A good concert is the result of many rehearsals, especially if the pieces to be performed are a true gem. There is just one concert but many rehearsals. Every practice is important. It is true that you do not always get the idea of what the work you are playing is like when you have to stop in the middle or when your attention is focused on a group of instruments with a complex score. The music does not sound like it should yet but we are working towards the finished result, we are progressing towards what the concert itself will be. During each rehearsal, both the individual musicians and the entire orchestra become familiar with the work until they know its most subtle nuances and each instrument forms a part of the whole. Director and musicians bring all the sounds together and enter the heart of the work and the purpose of the composer. They acquire dexterity, rapport and naturalness until the music flows in all its beauty. The rehearsal is the time to fall in love with what we play and to be deeply grateful for the opportunity to know a masterpiece from the inside.
Well, the Kingdom is built through constant rehearsals. The Kingdom is God’s gift, his dream and his commitment. To welcome it is to make it happen with our gestures, words and actions. Our whole life becomes a rehearsal of this immense work. Its score is the Gospel and the statutes and pastoral plans are its variations. Having the score does not mean that we already know how to play it. It is a process of making it mine together with others and giving it my all.
This is how Jesus lived. He announced that the Kingdom had come in Him. He let the Father give it to him, it became his dream and the reason for his life. His healings, his teachings, his relationship with others were all signs of the Kingdom that He was announcing which is to be shared by all when it becomes a complete reality. His life on this earth was a time of falling in love with everything that is a part of the Kingdom: mercy, the joy of simplicity, the love of God, trust in providence and brotherhood. Each day he expressed the love of the Father to the best of his ability with the nuances of love and trust in Him in every situation. He lived with the healthy nonconformity of an artist who wants to take care of every detail of a work of art. Serving for him meant rehearsing every day: learning, discovering, allowing himself to be questioned, giving the best of himself, moving forward. Like us, he did not see an eloquent result but he was confident that one day everything, absolutely everything would have been worth it. Because rehearsing doesn’t mean carrying out experiments to see what happens. It is about refining, perfecting and take care of every detail with the immense hope that “the Father has seen fit to give us the Kingdom”
Our life is full of moments that taste like the Kingdom. Sometimes they seem disjointed, like a breath of fresh air that encourages us but doesn’t seem to change much. They are moments of rehearsal where we taste briefly and incompletely something that will be eternal one day. At each stage of life we face new circumstances with initiatives that the Spirit seems to have awakened in us through our intuitions. There are just a few guidelines to follow accompanied by a great deal of hope and fear. It`s our rehearsal: it is walking through unknown territory, offering the best of ourselves and being faithful to the Gospel. And without realizing it, the Kingdom advances.
Many years ago my musical group took part in a competition. We had to play a composition that was premiering for the occasion. The composer formed part of the jury. When we had finished interpreting his work he approached us excitedly and said: I didn’t imagine it would be so beautiful! At the end of time, when everything is recapitulated in Christ, God will say the same thing to us. We will say it too.
Sr. Mª Carmen Izquierdo
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