The Tribute Act

Ipswich-living son Andrew said, ‘Would you like to see ‘The Simon and Garfunkel Story’? It’s on at The Regent Theatre in Ipswich.’ ‘Yes please,’ we said.

Last Sunday Rachel and I went to Andrew and Emily’s. We enjoyed a lovely meal with them and arrived at The Regent at about 7.20. There were no lights, no people, no Simon, no Garfunkel. The doors were locked.

‘Have you got the date right?’  Yes. It’s the16th.’

‘ Have you got the venue right?’ ‘…Oh, No! It’s ‘Ipswich Corn Hall’… It’s not far to walk.’

We arrived at the Corn Hall hot, flustered, but chuckling at Andrew’s mistake. The show had started. ‘Please can you wait until they’ve finished the first song?’ an understanding steward requested. We climbed the stairs to the balcony listening to ‘The Sound of Silence’.

It was a lovely evening. A tribute act told the story and sung the songs of Paul Simon and Art Garfunkel. Their voices were excellent, their harmonies spot-on, and the backing band added colour and depth.

We joke sometimes… There were two reasons I married Rachel fifty-three years ago. She had a car, and she had Simon and Garfunkel records. Sunday night’s tribute act wasn’t Simon and Garfunkel, but it was close to the original, and was an excellent reminder.

Last night, remembering that the previous day was St Patrick’s Day, our church ‘Home Group’ read together part of the prayer known as ‘St Patrick’s Breastplate’.

Christ in the heart of every man who thinks of me,
Christ in the mouth of everyone who speaks of me,
Christ in every eye that sees me,
Christ in every ear that hears me.

We reflected on it… Often we pray that God will be with us… Here we pray that we will be Christ to those around us. Perhaps as Jesus-followers we’re a Jesus tribute act. Acknowledging that we’re not Jesus, we bring His tune, His words, His harmony. We pray that we’re close to the original and an excellent reminder…