What profound truth is found here? *
This bit of Bach canon represents, in musical language, the dual nature of the Messiah, the top line his divinity, the bottom line his humanity. Together they show how the unique Godman, Jesus, is truly God and truly man. Let us briefly explore the realms of culture, nature and scripture to discover how each might reveal something of this mystery, this Christ of Christmas.
CULTURE
Bach expresses emotion – such as joy or sorrow – and theological concepts, such as the Trinity (1), by using various musical motifs (2) in his many works which he composed Soli Dei Gloria(for the glory of God alone). Here we examine just the duality we celebrate at Christmastime when “God became flesh and dwelt among us”. For Bach, the “Fifth Evangelist”, the music was the message, the words and notes being inextricably intertwined, not unlike the “two natures” of Christ Himself.
Bach’s Christmas Oratorio contains, in the first chorale, a subtle reminder that Christ, God’s promised Messiah, was born to die in that this melody was linked to the Passion in the ears of the listeners.
We find even more in Cantata 23 which “is interesting in that it uses two vocal solos and two oboes in the first movement as a musical representation of Christ’s dual nature: human and divine. The cantata also incorporates the chorale (hymn) tune for the “German Agnus Dei,” the traditional threefold petition to the Lamb of God.” The lyrics draw from this text:
Jer 23:5 5Behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that I will raise unto David a righteous Branch, and a King shall reign and prosper, and shall execute judgment and justice in the earth.
The concept of the Godman Jesus as part of the Triune Godhead is given complex expression by Bach as well by using something known as the Trias Harmonica (not the instrument but rather the idea):
BWV 1072: Trias Harmonica
“The triad, often called triunitas in the Lutheran tradition, stood for the triunity of God - three in one and one in three. The major and minor forms of the triad represented, moreover, the dual nature of Christ as both God and man. Bach's contemporary, Weckmeister, developed a musical theory in accord with such allegory, and Bach's own Trias Harmonica was undoubtedly intended to be heard as a musical representation of Deity.”
Realize Canon
“It is revealing that when Bach set the foregoing words to music in the Creed of his Mass in B Minor (interesting YouTube), he utilized canonic processes. While not technically a canon, the movement is very canon-like, but with pitch and time intervals continuously mutating. These mutations bring to mind the Trinitarian doctrine...three in one and one in three...in much the same manner as the third canon of the Variations on Vom Himmel hoch portrays heaven and earth by its mutating consonant and dissonant intervals separating leader and follower. Underlying both movements is the Christian doctrine of the dual nature of Christ incarnate, one with God, yet fully human. As sign of this duality, Bach does not allow the canonic followers to engage in unthinking mimicry but gives them independence. Yet, in its independence of time and pitch interval, the follower (Christ) is audibly generated by the leader (the Father), and always doing the Father's will.”
The duality upon which Bach was reflecting shows up in lots of places besides theology – although I would say that the Messiah who is both Son of God and Son of David (which we discuss later on) constitutes a unique duality unto Himself comprehension of which only allegory can approach. This is why it remains, along with the Trinity and Redemption itself, among the most profound of mysteries. Yet, through allegory and analogy, we can appreciate far more about our Savior than rote creedal recitation at first allows and there discover much for infinite awesome reflection.
NATURE
Nicene Creed
We believe in one God the Father Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth, and of all things visible and invisible.
And in one Lord Jesus Christ, the only-begotten Son of God, begotten of the Father before all worlds, God of God, Light of Light, Very God of Very God, begotten, not made, being of one substance with the Father by whom all things were made; who for us men, and for our salvation, came down from heaven, and was incarnate by the Holy Spirit of the Virgin Mary, and was made man, and was crucified also for us under Pontius Pilate. He suffered and was buried, and the third day he rose again according to the Scriptures, and ascended into heaven, and sitteth on the right hand of the Father. And he shall come again with glory to judge both the quick and the dead, whose kingdom shall have no end.
And we believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord and Giver of Life, who proceedeth from the Father and the Son, who with the Father and the Son together is worshipped and glorified, who spoke by the prophets. And we believe one holy catholic and apostolic Church. We acknowledge one baptism for the remission of sins. And we look for the resurrection of the dead, and the life of the world to come. Amen.
