the Holy Spirit to lead.

Another crippling aspect hurting our communities is suicide and related mental health concerns, such as depression. The CDC reports the San Juan Basin to be a critical point of suicide. New Mexico is the 5^th highest in the nation for suicide, with Colorado right behind as 8^th highest. This is heart breaking. A close friend recently told me what we all hear so often before a suicide incident, “He was normal all day. Then I got the phone call. I just don’t understand why he would do it”. So many people around us, made in the image of God, are hurting. The poor response is to quit. We often feel the need to have perfect answers. What tune will we play in the midst of such pain and heartache for those and from those who are affected everyday by death and depression? Where do we begin to understand this arrangement?

We must ask ourselves, “In life’s song, if we are to be harmonious together, who is the author and composer?” I believe God-the triune God of Moses, Abraham, Peter and Paul-is the composer. We must follow His tune. Any other way leads to death.

The truth is that life can only come from the One who has conquered death: Jesus Christ. In 1 Corinthians it says, ^“When the perishable puts on the imperishable, and the mortal puts on immortality, then shall come to pass the saying that is written: ‘Death is swallowed up in victory.’ ‘O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?”  Bringing life into dead places is the role of those who call themselves followers of Jesus Christ. Bringing shalom, order and peace, is the best thing we can do for our broken and hurting world that is full of uncertainty and pain.

Whose music are we playing? What tune are we choosing to play along with? I hope it’s to the tune of Jesus our Lord, the composer of our faith.

Stephen Mirabal is a Worship Minister at First United Methodist Church in Farmington, New Mexico. His beautiful wife of 7 years, Brittany, is a photographer. They share life together with their 3 children; Lillian, Shepherd, and River.