![\"\"](\"https:\/\/wp-media.patheos.com\/blogs\/sites\/174\/2012\/09\/Music.jpg\" "\\"Music\\"")
<\/a>Some years ago I had the privilege of chairing a search committee charged with the task of identifying a new professor sacred music.\u00a0 As lover of music of all types (or most of them, anyway) and as someone who had been surrounded by the best of musicians and choristers at the National Cathedral, I accepted the responsibility with relish and enjoyed every minute of it \u2014 not least of all, the conversations with the candidates themselves.<\/p>\nWe had great success.\u00a0 We invited a fine musician to join our already accomplished faculty.\u00a0 He is already making his mark on the school, his students, his discipline, and the church.<\/p>\n
One of the questions that I asked everyone in the course of that process was to describe why or how music moves and changes us spiritually or helps us to worship.\u00a0 I had no one answer in mind, but I felt it was an important question and as a lover of music I continue to be intrigued by the role of music in drawing us closer to God.\u00a0 Put another way, I could have also asked: What makes sacred music \u201csacred\u201d?\u00a0 Is it simply the subject matter and its uses, or is there more to it than that?<\/p>\n
My own evolving answer includes these observations:<\/p>\n
One: Part of the spiritual power of music lies in its beauty.<\/em><\/p>\nWe don\u2019t talk much about a theology of beauty and, thanks to puritanical influences, asceticism, and some latent gnosticism, I suspect that most of us don\u2019t really believe that there is a place for conversations about beauty in theology.\u00a0 But we are the poorer for it.<\/p>\n
I am not only convinced that there is a place for a theology of beauty, but that our understanding of God is incomplete without a re-appreciation of beauty in the light of faith.\u00a0 I am not talking about beauty of a sexualized nature \u2014 though I am not convinced it is unrelated (see, for example, the Song of Solomon) \u2014 and I am certainly not talking about the commercialized notions of beauty that are imposed on an entire generation in the name of selling \u201ca look.\u201d<\/p>\n
But we can and should talk about the beauty of God that is marked by balance, harmony, color, and texture that draw us to the world around us, to one another, and ultimately to God.\u00a0 Understood in that way music, then, has spiritual power because \u2014 at its best \u2014 in intersects with and gives expression to divine beauty.\u00a0 It stirs something deep inside of us that is one with God.<\/p>\n
Two: Music also has power that lies in its ability to end run the limitation of words and our spiritual defenses against them.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\nI love words.\u00a0 But truth be told conversation and preaching can feel a bit like a frontal assault.\u00a0 For good and bad reasons, words without music can raise our defenses and create resistance before we have heard the message.<\/p>\n
But music \u2014 even music that includes lyrics and, therefore, words \u2014 can end-run those defenses, connecting us with truths about God and about ourselves that we would otherwise resist.<\/p>\n
I am not sure why this is the case.\u00a0 It might be in part because music enters our minds by a different route and remains there in a way that words alone can\u2019t and don\u2019t.\u00a0 In part, perhaps, it is because music invites us to consider truths more gently and gives us the space to consider spiritual realities that other venues seem to force.<\/p>\n
But whatever the reasons music connects us in a different fashion with our Creator.\u00a0 It draws and comforts our souls and it can also challenge them.<\/p>\n
Three: Music offers a vision.<\/em><\/p>\nI confess that the whole image of heaven as a place that looks like the choir, clothed in white robes and standing rigidly in front of a congregation leaves me cold.\u00a0 I am more likely to visualize the choir surrounded by carved, wooden stalls, robed in cassock and surplice anyway.\u00a0 (Oh, and don\u2019t forget the candles.)<\/p>\n
But it\u2019s not for nothing that images of heaven often involve singing.\u00a0 I don\u2019t recall any text in Scripture that tries to account for why that is \u2014 but I have my suspicions.\u00a0 For one thing, that image echoes something of images conjured up by the heavenly council that surrounds God \u2014 angels, singing God\u2019s praise as they rush from heaven to earth and from earth to heaven.\u00a0 But back of that powerful image are other reasons as well \u2014 millions, singing one song, focused on one object of worship, sharing a common commitment and passion, a single view of heaven and earth, focused on a single Creator \u2014 a Creator worthy and trustworthy of that devotion and delight.<\/p>\n
We don\u2019t unpack it in that fashion very often and, when music becomes too much a performance \u2014 or when we become sidetracked by the imperfections in our performance \u2014 perhaps on this side of heaven it is inevitable that from time to time we lose track of that vision.<\/p>\n
I am sure that in trying to tease these factors apart something is lost. But it is my hope that my musical friends will live (with delight) into the privilege and responsibility of the gift that they give us.<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Some years ago I had the privilege of chairing a search committee charged with the task of identifying a new professor sacred music.\u00a0 As lover of music of all types (or most of them, anyway) and as someone who had been surrounded by the best of musicians and choristers at the National Cathedral, I accepted […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":240,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[68,17,69],"tags":[2286],"class_list":["post-913","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-music","category-spiritual-perspectives","category-worship","tag-worship"],"yoast_head":"\n
The Spiritual Dimension of Music<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Some years ago I had the privilege of chairing a search committee charged with the task of identifying a new professor sacred music.\u00a0 As lover of music of\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/whatgodwantsforyourlife\/2012\/09\/the-spiritual-dimension-of-music\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"The Spiritual Dimension of Music\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Some years ago I had the privilege of chairing a search committee charged with the task of identifying a new professor sacred music.\u00a0 As lover of music of\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/whatgodwantsforyourlife\/2012\/09\/the-spiritual-dimension-of-music\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"What God Wants for Your Life\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2012-09-17T21:36:18+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2012-09-17T21:37:50+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"http:\/\/wp.patheos.com.s3.amazonaws.com\/blogs\/whatgodwantsforyourlife\/files\/2012\/09\/Music.jpg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Frederick Schmidt\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Frederick Schmidt\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/whatgodwantsforyourlife\/2012\/09\/the-spiritual-dimension-of-music\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/whatgodwantsforyourlife\/2012\/09\/the-spiritual-dimension-of-music\/\",\"name\":\"The Spiritual Dimension of Music\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/whatgodwantsforyourlife\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2012-09-17T21:36:18+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2012-09-17T21:37:50+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/whatgodwantsforyourlife\/#\/schema\/person\/ddfdcfcb384439499b89f4fc91aa3f21\"},\"description\":\"Some years ago I had the privilege of chairing a search committee charged with the task of identifying a new professor sacred music.\u00a0 As lover of music of\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/whatgodwantsforyourlife\/2012\/09\/the-spiritual-dimension-of-music\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/whatgodwantsforyourlife\/2012\/09\/the-spiritual-dimension-of-music\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/whatgodwantsforyourlife\/2012\/09\/the-spiritual-dimension-of-music\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/whatgodwantsforyourlife\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"The Spiritual Dimension of Music\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/whatgodwantsforyourlife\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/whatgodwantsforyourlife\/\",\"name\":\"What God Wants for Your Life\",\"description\":\"Thoughts on the perennial demands and changing shape of Christian spirituality.\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/whatgodwantsforyourlife\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/whatgodwantsforyourlife\/#\/schema\/person\/ddfdcfcb384439499b89f4fc91aa3f21\",\"name\":\"Frederick Schmidt\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/whatgodwantsforyourlife\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/683afd03c0a0abb940f8fe5cb3183269?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/683afd03c0a0abb940f8fe5cb3183269?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Frederick Schmidt\"},\"description\":\"The Reverend Dr. Frederick W. 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