St. Andrew's Presbyterian Church

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Thessalonians:  Saint Paul’s Opus

1 Thessalonians 2:1-8

October 23, 2005

1. This is a test, but it’s only a test – don’t be afraid! In 1995, Richard Dreyfus starred in a movie about a man who wanted more than anything else to compose a magnificent work of music, an "opus," but he couldn’t make a living at it, so he taught high school music . . . and thereby changed the lives of thousands of young people. So here’s the question: What was the name of that movie? Mr. Holland’s Opus, right! How many of you have seen it? Pretty tremendous story! For those of you who haven’t, you need to know that Mr. Holland is a regular kind of guy – has a little family and a lot of talent, but life keeps getting in the way of his fulfilling his dream of being a famous composer. Yet something deep inside keeps him going in spite of the difficulties life lays before him. That "something deep inside him" is his passion for music.

2. His teaching career gets off to a shaky start, and encounters more than a few problems at John F. Kennedy High School. Discipline is the big problem. Or not, as was the case. What I mean is discipline was very important at JFKHS. "We expect discipline here, Mr. Holland!" But that very discipline got in the way. He wanted to teach his students to love music, not be tense. So he relaxed the tension, and used the music they love – rock and roll, which, as you know, is "not the way we’ve always done it" back in the 60s.

3. Triumphs tiptoe through the tragedies of this tale. One triumph is a girl named Gertrude, who was about to give up learning to play her clarinet. "I just can’t get the notes!" "It’s not about notes on a page," he told her. "It’s about heart, it’s about feelings, it’s about moving people. It’s already there, you just don’t trust yourself to know that." Those words were the very ones she needed to hear. His words freed her from the inside, where she was all tied in knots, and Gertrude began to play. He tapped into the power within her. Gertrude was only one triumph. The biggest tragedy was discovering that his only child was deaf – could not hear, could not appreciate the music that was Glenn Holland’s passion.

4. "Mr. Holland’s Opus" takes place over the thirty years of his career, which comes to a screeching halt when the School Board cancels the Fine Arts Department. He’s almost of retirement age by now; it’s too late to do anything else. He’s only managed to compose one opus during those thirty years. But it’s never been performed, much less published and brought in enough money for him to retire early. So he cleaned out his classroom, packed everything away, and was ready to walk out of that building for the last time with his wife and son who "just happened by," when he heard a noise in the auditorium. "The noise" was hundreds of his former students, now successful adults, led by Governor Gertrude – remember her? She was that frightened insecure girl from his first class, who was now the governor of the state. She told the gathered multitude about the famous composer he wanted to become, how he might feel a failure because he it didn’t happen. Then, with emotion choking her voice, she says, "We are your symphony, Mr. Holland. We are the melody and the notes of your opus, we are the music of your life." Then she invites him to come up and direct the alumni orchestra as his American Symphony is played for the first time. There is not a dry eye in the house -- everybody cries, including Mr. Holland . . . and me!

5. There are more than a few parallels between the greatness of the life of Glenn Holland and the greatness of the life of Paul of Tarsus. Actually, there are three parallels that need our attention, and they are laid out before us in these first eight verses of First Thessalonians 2. This time I’ll refer to Eugene Peterson’s paraphrase. "We were sure of ourselves in God, and went right ahead presenting God’s Message to you, defiant of the opposition." How often did Paul get in trouble because he did not insist on the rigid discipline of the Law of Moses? Lots of trouble! He was beaten, run out of town, thrown into prison. Yet his letters are filled with references to the freedom that comes from life in Christ Jesus, urging the people to feel that freedom. So the first parallel is that neither Mr. Holland nor Saint Paul was afraid of "the authorities." They both had the courage of their convictions, and did not let any fear of being in trouble keep them from doing what they knew needed to be done.

6. We find the second parallel two verses later: "Be assured that when we speak to you we’re not after the crowd’s approval – only God’s approval." Having the courage of their convictions, both of them found no need to flatter those in power. Glenn Holland could have given in to the discipline the Principal expected. He could have, but none of the students would have been changed. And Paul could have given those in power the answers he thought would keep them happy, but he knew their happiness was a fleeting thing, at best. God was the only one he wanted to please. Having his priorities in order, and having the courage to carry them through, made the rest come almost easy.

7. And the third parallel comes from Paul’s last two verses: "We never threw our weight around or tried to come across as important, with you or anyone else. We weren’t aloof with you. We took you just as you were. We were never patronizing, never condescending, but we cared for you the way a mother cares for her children. We loved you dearly. Not content to just pass on the Message, we wanted to give you our hearts. And we did!" Saint Paul and Mr. Holland both gave everything they had; they gave themselves. They became vulnerable; they connected with the people they encountered. They were real; they were genuine. They were not phonies pretending to be someone they were not. And that made all the difference. They could both have come in to their situations as experts, or superiors, trying to hammer what they knew into the people they wanted to influence. They could have; they had that option. But they came gently. The word Paul wrote is the same word used to describe the attitude a nursemaid has as she nurtures the child in her charge.

8. Mr. Holland’s "opus" was made up of the lives he changed. What he did, and how he did it, ensured that the beauty of music would endure another generation. It seems pretty clear to me that Saint Paul’s Opus is made up of the Church. What he did, and how he did it, ensured that the message Jesus himself taught and lived would endure another generation.

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