[Oe List ...] A Story

[John Cock]

And a profound story. Thank you, Priscilla 

-----Original Message-----
From: OE-bounces at wedgeblade.net [mailto:OE-bounces at wedgeblade.net] On Behalf
Of Priscilla H. Wilson
Sent: Tuesday, February 15, 2005 3:35 PM
To: OE Community
Cc: ica Dialogue
Subject: [Oe List ...] A Story

On Sunday afternoon, our choir, brass, organ and bells participated in a
hymn festival with the congregation, "Called to Sing the Song of Hope." The
hour hymn fest ended with our pastor reading the story I have printed below,
"the Cellist of Sarajevo." It was very moving...and was followed by a cello
solo. I am just sending it because I wanted to share it with my friends and
colleagues.
Priscilla

A hundred yards away lived a 37-year-old man named Vedran Smailovic. 
Before the war he had been the principal cellist of the Sarajevo Opera
Company--a distinguished and civilized job, no doubt. When he saw the
massacre outside his window, he was pushed beyond his capacity to endure
anymore. Driven by his anguish, he decided he had to take action, and so he
did the only thing he could do. He made music. Every day there after, at 4
p.m. precisely, Mr. Smailovic would put on his full formal concert attire,
and walk out of his apartment into the midst of the battle raging around
him. He would place a little campstool in the middle of the bomb-craters,
and play a concert to the abandoned streets, while bombs dropped and bullets
flew all around him. 
Day after day he made his unimaginably courageous stand for human dignity,
for civilization, for compassion, and for peace. As though protected by a
divine shield, he was never hurt, though his darkest hour came when, taking
a little walk to stretch his legs, his cello was shelled and destroyed where
he had been sitting.

	He played..It was just music
		But in that music declared that warfare--
		No matter what virtues war wears as a costume--
		Warfare cannot win;
It was music that sang
		inhumanity will not destroy that which is human,
		That which is truly alive.
	Day after day after day
He played his cello in the crater.  (22 days for the 22 deaths) It was just
music.
But it was prayer,
And it was hope,
And it was a sign that
Hope is stronger than fear.
And good is stronger than evil,
And life is stronger than death,
And no act of inhumanity can completely destroy The God-given gift of being
human.
I don't know what melody he played.
	But I'm sure it was the same melody sung by the hungry in line for
soup.
	I'm sure it was the same song sung by children praying for the end
of war.
	I'm sure it was the same hummed in Jerusalem and in Ramallah, in
Sudan and countless other places.
	I'm sure it is the same that leaps from our hearts as we seek to
lift up that which is human.

  It was 4:00 so Vedran Smailovic played the cello.
It was just music.

*****************************
Priscilla Wilson
TeamTech Press
Mission Hills, KS 66208
913-432-2107
pwilson at teamtechinc.com_______________________________________________
OE mailing list
OE at wedgeblade.net
http://wedgeblade.net/mailman/listinfo/oe_wedgeblade.net