In Sync

As my son and the other school band members played at their concert, I enjoyed the music. But at the grand finale, several students played too fast while others lagged behind. The song became noisy and disjointed. The conductor signalled for them to stop. She tapped the baton on her music stand and announced, ‘From 52!’ Finding the bar number in their scores, watching her and then listening to each other this time, the children finished the song as one.

Similarly, we are often out of sync when making decisions in church. Though we’ve made a common commitment to Christ, we don’t always think and plan alike. When we allow pride, ego and envy to create discord, noisy dissonance is the result. But I’ve found that during those times when our visions for the church don’t align, we can find harmony once again if we follow the lead of the Holy Spirit and accept others with humility and gentleness.

In our communities of faith, conflicts will come up and we may fall out of sync along the way. When that happens, we can pay attention to the guidance of our patient and loving Conductor. We can listen to one another and pick up where we left off, going forward with unity through the bond of peace (see Ephesians 4:3).

Prayer: Peace-loving Father, in times of conflict, show us how to be in sync with your Spirit. Amen