Sound Theology by Colleen Butcher

Ravel is often regarded as one of France’s finest classical composers. Although he (and Debussy) rejected the label “impressionist,” his compositions during the early 20^th century did define a shift in technique and approach, both for instrumental music and orchestral works. read more…

             If you turn on ESPN and the commentators are waxing poetic about “athletes,” you can be pretty sure that they are not talking about musicians. But the definition of athlete, according to Merriam-Webster is “someone who is skilled in (activities) that require physical strength, agility, or stamina.” Dr. Gottfried Schlaug, Director of the Music, Neuroimaging and Stroke Recovery Lab at Harvard Medical School calls musicians “auditory motor athletes.” Musicians have highly developed auditory and motor processes and have trained themselves to translate this knowledge through their bodies to their instruments. This requires mental and physical strength, agility, and stamina. read more…

The second Sunday after Epiphany reminds us of a wedding in Cana. A wedding—probably unremarkable in most ways—that revealed an unexpected side of Jesus. This wedding tells of the first of Jesus’ miracles. Although incarnation is the grounding of our connection with him, the gospel writers want to highlight the connection Jesus had with his father. The fruit of his relationship with the father produces miracles!

Unexpected miracles in the midst of uncertainty.  read more…

Long before there was a Bible in every home, and before words and printed text had irrevocably shaped human learning, there were pictures—art that told stories.

In particular, the great cathedrals of Europe give us glorious examples of how stained glass windows were designed to tell the biblical stories for generations who learned by listening and seeing. Many of these magnificent buildings, with their picture-story windows, still stand for us to admire. They also provide us the opportunity to put aside the paper-text stories for a time, and engage our imaginations. We can practice “reading” the images, searching for mysteries that the text does not reveal, but the image might. read more…

In these last days of Christmas, it is challenging to stay focused. The world has moved on. Folks are exhausted from the parties, the Valentine’s chocolates have appeared in the stores, and the Christmas decorations are dumped in the back corner of the clearance shelves.

But the lectionary calls us to Christmas themes of rejoicing and revelation. We rejoice because the light of the world has been revealed. Darkness has been pierced by the Light, the one we longed for has come and our waiting is over. read more…