Having looked at the art of music, let us now turn to the science of physics where dualities abound. (see List below). Wikipedia lists dozens of dualities from math, science and philosophy. One must come to acknowledge them, believe, if you will, in their existence for any hope of progress in understanding the nature of reality. To ignore or doubt them is to deny the very world in which we live. None is perhaps more popular than the well-known “wave/particle” nature of light. Looked at one way, light is a wave; looked at another, it is a particle. While they appear to be mutually exclusive, neither dominates the other and light exists as both, simultaneously, manifesting itself according to how we choose to observe it. So the mystery must be that of our mental limitations rather than of reality itself. No matter what we think, Nature happens anyway. For an entertaining demonstration of how a particle must be a wave, and visa versa, see this short video from Dr. Quantum:
(For a brief explanation from world renowned physicist Dr. Feynman, see
HISTORY
Is it then any wonder that Jesus should declare Himself the “Light of the World” and that the Bible says “God is Light”. Or that his confused impatient listeners should try to stone him for it! Just who Jesus really is stirs up controversy to this day with the problem going back at least several thousand years to the ancient heresies threatening the early Christian church. Let’s take a look at some church history summarized for us by an Orthodox author (David Bentley Hart in The Story Of Christianity, Illustrated):
“The great debate of the fourth century concerned the divinity of Christ; the great debate of the fifth century (and after) concerned his humanity. Or, rather, it concerned the unity of his Person, and the relation of the divine to the human within that unity. And this, as it happened, would prove to be the most contentious doctrinal dispute in Christian history prior to the Reformation, and the most divisive.
All the Christians of the time, of course, believed that Jesus was the incarnate Son of God; and all faithful members of the Nicene church believed the divine Son to be co-eternal and co-equal with the Father. But in what sense then had he become man? Had he merely assumed human flesh? Or had he assumed also a human soul, a human mind, a human will? If Christ was both God and man, did this mean that he was somehow a composite of the two, producing some sort of ‘third genus’? Or did his divinity ‘swallow up’ his humanity? Or was he a kind of harmonious alliance within one body between two distinct personalities, one divine and one human?
The ‘Christological crisis’ began in Constantinople n 428, though its initial cause was adispute not over Christ – at least, not directly – but over his mother.“
(For details about Nestorius and the Theotokos controversy, see references.)
Over-emphasis of one over the other, or novel assertions or denials, could be dangerous. For instance, the Monothelite (belief Christ had but one nature) Maximus the Confessor (c580) had his tongue torn out, his hands hacked off, and his person banished for opposing imperial policy. Holding to wrong doctrines at the wrong times could cost you your life. (And teaching “doctrines of demons”, for instance, carries with it a stern warning in scripture; see 1 Timothy 4:1) A summary of the Christological controversies can be summed up by the heresies often named for those who taught them. (Here is one list ) However, some Christian traditions (such as the Oriental Churches who resented imperial power and rejected the Council of Chalcedon’s defining Christ as bearing “two natures” while still holding to his full divinity and full humanity ) might stop short of labeling one or another as heretics, instead invoking cultural and language barriers as explaining the differences.
“There are three major heresies regarding the Lord Jesus Christ:
(1) The denial of Christ's Divinity - which lead to the heresies known as Ebonism, Arianism (Jehovah's Witnesses), Nestorianism, Socinianism, Liberalism, Humanism, Unitarianism.
(2) The denial of Christ's two natures -- which created heretical groups such as Monophysitism, Eutychianism, Monothelitism. These all confuse the two natures of Christ; i.e., absorbed one of His natures into the other.
(3) The denial of Christ's humanity -- which gave rise to Docetism, Marcionism, Gnosticism, Apollinarianism, Monarchianism, Patripassianism, Sabellianism, Adoptionism, Dynamic Monarchianism.
All of these heresies in some way ended up by "dividing" the theanthropic (God-Man) Jesus Christ!” – according to this author anyway.
The Council of Chalcedon responded to several heresies at once by simply stating that Christ’s divinity and humanity are not to be confused, changed, separated or divided. (This brings to mind the physical and mathematical constraints used to narrow the search for the Higgs boson, for example, by graphing as out of bounds all energy levels where it cannot exist…or, as Michelangelo purportedly said, when asked how to carve an elephant, “sculpt away everything that doesn’t look like one.” The Apostle Paul uses this same “via negativa” approach in 2 Cor 13 when he describes love by what it is not. “Love is not envious…” While it may leave healthy “elbow room” for various ways of understanding who Jesus is, it erects clear barriers concerning who he is not. If you bump up against one, you’ve gone too far in that direction.
SCRIPTURE
Having looked at examples of duality from culture and nature we now turn to Scripture where we behold the greatest of all dual manifestations: the incarnation of God as a newborn human baby who lives, and dies, a singularly human life. There are many deep mysteries here such as the angelic announcement, the virgin birth, the nativity events and the pre-existence of the Logos, but we focus on just one – how the Bible reveals the Godman in clear and simple language which, while extending our understanding and adding to our knowledge, nonetheless, profoundly preserves the great mystery of the Godhead beyond our human comprehension.
