Friday, April 12, 2024 His Presence
Friday, April 12, 2024:
Pause. Pray. Read. Be still. Write. Pray. Go about your day or turn in for the night.
Read: Luke 24:13-35 Let Him In
Their eyes were opened, and they recognized him,
but he disappeared from their sight. They said to each other,
“Weren’t our hearts on fire when he spoke to us along the road
and when he explained the scriptures for us?”…
The Lord really has risen!
Luke 24:31-32, 34, CEB
This story has hung in my memory for more than 20 years. *
In early 19th century Germany, the aged caretaker of a village church opened the door to a young army soldier. The soldier, headed to guard the country’s troubled borders, asked, “Would you please permit me to play your organ for just one hour?”
“I’m sorry young man,” the caretaker responded. “We permit only our organist to play this instrument.”
The soldier persisted. “Please, sir, a single hour is all I ask. I’ve heard so much about this organ. I have only 24 hours before I head to another province where the fighting is heavy. This may be my last chance in life to play it.”
Reluctantly the caretaker nodded, swung the church door open, and handed the soldier the key to unlock the ornate cabinet of the famed instrument.
As the soldier began to play, majestic chords billowed through the church and into the streets. Transfixed and brought to tears, the caretaker moved to sit in a pew. Townspeople gathered and flowed into the sanctuary to listen. For one hour, no one stirred. No one took their eyes off the young man at the keyboard.
When the soldier’s gifted fingers struck the last note of the hour, he stood and re-locked the cabinet. Making his way to the door, he humbly received compliments from the parishioners. “Thank you,” he whispered as he reached the caretaker and handed him the key.
“No,” said the caretaker. “Thank you. That was the most beautiful music these old ears have ever heard. What is your name?”
“My name is Felix,” replied the young soldier. “Felix Mendelssohn.”
The caretaker’s eyes widened as he realized whose celebrated hands he allowed to touch the organ. “And to think,” he wondered aloud, “the master was here, and I almost failed to give him the key!”
Reflect: Each Sunday as I watch our pianist’s (Eric Breon’s) fingers flow across the keyboard on the screen monitor, I realize … the Master is here. He’s present, knocking at the doors of each heart. Will you give Him the key? Will you let Him in?
Prayer: Lord God, full of grace, Forgive me for allowing rules, fears, and cautions distract me from recognizing when I am in Your Presence. I thank you for this new day, when I can begin again, giving you the key to my heart. Let Your gifted fingers play the music that will set my heart on fire. Let it transform me and inspire me to share with others, “The Lord really has risen!” and he is here. In the name of my Master Lord Jesus, I pray, Amen.
By His Grace,
Gloria
*Accessed on Bible.org and quoted from Ron Lee Davis, Courage to Begin Again (Harvest House Publishers, Eugene, OR; 1978), pp. 184-186.