Dayenu in Advent...

Last night ~ at band practice ~ I experienced a little of the sounds of heaven on earth: my church band, which keeps getting tighter and more creative, worked on two songs that left me in awe.  The first, Over the Rhine's incredible "Trumpet Child," features Dianne on vocals with Jon on harmonies; Carlton nails the jazz piano and our friend, Charlie, is sitting in on sax.  But we also have a young trumpet player, too and "Edge" is simply all over his part leaving me full to overflowing.

Then we worked on Linda Worster's hauntingly beautiful, "Peace on Earth." And once we got the PA/guitar amp in balance, the singers' three part harmonies lifted me beyond this realm. I hope we can record this tune ~ and do it with Linda sometime soon, too ~ because it truly is heavenly.  And when the singers gathered around the piano with the sax and worked out some jazz settings for Christmas carols on Christmas Eve all I could do (after moving some poinsettias) was sit and soak it all in: "this is what heaven sounds like," I kept thinking to myself, "beauty upon beauty."

Tomorrow I'll do an early morning Christmas show with some friends, follow up on details for Christmas Eve, stop by the hospital to visit a friend's mother who is slowly letting go of life, do choir practice and close the day with drinks with Andy and Sue.  That sounds like a sweet way to welcome the Solstice. I'll even get a chance to see one of my daughters as she passes through town on her way to Cleveland for the holiday.

Today at midday Eucharist, when we read the Psalm 124 we all agreed it sounded like the Jewish Passover prayer: dayenu.  It would have been enough...

If God hadn't been for us —all together now, Israel, sing out!—
If God hadn't been for us
when everyone went against us,
We would have been swallowed alive
by their violent anger,
Swept away by the flood of rage,
drowned in the torrent;
We would have lost our lives
in the wild, raging water.

Oh, blessed be God!
He didn't go off and leave us.
He didn't abandon us defenseless,
helpless as a rabbit in a pack of snarling dogs.

We've flown free from their fangs,
free of their traps, free as a bird.
Their grip is broken;
we're free as a bird in flight.
God's strong name is our help,
the same God who made heaven and earth.


For a moment, I felt like it would have been enough to let go of life after last night's music... but God's grace is greater and there was today ~ and tomorrow ~ and soon Christmas Eve. Dayenu!