An Equal Opportunity Revelation: Lessons from The Incarnation for Musicians
Julian Reid
When Christ Jesus came to us the first time, he attracted humanity to the manger by appealing to our senses of hearing and vision. The shepherds travelled to the stable to worship because they had heard the sound of the angels, whereas the sages made the trek from distant lands because they had seen and studied the Star of David. To put it in context of music, the divine revelation of the Incarnation involved the two ways that musicians typically play music – spontaneity (shepherds) and premeditation (the sages). On this view, the Christmas story invites musicians and music-lovers to reflect on the theological messages resident in these two modes of music creation.
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