It has always been about His Grace

A few days ago, the choir group from Catholic Fellowship Jakarta (CFJ), in which my wife is a member, got a nice surprise: when US President-elect Joe Biden mentioned the song “On Eagle’s Wings” during his victory speech, somehow CFJ choir from Indonesia got featured on a major US network.

Baca dalam bahasa Indonesia di sini.

Yes, an amateur choir group from Indonesia somehow was chosen among many YouTube professional videos. How did that happen?

They did work hard during the recording. It was a virtual choir, recorded several months ago during the pandemic. Part of the purpose was to cheer the viewers up during the hard times. I know my wife recorded her part countless times. And the result was actually excellent.

Excellent enough to be chosen when there are hundreds out of other choirs on YouTube singing the same song, many are professionals and, logically, the occasion should call for US-based choirs? You be the judge.

By the way, the surprise does not end there. A few days later, Fr. Joncas, the writer of the song, e mailed the head of the choir. One of the things that he mentioned was he appreciated that the choir seems to be really enjoying themselves during the recording. An affirmation to their motto: SING WITH JOY!

God really knows how to make them feel special!

My wife and I feel that this is a sweet gift from God to the choir and the CFJ community in general. It is really in line with our experience with God so far in our lives. It is not about deserving, rather, it is about God’s grace. Whatever we have right now, whatever we are experiencing, in the bigger picture, is somehow always better than our “effort”. I don’t know, does everyone feel the same way?

Psalm 23:6 says: “Only goodness and kindness follow me all the days of my life.” Why is that? Did the Psalmist deserve it because he had always been one hundred percent good and kind throughout his life? I bet not. It is how he experience God’s grace. No matter what happened, he knew in his heart that God’s grace will make everything good, and sometimes, God gives a sweet reminder, such as what happened to CFJ choir, to remind us about His grace.

No matter what happens, only goodness and kindness shall follow us, His people, all the days of our lives! It has never been about how we deserve the kindness. It has always been about His grace.