Wallace Stevens describes in his seminal poem, “The Man with The Blue Guitar” the image of a man with a musical instrument in his hands and the listeners response.
"They said,‘you have a blue guitar, you do not play things as they are
The man replied, 'things as they are are changed upon the blue guitar'"
Although probably not intended, for me these lines perfectly describe the role of the minstrel sharing with sensitivity the true reality of, as Wallace puts it ‘a tune beyond us and yet ourselves’. Music, like no other media we have, can comfort, challenge and motivate us towards a higher vision. It is more than simply a 'product' or a soundtrack for a commercial pitch. In the hands of a skilled practitioner it has the potential to become a portal into the eternal, sharpening our perceptions of how we see our daily lives in the light of the 'bigger picture'. It can move our hearts inspiring us to live freer - less self consciously - acting as a vital lubricant to us when we are 'stuck'. Yes, the Holy Spirit can certainly use it in powerful and profound ways.
Like all things in life the value and significance of any gifts truly come when they are shared with others. The invitation for us all is to clearly communicate the eternal truths of God which as the poet reminds us are ‘beyond us and yet ourselves’.