After seeing a performance of Verdi's Aida, 17 year old Giacomo Puccini decided to give his life to writing operas. Now we know him as the composer of some of the most beloved operas—La Boheme, Tosca, Turandot, and Madame Butterfly. But none of those were well-received in the beginning.
Madame Butterfly premiered on February 17, 1904, at La Scala in Milan. The audience hissed, booed, and even yelled. Many walked out. It was back to the drawing board for Puccini, who went to work on a revision.
Several things had to be fixed. The staging was abysmal. He seemed to have fallen into a rut and this opera was too much like all the others. The second act was ninety minutes long. So first, he divided that act in half. Then he added a different sort of musical piece called "The Humming Chorus" which became very popular. Of course, the staging was fixed pronto, or should I say, "Presto!?" Along with a few other minor changes, the second performance on May 24 was a grand success with extended applause, repeated encores, and ten curtain calls for Puccini himself.
Suiting the audience is as it should be for operas, but can you imagine a church service that did the same? Encores by the song leader, curtain calls by the preacher, and a long standing ovation before the final amen. Of course not! Pleasing the audience is not what a church service is about. Or is it?
The problem is we mistake the performers for the audience. You and I are not the audience. God is. We are the performers and it's our job to do whatever we can to please Him. Puccini obviously liked his second act and all the staging, but his audience thought otherwise. He fell all over himself trying to change things to please them. When I pick a church because I enjoy (feel entertained by) the service, then I have missed the whole point. I need to be choosing a church that acts as the New Testament has shown me is pleasing to God—whether I personally like what they do or not. Which church is it that follows the guidelines set for pleasing Him?
The question is not, and never should be, did the preacher/songleader/Bible class teacher perform well enough to please me ("What did I get out of it")? The question is, and always should be, did I perform well enough to please my Audience—God.
But the hour will come, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and truth: for such doth the Father seek to be his worshippers. God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship in spirit and truth John4:24.
Dene Ward
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