"In John’s gospel and in this music, the moment of Jesus’ death is not so much a dramatic climax as a release in the quiet rest of death."
The Passion According to John, Part 5
March 17th, 2021
The “Crucifixion“ movement of the Passion is, in its opening section, the most musically complicated portion of the piece. The second half of this movement is the simplest. This is due to a moment in the story where I felt it was important to have all of the dramatic forward motion let go and allow the piece to start losing energy. That is the moment where we move into a simpler, more “relaxed” feeling.
John’s Gospel poses a different emotional trajectory for the last moments of Jesus’ death, foregoing the cataclysmic drama of the first three Gospels. Instead, the author of the fourth gospel tells a fairly quiet story of Jesus’ death. Phrases such as, “Then they crucified him.”, and “When they had crucified him…”, seem to constitute an intentional “unmarking” of those moments. This gospel is enveloped in so many layers of theology that the author seems to have very little interest in focusing us on the horrific moments, but rather more important moments.
Jesus’ final act of care for his mother and his disciple, the care for the body of Jesus after death; these are examples of the moments he focuses on and draws out into our attention more clearly. There is no earth rattling, no graves opening, no veil rendering moment. In this gospel, Jesus simply “bows his head“ and gives up his breath. It is a picture of light draining slowly from his body rather than a striking moment.
This is an important and (in its time) new imaging of the story. In this gospel the “sacrificial moment” comes over time. This is a concept we need in our faith lives. Sacrificial love is rarely, if ever, experienced in a moment. It is experienced over time. Truly caring for others never takes a moment, but a series of moments that stretches throughout the course of our lives. This durative sense of sacrifice becomes an essential part of our Christian journeys. Sacrificial living can be an exhausting path as it is walked faithfully over time. The death for this gospel becomes an image of rest as well as loss.
As you listen to this week’s music and video, maybe take some time to be moved into some restful and pensive silence. Every year whenever we hear the Passion on Palm Sunday or Good Friday, whether it’s sung or read, we always take a moment as a congregation to kneel in silence at the moment of Jesus’ death. In this musical composition that moment comes right at the end of this week’s movement.
For the fourth gospel, perhaps more so than the others, this is a silence of sorrow and loss; a silence of awe and wonder but also a silence of release. John’s Gospel does not create a violent climax for the crucifixion but rather a panoramic scene of souls attending a quiet grief. It is a holy stillness. I hope we can allow the grief and sorrow that we all experience in life through such holy stillness. Too often we turn our grief into more dramatic emotions, such as outrage and bitterness. John’s Gospel reminds us to make space for the melancholy quiet that we sometimes need in order to heal and move forward. The author of the fourth gospel will save his dramatic climax for the Easter story and asks us to do the same.
God Bless,
Fr. Pat
In lieu of gospel readings, for the remainder of Lent the "Passion According to John" will be attached so you may following along with the Reflection.
Passion According to John - "Arrest"
Faith Direct remains our approved partner so that parishioners can give electronically. You can securely register or update via this link. Thank you MPB for your continued generous support of the parish and our many ministries.
Please share with friends and family.
If you wish to subscribe for news and updates from Most Precious Blood, click here.