Minuet

I’ve asked reviewers which was their favorite chapter in the book. I was surprised to find that many found this to be their favorite. It seems that the afternoon activity of restoring the bells resonates with many readers. I believe that this service helps bring Jeremy and Stephen closer together.

Jeremy’s activities bring back fond memories of participating in the JROTC unit at my High School. I can easily identify the sharp odors of Brasso and Neatsfoot from many hours spent cleaning the brass and leather straps of my uniforms. I was one of those geeky types who polished their brass and dress shoes every day – even if I hadn’t actually worn them for a week or more. I always had great looking shoes; well, at least until I stepped out of my house and onto the dirt roads of my neighborhood.

Stephen may have experienced the same fleeting pleasure with his cleaning activities. Jeremy’s question causes him to consider:

"Steve, what do you think changed the bells the most?"

In the end, it wasn’t any of the chemicals, cloths, or solutions that caused the greatest change in the old set of bells. Jeremy points to one of Stephen’s sermons, one that he had used in his application letter to the church for the answer.

"The most important thing, the thing that changed the bells the most, wasn't any of the chemicals or cleaners. It wasn't even the effort we put into the work.

"The most important thing was love."

Rhythm

 

Jeremy uses the ever-present trains as an illustration of the bell choir. Many of the cars are beat up, their clapboard sides scrabbled with graffiti. Each car has had its own experiences, its own story, yet each now belongs to a single train; all going in one direction, all pulled by the same engines.

"It's funny, don't you think, that when we sit in the church we think of the train as a single thing. We forget that each train is actually a collection of many different parts, each with their own burdens and destination."

The sound of the trains was a constant in my childhood. I spend many long hours “at the tracks” with my friends, watching the cars rush past and placing coins, nails, and rocks to be smashed under the weight of the locomotives. Our favorite game was to lie in the weeds that shouldered the tracks. The sound and power of the trains was intense. The ground would shake, and the pounding of the wheels over the seams was overwhelming.

It is this rhythm that Jeremy wants Stephen to understand. He also wants Stephen to see that the train is really a collection of individual things; that without the direction and pull of the engines they would go nowhere. He wants Stephen to understand his role in the choir:

"There is a rhythm to the train. The thumping of the locomotives, the screeching of the iron wheels on the corner, the pounding of the axles across the tracks. The rhythm is produced by all the cars, each contributing their part to the whole. But the rhythm is driven by the locomotives. Without their pulling force the train would be silent."

The Last Candle

 

”The last candle has lost its light,

now the blind lead those with sight”


Jeremy's simple rhyme challenges Stephen to open the bells to the church congregation and form a Christmas choir. Stephen is hesitant; unsure of his capability to lead such a choir. I wonder how often it is that we shrug a challenge as being too much for us; how often we fail to see the potential of ourselves and of the challenge itself; how often we are blind to God’s purpose for our lives:

“You are blind to whatever happened to make the church put these bells away. You can't see why this church shut off the music. You didn't even know the bells were here. Maybe, because you have never heard how beautiful the bells can sound, you are not afraid of their music; not afraid of the changes they may bring. It may be that you are the only one who is willing to play them imperfectly.”

Jeremy somber words won’t let Stephen back down.

"Anyway Steve, I think you are the only one who will try."

Bells

Jeremy paused from his writings and looked up above his knees. His big brown eyes glanced over the top of the Big Chief tablet as he asked, "What about the bells?"

"What bells?"

"The Christmas bells Steve, the ones in the back. Haven't you found them?"

Jeremy assumes that Steven knows about the set of weathered hand bells stored in the deep recesses of Mountain View’s back rooms. Stephen, for his part, seems surprised that he doesn’t… he’s looked through the rooms and hadn’t come across the bells. But would it have mattered if he had? Stephen wouldn’t have seen the set of bells as a solution to the Church’s problems. He may have simply pushed them back onto their shelf without further thought. His thoughts were focused on other things; on fixing the cracks that seemed to be growing in the congregation. The bells would have been a distraction. He had more important things to consider.

