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A spiritual comment and prayer to begin the day with Canon Rachel Mann

Good morning.

In December, 1877, a young man came into the office of the Scientific American, and placed before the editors a small, simple machine about which very few remarks were offered. The visitor without any ceremony whatever turned the crank, and to the astonishment of all present the machine said: 'Good morning. How do you do? How do you like the phonograph?' The machine thus spoke for itself, and made known the fact that it was the phonograph...‘ Thus, ran the announcement on this day in 1877 for a revolutionary device: Thomas Edison’s phonograph.

As a music lover, I find it quietly moving that the phonograph set off the chain of development without which I would not have my favourite recordings of composers and modern artists. Edison’s invention was the grandfather of all those sound recordings we take for granted. It enables us to step across time to hear the past in the present.

Then, again, those who, at this point in December, are sick of hearing Christmas tunes played everywhere might quietly regret Edison’s innovation. Certainly, the classic and ubiquitous Christmas playlist, on in every shop and café and public place, is likely to have worn a little thin by this point.

These annual repetitions of festive music are, I think, akin to rituals. In the church, we sing the same carols and use the same liturgy year by year. Equally, the repeated playing of old recordings of White Christmas are there to bring comfort and festive cheer. In both church liturgy, as well as those festive recordings Edison’s invention made possible, I’m reminded of the persistence of hope in a troubled world.

God of grace, abide with us when the world seems dark; remind us that creation is shot through with hope, faith and love, through your son Jesus Christ.

Amen.