Acoustic Cafe

Meet David-the-Artist-Pastor. He's the pastor of Crosspointe in Carrollton. Wahlstedt's background is as a graphic artist. About every six weeks or so David organizes a very visual service called, "Acoustic Cafe." This week David focused on the mystery of God.

David and Kylie Knight--an extremely talented (and hilarious) husband/wife team--performed a series of illusions. Wahlstedt asked David what tbe most asked question is after a show, and David responded without pause, "How did you do that?"

Whether it is the scientific world we were raised in or simply human nature, we have a hard time appreciating the beauty of mystery. Watching David and Kylie onstage, it was far more fun to simply enjoy the wonder of the magic than to try to see the slight of hand.

Wahlstedt introduced us to a composition by Edward Elgar, the composer best known for the piece of music played at graduations everywhere, Pomp and Circumstance. Elgar penned another piece toward the end of his life commonly referred to as the "Enigma" Variations. Elgar dedicated the piece to "my friends pictured within", each variation being an affectionate portrayal of one of his circle of close acquaintances.

The "Enigma" of the title refers to two puzzles. The first puzzle is to determine which of Elgar's friends each variation represents. There also is a second, hidden theme, upon which all variations are based, which is never heard. In a note he wrote for the first performance, Elgar declared: The enigma I will not explain - its 'dark saying' must be left unguessed, and I warn you that the apparent connection between the Variations and the Theme is often of the slightest texture; further, through and over the whole set another and larger theme 'goes', but is not played.... So the principal Theme never appears, even as in some late dramas ... the chief character is never on stage.

Elgar died without revealing the explanation. Many great people over the years have tried to crack the code. And many theories have evolved for which common piece of music is the theme. Professor Ian Parrott, postulated that the "dark saying", and possibly the whole of the Enigma was related to 1 Corinthians 13:12 which reads: "videmus nunc per speculum in enigmate tunc autem facie ad faciem nunc cognosco ex parte tunc autem cognoscam sicut et cognitus sum." In English: "For now we see through a glass, darkly; but then face to face: now I know in part; but then shall I know even as also I am known.". This verse is from St. Paul's essay on love. The Enigmatic Theme that 'goes', but is not played" "through and over the whole set" is the great and central theme of love.

I left the service today considering my own ability to simply live in the mystery. Everything inside me wants to understand. Wants to know why. It is hard for me to simply trust God to do whatever it is that He is doing without His confiding in me.

No quippy last comment to wrap up this post. Still pondering the mystery.