June 17, 2002
CYBERCOLUMN:
Sounds of God's presence
___By Brett Younger
___When I got to youth camp at Austin College in Sherman on Sunday afternoon, there was already a stereo blaring out of a second story window. I'd heard the song before, but it took me a second to figure out what it was. Our eighth grade boys were sharing Jose Feliciano's Feliz Navidad with everyone within a half-mile radius.
___I have a 13-year-old son who helps me keep up with what music is hot (and why I don't like it), so I was surprised to hear that Jose Feliciano is "in" again. I unpacked my suitcase (which doesn't take long when you have a week of shorts and T-shirts ahead of you) and plugged in my radio alarm clock. The first station I happened upon had Jose singing, "I wanna wish you a Merry Christmas." I thought it an odd choice for a disk jockey to make in the middle of the summer, so I waited to hear what would be next. I learned that I was listening to "Ciento Quatro Nueve." The next song was Jose Feliciano's Feliz Navidad. The song after that was Jose Feliciano's Feliz Navidad. 104.9 was all-Jose all-the-time. They were wishing us a "prospero año y felicidad" 24 hours a day.
Brett Younger
___I thought about switching to another station, but then remembered Groundhog Day. In that movie, Bill Murray wakes up every morning to Sonny and Cher's I Got You, Babe. Bill got tired of his song, but I like Feliz Navidad. I get the feeling Jose really does "wanna wish you a Merry Christmas from the bottom of my heart." Every December, we talk about making Christmas last all year long, but we never do anything about it. Here was an opportunity to begin each day with Christmas feliz.
___On Monday morning at 7, Jose was still sharing "from the bottom of my heart." On Monday afternoon, while working on that night's sermon, I listened to Jose for about 45 minutes. After awhile, I wasn't paying much attention, but I know the song now.
___Then on Tuesday morning, some grinch stole Christmas. 104.9 expanded its playlist. Someone who is not Jose was singing something I'd never heard before. It was difficult, but my high school Spanish slowly came back to me. This may not be an exact translation, but I captured the gist of the song:
"I love you darling with all my heart,___I didn't stay with 104.9, because translating is hard. Only later did I realize the irony of switching to easier listening.
"Your arms around me are soft and large,
"Your hands are lovely and blue (this must be some idiom that doesn't translate)
"My feet are bursting with love.
"You are my big red kitchen, my love."
___The theme for youth camp was "Imagining God." This requires the preacher to listen carefully for the sounds of God's presence—even when it's hard. I missed a lot, but I heard God's love in a variety of ways:
___ — Laughter, lots of laughter.
___— A senior encouraging a seventh grader.
___ — The camp musician, Kyle Matthews, singing: "The gifts I gave you when I first made you were meant to be used, child."
___ — A youth in Bible study answering the question, "What's something hard someone's done because of their love for God?" by telling how her mother continued to love someone who had hurt her.
___ — High school senior Joel Hewett writing in the camp newsletter: "Listen to your thoughts. Listen to the call of God deep in your heart and appreciate God's grandeur, wherever its beauty slips through the world and into your soul."
___ At youth camp, I remembered to listen for God, to hear God's constant invitation to a "prospero ano y felicidad."
___Brett Younger is pastor of Broadway Baptist Church in Fort Worth
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