At this very moment, somewhere across the earth, the sun is rising on a new day. And somewhere else, the sun is setting on a day just completed. Dawn to dusk, day to night, we move forward along life’s pathway.
Amid change and confusion, life gives us a few things upon which we can depend, perhaps none as dependable as sunrises and sunsets. And just as surely as the freshness of morning turns into the energy of midday, which in turn gives way to the tranquility of evening, we get older, we change, we learn and grow. In the course of a lifetime, we have so many opportunities to witness and experience these daily reminders of the rhythm of life.
We may long for another season of life and wonder when the current season will end. Or we may look back on a past season and wonder how it ended so quickly. As one couple said, “It seems like just yesterday our children were little, and now in an instant they’re gone.” Sometimes when we’re in the middle of those years with young children we wonder if they will ever end. But end they do, and so soon.
In a sense, we’re all in the “middle” of our lives. We have a past that played a part in shaping us, we’re living life now, and we have a future of some kind ahead of us. That future may be hard to see or appreciate with the pressing demands of the present hour. But the future comes, and so soon.
The unrelenting pattern of sunrises and sunsets reassures us that life goes on. No matter what happens today, the sunset will bring the day to its natural close, and tomorrow’s sunrise will welcome a new one. In the meantime, let us embrace more fully the present hour, whatever our season of life may be.
Program #4224
Musical Selections:
1. O Clap Your Hands
John Rutter; Oxford University Press
2. The Lord My Pasture Will Prepare
Dmitiri Bortniansky, arr. Mack Wilberg; Arrangement Unpublished
3. Antiphon V; How Fair and How Pleasant Thou Art (Organ solo)
Marcel Dupré; H. W. Gray
4. Gloria, from Mass in D
Antonin Dvorák, transcribed by Warner Imig; Carl Fischer
5. God Filled the World with Harmony
Janice Kapp Perry; John V. Pearson & Janice Kapp Perry
6. Spoken Word
7. Sunrise, Sunset, from Fiddler on the Roof
Jerry Bock, arr. Arthur Harris; Arrangement Unpublished
8. Reedemer of Israel
Freeman Lewis, arr. Mack Wilberg; Hinshaw Music