Handel was there

When I was 11 or 12 my parents took me to see Handel's Messiah at their alma mater. It was my first time, and I will never forget it. All the college's choral groups raised their voices together in that marvelous college chapel. I'm so grateful my parents instilled in me a love for quality music (of all types), and especially this most beautiful and historic pieces of all, possibly the greatest choral work of all time.

So with joyful anticipation I went to our church's performance this past weekend. I knew Handel himself would be there, but I didn't know the affect it would have on me. Stringed instruments from our city symphony joined with the multi churched choir in a candlelit auditorium. Intermixed with the music were short dramas of Handel writing the Messiah. I knew he agonized over it, and that God worked in his life as he wrote, but this made it all so real. Surely was he not only a genius, but used by God. What a time of worship it was for all of us who were there. And as we listened to the beauty from his pen, we saw a shadow of him feverishly writing at his desk. (All completed in three weeks.)

The drama made clear his burden for the poverty-stricken. He was keen on social justice, and during his lifetime, performances of this majestic music raised enormous amounts of money for the poor. And that continues to this day. Last night we took an offering for a local charity.