Toccata in Gm D. Buxtehude (1637/39-1707)
“Spirit of the Living God”
Improvisation
In a former life I found myself on the road (with my glass armonica) in a Motel 6 in the middle of nowhere. There were maybe 4 channels on the TV — CNN, a couple shopping channels, and Trinity Broadcast Network. Trinity is a super-evangelical TV network, but I just wanted maybe 30 minutes to wind down before going to sleep and "the absence of alternatives clears the mind marvelously."
What they were showing were realizations of stories about Jesus from the Gospels, only the production budget was maybe sofa money (you know, the change you find down in the crevices of your sofa). So one memorable scene was ’Jesus Walking on the Water’, only it was quite obvious this was taking place in a swimming pool with pedestals for ’Jesus’ to walk on. But in terms of the acting and script it was pretty good.
There was one scene, however, which I thought was absolutely brilliant: the scene opens with Jesus on all fours on the floor, with three or four young children (7 or 8 years old?) jumping on Him, and He was giving them horseback rides, rolling around and playing with them, and all of the children were laughing with delight and having a wonderful time. Then some Scribes and Pharisees walked in, and Jesus stood up, gently shooed the children away, and immediately assumed His Commanding Magisterial Presence.
I thought: that’s probably how He was: equally at home romping with children down on the floor with them, and talking fine points of the Law with the Chief Rabbis of His day.
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