Devotion • September 18
Today’s Scripture Reading
Luke 16:1–13
Then Jesus said to the disciples, “There was a rich man who had a manager, and charges were brought to him that this man was squandering his property. So he summoned him and said to him, ‘What is this that I hear about you? Give me an accounting of your management because you cannot be my manager any longer.’ Then the manager said to himself, ‘What will I do, now that my master is taking the position away from me? I am not strong enough to dig, and I am ashamed to beg. I have decided what to do so that, when I am dismissed as manager, people may welcome me into their homes.’ So, summoning his master’s debtors one by one, he asked the first, ‘How much do you owe my master?’ He answered, ‘A hundred jugs of olive oil.’ He said to him, ‘Take your bill, sit down quickly, and make it fifty.’ Then he asked another, ‘And how much do you owe?’ He replied, ‘A hundred containers of wheat.’ He said to him, ‘Take your bill and make it eighty.’ And his master commended the dishonest manager because he had acted shrewdly, for the children of this age are more shrewd in dealing with their own generation than are the children of light. And I tell you, make friends for yourselves by means of dishonest wealth so that when it is gone they may welcome you into the eternal homes.
“Whoever is faithful in a very little is faithful also in much, and whoever is dishonest in a very little is dishonest also in much. If, then, you have not been faithful with the dishonest wealth, who will entrust to you the true riches? And if you have not been faithful with what belongs to another, who will give you what is your own? No slave can serve two masters, for a slave will either hate the one and love the other or be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and wealth.” (NRSV)
Reflection
“Whoever is faithful in a very little is faithful also in much.”
In his book Speaking of Pianists, the American pianist Abram Chasins (1903–1987) recounts going to visit Sergei Rachmaninov (1873–1943), one of the greatest pianists of all time, and hearing Rachmaninov practicing. Chasins writes, “I heard an occasional piano sound as I approached the cottage. I stood outside the door, unable to believe my ears. Rachmaninov was practicing Chopin’s ‘Etude in Thirds,’ but at such a snail’s pace that it took me awhile to recognize it, because so much time elapsed between each finger stroke and the next.” Chasins was “rivetted to the spot, quite unable to ring the bell,” and looked at his watch and reported that “twenty seconds per bar was [Rachmaninov’s] pace for almost an hour.” The piece normally takes about two minutes to play, but at Rachmaninov’s tempo it would have taken twenty minutes to get all the way through it.
All great musicians know that slow, thoughtful practice is what it takes to perform with brilliancy, conviction, and clarity. One must allow the music to be absorbed into the muscles, allowing muscle memory to soak it in. A musician must practice slowly so the brain can process all the information coming from the composer through the written notes on the page, listening to every detail, analyzing the chord progressions, the counterpoint of one line against another. One must practice slowly to allow the soul to know the meaning of the music, what the composer was yearning to communicate with each note and in the silence between each note. Only by taking the time to focus on every detail will the whole picture come together into a magnificent performance. But once the small details are faithfully thought through, only then can the music become a universe that can convey any emotion, any message. Only then can music bring truth, healing, and inspiration to transform a listener and to change the world.
Prayer
Eternal God, help me to focus on a small detail today that will make a difference in myself or someone else. Help me to be faithful in something very little so I can be faithful in much. Amen.
Written by John W. W. Sherer, Organist and Director of Music
Reflection and Prayer © Fourth Presbyterian Church
Devotion index by date | I’d like to receive daily devotions by email
YouTube
Podcasts
/fourthchurch
#fourthchurch
#fourthchurch
@fourthchicago