But Jeremy’s saw the bells entirely differently:

"Don't you see Steve? This may be the solution to your problem. You can't do this by yourself; you need the choir members to come forward. You need people to work together for this. No one person can make decent music with this instrument; it takes a group of people working together. Every person must play a part.”

Cadenza

 

I’ve heard the term “Latch key child” used to refer to those children who regularly spend part of the day unsupervised at home while the parents are at work. Jeremy is such a child, and he comes to Stephen and the safe confines of Mountain View Church to spend his lonely afternoons.

Like Jeremy, my brother and I came home to an empty house after school. My father passed away when I was six. My mother worked hard to support us on her own, and also attended evening classes at the Vocational Institute to further her accountant career. The result was that my brother and I had many afternoon adventures free from parenthood oversight. We also had plenty of struggles, fights, and hours of loneliness. As a parent, I now understand my mother’s concern for our safety in those long after school hours. It is no surprise that Jeremy was allowed to hang out in the Church until his father returned home in the evening.

With today’s dual income working families, I wonder how many “latch key” children are left alone to fend for themselves. And I wonder how they fill their time. Jeremy’s time, it seems, was filled with a purpose. He seems driven to help Stephen understand the Mountain View, its congregation, and the challenges that the Church faces; of which Stephen has just a glimpse one bright October morning in the parking lot after service.

Prelude

"With each passing year, I find it becomes increasingly difficult to believe the facts of my own story"... so begins Steven's retelling of his first Christmas at Mountain View. Reviewers have called this writing style warm and welcoming; a first-person narrative that embraces the reader with a comforting voice. The Southwestern flavor and traditions of “Jeremy’s Bell” are filled with the regional flavor of a New Mexican Christmas.

 While this is Steven's story, there are many parallels to the author’s own life. The south-valley neighborhood is very similar to the one where he lived as a young boy. The rumbling trains and tracks were part of his upbringing. Even today's readers may notice the similarities to Steven's description of the church and setting with many south-valley buildings. Perhaps all authors bring experiences from their own life, if for no other reason but to enrich the story with the strong memories that they have held for many years. However, that's where the similarities end. The major events of this story, while compelling, are purely fictional.

Steven can’t help but feel a little overwhelmed by the foreignness of his new home, but he is up to the challenge. He completes his examination of the run-down Church, checks to be sure that all the lights have been turned off and pauses at the front door:

“The evening winds had kicked up clouds of dust that colored the last rays of sunlight a ruddy brown. Through the clouds, and just over the rise of the train embankment, I could see the distant peaks of the Sandia Mountains fading into shadow. I squinted to keep out the dust out of my eyes, and headed out to my car.

This was it, Mountain View Church, my new home.”

A Story of Christmas

Welcome to the "Jeremy's Bell" blog. I thank you for spending a few minutes this day during your busy holiday schedule. I intend this to be a daily blog that follows the fifteen chapters of the book with about thirty entries such as this. Each entry will be opened up for comments and further discussion. I may even ask a question or two and solicit your opinions and thoughts on some of the chapters' contents. I can think of nothing better than an ongoing, and growing discussion.

While the goal of this blog is to stimulate a conversation around some of the events/thoughts/ideas presented in "Jeremy's Bell" I hope that, in some small way, these conversations will enrich your Christmas spirit and enhance the reading of the book. To be completely transparent, I also hope that it wets your appetite for the book and that you are inspired to read the complete story. You must understand that I believe that the message of the book is a special one, and that it has the power to transform your Christmas season and reinforce the Christian principles of love, hope and faith.

As we work our way through the story, details of the message will inevitably come out through this narrative. While I will attempt to not spoil the entire story, I do not plan on censoring comments or further discussion in the comments. As such, I do encourage you to keep with the story and stay ahead of this narrative as you read through the book.

In any case, here we go… join tomorrow for the first entry in the blog. I trust that this narrative, and "Jeremy's Bell" itself will enrich your Christmas season in ways that only God can predict. As Steven would say… "May it be the best Christmas present you have ever received."