Conversation Between Jesus and a Modern-Day Christian
Interesting, thought-provoking dialogue - h/t to Michael H.
"Strange.. I would have guessed that my followers were those who… follow me."
"Strange.. I would have guessed that my followers were those who… follow me."
posted by Michael | 7:23 AM
5 Comments:
Say, I came across your blog while searching for something else cello-related and was struck by some of your references. I was in the cello section at Concordia 1986-1990...are you Mickey? The guy who used the half-a-rubber-ball as a cello stop?
If so, I was one of the annoying freshmen- Naomi. If not, can you help me place you? Just wondering.
Hi, Naomi, and I'm glad you found your way here! Yes, I'm Mickey! I didn't recall that I was still using the half-a-rubber-ball by then, since Nathaniel Rosen had coached me against that in a master class in 1985 (I can be a slow learner sometimes ... ).
I remember you well - feel free to drop by again, & I'd be curious what you're up to these days. I have an apology, too - once when I made a visit to Cobberland a couple of years after I graduated, I made a "quip" that referred in a condescending way to the fact that you were a younger-than-average college student, and I feel bad about that, since after being good friends it must have hurt that I treated you like less than a peer. So, I'm sorry.
I used to have an extremely interesting link about another cobber cellist you know, Vance Z, who has become a composer of Korngold-type music, and guest-conducted the Concordia Orchestra in 2002 - I'll try & post a picture I have one of these times.
Thanks again for saying hello!
I just stopped back to see if you'd read my post, and I'm glad you remember me. It is hard to believe how long ago it was, really. I taught public school orchestra for about 10 years, and now I have a studio of private string students at home. I'm married with three kids, and I play cello as much as I am able to. I do a lot of chamber music coaching & playing; it's my passion, really, to get kids aware of and interested in playing chamber music. I'm in Grand Forks, ND (the "other Dakota"). I stay in touch with Elaine Anderson- she teaches cello at a college in Ohio now. I think she actually forwarded me something about Vance at one point.
So you're a pastor now- I remember now that you had planned on that route. I don't know if you recall, but my dad was a pastor; he is actually now the bishop of the Eastern ND synod of the ELCA, so I get to see him quite a bit as he's up this way for various things. Haven't heard how things are down in SD, but I hope they are going well.
I honestly don't remember your ever saying anything offensive to me, so I'm sorry that's bothered you. I got many comments from people that I knew weren't mean-spirited, so I never let them stay with me.
I haven't really gone back to Concordia much. My parents live in Moorhead so it never seemed like a big deal. I think I'll try to make it for a Christmas concert one of these years.
Take care; it's fun to know you still play cello!
Naomi
What kinds of thoughts did the dialog provoke? :-)
Thanks for asking, jwise. Some of the thoughts it provoked in my mind include the first phrase of Matt. 28:20, part of the "Great Commission" - "and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you." The fact is, Christians as a whole (myself included) fall far short of obeying everything Jesus has commanded us. Awhile back I had a conversation with an older man who first pointed out Mt. 28:20, then said he wanted me to think about what particular thing Jesus commanded that people in churches are disobeying. It was a frustrating question, since he seemed to be asking me to identify the one thing he had in mind (which turned out to be healing the sick). Because, there's a whole slug of things that Jesus commanded that are neglected by those bearing His name. I didn't think this man was displaying the spiritual fruit of patience (Gal. 5:22) by expecting me to pick out, with no further clues, the right disobedience out of a list of hundreds (my number one guess was lack of prayer), but that doesn't mean I disagreed with everything the man said.
Anyway, one thing the dialog reminded me of was that being a follower means obeying. It also brings to mind how in Christendom we've created a whole jargon which isn't always derived from the Bible itself. For example, in the dialog Jesus says, "First, I never told ANYONE to “ask me into his heart”." I remember once being at a Michael Card concert in which he said something like this: "People often talk about inviting Christ into their life, but tonight I'm going to talk about how Jesus invites us into His life."
More could be said, but those are a few of the thoughts it provoked in my mind.
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