On a recent visit to New Zealand, my grand daughter Natalie arranged for us to attend an evening featuring extracts from the great stage shows of the last fifty years: Lion King , Evita , Phantom of the Opera, The Impossible Dream, Les Mis and others. They were sung by a touring group of professionals who had been singing in these stage shows in London and New York.
Despite my being musically illiterate and incompetent, I enjoyed it immensely. Some might be ungracious enough to say that was why I enjoyed it! I don’t think so. I think it had something to do with presenting philosophy in a way that appeals both to the rational and emotional side of our being. Like many others I have become increasingly tired of the sterility of words alone, and the uselessness of emotion alone. In the musical stage show the two brought together. Instead of hopping along on one leg, we walk strongly on two.
When you come to think of it, isn’t that exactly what a hymn does? A hymn draws meaning and music together. That is why we sing them. This is also the basis of our time together this morning.
It is my hope that you will both enjoy it and find it meaningful.
So let the show begin!