It is not too presumptuous to say that we all like music. After all, it is said that music is the universal mean of communication; it is a language that we can understand.
And with music comes songs. Songs makes things easy to remember and songs create memories as well as recall memories.
Just to make sure that I know what I am talking about and that you know what I am talking about, I will sing the opening lines of a song and you fill in the rest.
- The hills are alive, with the sound of music
- With songs they have sung, for a thousand years.
That song from the movie “The Sound of Music” (1965) recalls memories, especially for the pioneer generation. When my parents went to see this movie, as my mother would recall.
Good songs and good music leave a memory in the heart and resonates with life. Without a song or music, then life has stopped, figuratively and literally.
But music has a certain mystery. The music is not in the notes but in the silence between the notes.
The person who said this is Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. He was the one who composed the classical “Ave Maria”. That hymn expresses what he said – that the music is not in the notes but in the silence between the notes.
Because a good musician will listen to the last note and how it resonates in the silence and it is this resonance that will inspire or lead, to the next note.
So that’s what it means by the music is not in the notes, but in the silence between the notes.
So, good music is different from noise. Noise also has notes, but it is jarring and loud and almost without silence between the notes.
In the gospel, we hear of what is like a confrontation between noise and music, with the noise trying to drown out the music.
Pilate was rattling with the noise of the world, but Jesus kept to the music of His kingdom which is not of this world.
Jesus Himself declared that He is a king and that He came into this world to bear witness to the truth, and all who are on the side of truth will listen to His voice.
And so what is this truth then? Truth is certainly more than a fact or an expression of a reality.
Truth is like the silence between the notes, a silence that tells us what the music is about, a silence that resonates in the heart, a silence that recalls memories and creates memories.
So truth is like good music or a good song, that makes our hearts come alive with love.
But more than that, we know that God is truth. Truth is the very essence of God, and Jesus came into this world to bear witness to the truth. So the truth is made flesh in none other than Jesus.
And those who are on the side of truth or want to stand on the side of truth will have to listen to the voice of Jesus in the silence of their hearts.
But there is this loud jarring noise of the kingdom of the world that wants to drown out the soft gentle music of the Kingdom of Jesus.
The kingdom of the world wants to flaunt its power and might, whereas the Kingdom of Jesus is about gentleness and humility.
The kingdom of the world seeks attention and gratification, whereas the Kingdom of Jesus is about service and sacrifice.
The kingdom of the world presses for freedom without restrictions: pro-choice (aka abortion-on-demand), safe sex, free sex, same-sex marriage, and to do whatever.
The Kingdom of Jesus is the acknowledgment and our commitment to Jesus as our King and that He is the Way, the Truth and the Life.
But the loud noise of the kingdom of the world often drowns out the music of truth and love of the Kingdom of Jesus. And so we get distracted and discouraged by that jarring and overwhelming noise of the world.
Even the prophet Elijah was discouraged when he faced the persecution from his enemies and he ran away and hid in a cave.
But he was told to go out of the cave to meet the Lord.
First came a strong and mighty wind that smashed at the rocks around. But the Lord was not in the wind.
Then came an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake.
Then came a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire.
And then there was a still, small voice, and when Elijah heard it, he covered his face with his cloak and went to meet the Lord.
So as we celebrate the feast of Christ the King, we are reminded that His Kingdom is not of this world.
His kingdom is that of truth and love, and we need the silence of prayer and the silence in prayer to hear His voice of truth and love.
Then we will remember the sweet music of the kingdom of Jesus, the music that will recall for us our commitment to Christ our King, and to live our lives in truth and love.
Because truth and love will prevail and only the kingdom of Jesus will stand in the end.