Today’s offertory anthem is by American composer, Ned Rorem. Rorem is a professed atheist, but has written a good deal of sacred music. This work sounds rather simple, benign, and straightforward. But Rorem gives us a challenge, musically. The harmony is dissonant (clashing), and the notes slither around, untraditionally. These non-traditional musical components are challenging for the singers.

Notes that clash, and harmony that creates a peppery sonority is often how great art is constructed – with non-traditional materials, or what some might call “trash.” Monet, for example, uses “ugly” globs of paint to put together exquisite images. If humans can take what seems ugly (dissonance and globs of paint), and turn them into profundity, why couldn’t God use an atheist to express divine power in the world? Perhaps there are worse things in life than denying the existence of God.  

God can take anything and make it beautiful. God can use anyone, at any age and use them for the purpose of expressing love and goodness in the world – the qualities of the divine. Grandma Moses didn’t paint her first picture until she was 75. Likewise, humans can take anything, any circumstance, at any stage of their life, and make the best out of it. There are examples of people using non-traditional materials, unique techniques, and under horrendous circumstances; they use what others consider trash, useless, or harsh-sounding; and they turn them into something amazing. God is in the amazing business. He works through everyone, regardless of who they are, and what they believe about Him.

Rorem, like all artists, is following the promptings of the Holy Spirit, he’s just unaware of it! In an interview from 2003, read what he says about his own music:

“I love it when people talk about my music and I hate it when they don’t, but I never know quite what they’re talking about. When people analyze my music in a formal way — not by what it means in a Wallace Stevens-ish way but by what it is made of in a technical way — I say to myself, “Oh gee, did I do that? I guess I did.”

 When God works through people, He probably doesn’t even care if they believe in his existence or not. God uses anyone that He wants to express beauty and profundity in existence itself. He can take any person, any circumstance, and any material, and exchange the ashes for beauty. He can use people at any stage and at any age. He can use the atheist to the most influential spiritual leader. Humans have the same kind of power, in a manner of speaking. We can take what seems like trash and turn it into treasure. We can take what seems like harsh circumstances, and turn them into valuable lessons. We can use globs of paint, harsh-sounding notes, untraditional materials, tossed-out refuse, and turn them into works of art that contribute to the betterment of the world. From the young to the old, we’re all examples of God’s creative and transformative power, whether we realize it or not.  Soli deo Gloria!