The Choir That Never Met

In 2010, composer Eric Whitacre attempted something no one had tried before. He invited singers from around the world to record themselves performing their individual vocal parts to his choral piece Lux Aurumque. Each person sang alone in a bedroom, a kitchen, a dorm room — just one voice captured by a webcam. Then Whitacre layered all the recordings together.

The result stunned the internet. One hundred eighty-five singers from twelve countries, who had never been in the same room, produced a sound so hauntingly beautiful it moved listeners to tears. Sopranos from Sweden blended with tenors from South Korea. A bass in New Zealand anchored an alto in Minnesota. No single recording was remarkable on its own — some were shaky, some recorded on cheap microphones. But woven together, they became transcendent.

The apostle Paul wrote that we are "one body with many members" (1 Corinthians 12:12). Each of us carries a part that sounds incomplete in isolation. Your kindness, her courage, his quiet faithfulness — alone, they seem small. But the Holy One never intended any of us to sing solo. He is the great Composer who takes every imperfect, trembling voice and arranges them into something no individual could produce.

You may feel like your contribution to the body of Christ is modest. But a choir without your part has a gap only you can fill. Sing your note. The Almighty will handle the harmony.