Beethoven, Bacharach, Brahms, The
Beatles, and …Boy Scouts? Alliteration
aside, one may be wondering what exactly these things have to do with a
pilgrimage to the Holy Land. On Tuesday
night several of the pilgrims ventured down to St. Catherine’s for the 11th
Annual Christmas Concert for Life and Peace from Bethlehem. A local Boy Scout Troop ushered in hundreds
of people for a night of classical music, along with some contemporary music,
performed by the Palestinian Youth Orchestra and a few world-class
musicians. For two hours the church was
converted into a concert hall that resonated with beautifully performed
music. The Franciscan superior in charge
of the Custody of the Holy Land wrote in the program that “when music becomes
an instrument of Peace, it changes your perspective as a listener.”
The
program is meant to convey a message of hope; a message very fitting as we draw
closer to Christmas. Part of the
pilgrimage experience has been immersing ourselves in the local culture through
food, marketplaces, prayer and general interactions with others. This concert showed that certain things can
and will transcend any culture and be
all-encompassing. Music, played from the
heart as a sign of hope, can speak to all of us. As Advent comes to a close, let us all be
reminded of the joyful hope that comes with the birth of our Savior on Sunday
morning.
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