Come to the manger…
First we see, in this particular baby, that we are no longer in the realm of intellect or imagination alone but in the very real and smelly world of animals – our world of gold and straw. Next we see it’s not just physical reality but a human one – life itself presenting biophysical wonders of great complexity, compounded by consciousness! None of these animate things is fully understood by anyone – believer or skeptic – and, were we to delve into the subject, we would discover yet more mysteries, more dualities popping up all over the place. The more we learn, the less we know - such are the questions raised by every new discovery. Yet this doesn’t stop scientists from making models they believe will work or prevent philosophers from philosophizing or hinder artists from expressing emergent beauty. These things are intrinsic to nature, manifest in culture every day. Neither does it fluster the Bible’s human authors who choose their words carefully when describing Jesus.
Matthew opens his Gospel like this, emphasizing his humanity:
"This is the genealogy of Jesus the Messiah, the son of David, the son of Abraham …" Matthew 1:1
Mark opens his Gospel like this, emphasizing his divinity:
"The beginning of the good news about Jesus the Messiah, the Son of God, as it is written inIsaiah the prophet…" Mark 1:1-2 NIV
Luke opens his Gospel like this, providing historical context:
"In the time of Herod of Judea…" Luke 1: 5
John opens his Gospel like this, expressing both his divinity and his humanity:
"In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God…The Word became flesh…” John 1: 1, 14
Then John records this confrontation:
" 'Very truly I tell you,' Jesus answered, 'before Abraham was born, I AM.' At this, they picked up stones to stone him, but Jesus hid himself, slipping away from the temple grounds." John 8: 58-59
Paul deepens the duality when he writes:
"Christ Jesus: Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage; rather, he made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness." Philippians 2: 6-7
So, when considering Jesus, heed the angel’s directive to “Fear not”. Do not stop thinking about Jesus or asking searching questions about his Person. Embrace all He is and, most of all, allow Him to embrace you in a personal encounter. His Spirit at work in you will quiet doubt, stir you to act in love and lead to that peace which passes understanding even as the Spirit leads us into ever deeper truth about this Prince of Peace.
- Dr. Nick Tavani, Christmas Day 2011
* When I distributed this “musical mystery” passage to my family this Christmas, they struggled to solve it by studying the notes, singing through the lines and examining the music. The solution only became evident when the composer – Bach himself – was taken into account and the piece looked at in the context of his life work as the “Fifth Evangelist”. This might be analogous to the need for considering the observer in quantum physics. Or the intelligent humans designing origin of life experiments. Whether in theology, physics or biology (or any other “objective” discipline”, a person - or Person – is involved.
List of Dualities (retrieved from Wikopedia)
Science:
Physics
Complementarity
Dual resonance model
Duality (electricity and magnetism)
Englert–Greenberger duality relation
Holographic duality
Kramers–Wannier duality
Mirror symmetry
Montonen–Olive duality
Mysterious duality
String duality
Mathematics
In mathematics, a duality, generally speaking, translates concepts, theorems or mathematical structuresinto other concepts, theorems or structures, in a one-to-one fashion, often (but not always) by means of aninvolution operation: if the dual of A is B, then the dual of B is A.
Alexander duality
Alvis–Curtis duality
Araki duality
S-duality
T-duality
U-duality
Beta-dual space
Coherent duality
De Groot dual
Dual abelian variety
Dual basis in a field extension
Dual bundle
Dual curve
Dual (category theory)
Dual graph
Dual group
Dual object
Dual pair
Dual polygon
Dual polyhedron
Dual problem
Dual representation
Dual q-Hahn polynomials
Dual q-Krawtchouk polynomials
Dual space
Dual topology
Dual wavelet
Duality (order theory)
Duality (projective geometry)
Duality theory for distributive lattices
Dualizing complex
Dualizing sheaf
Eckmann–Hilton duality
Esakia duality
Fenchel's duality theorem
Haag duality
Hodge dual
Jónsson–Tarski duality
Lagrange duality
Langlands dual
Lefschetz duality
Local Tate duality
Opposite category
Poincaré duality
Twisted Poincaré duality
Poitou–Tate duality
Pontryagin duality
S-duality (homotopy theory)
Schur–Weyl duality
Serre duality
Spanier–Whitehead duality
Stone's duality
Tannaka–Krein duality
Verdier duality
Philosophy
Dualism (philosophy of mind)
Engineering
Duality (electrical circuits)
Duality (mechanical engineering)
Examples Art
Bach’s Christmas Oratorio:
highly recommended listening for physical and spiritual content (yet another duality – that of body and soul).
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F3sBCuK1CIQ
Movie:
“Terrence Malick’s The Tree of Life, in its broadest sense, transposes the gospel narrative. Through three stories that together cover creation, fall and redemption — specifically via Jesus Christ as a didactic church scene suggests — the film ultimately states that humankind can only find hope and life in a reconciled relationship with creator God.Within the metanarrative, though, live countless themes and ideas which enhance and flesh out the greater story being told. The concept of suffering and the significance of family may be the most prominent of these elements.”
No comments:
Post a Comment