Bach's St. Matthew's Passion

I really enjoyed our class on Friday dealing with Bach. I had never thought of music as a form of scripture, but after class, I began to understand it as such. Growing up in church, I remember hearing the choir sing and singing hymns with the congregation, even singing in the choir for a number of years, but I don't think these were ever spiritual experiences for me. Primarily, because I didn't allow them to be.

Two years ago, I went to my first Creation Festival, which is a huge Christian music festival in Pennsylvania. About 100,000 people come each year. Before going, I had never listened to Christian music and feared that the music would 1. be lame 2. repetative, and 3. did I say lame? I'm happy to say that I was very mistaken. Those 4 or 5 days were some of the most intensely spiritual of my life. I found that musically, the bands were just as good as those which I normally listened to. This music, however, spoke to me in a way which secular music never had. I felt close to God and literally opened my arms to welcome His presence. It was then that I realized music's spiritual value.

Listening to St. Matthew's Passion after learning about how Bach composed the piece and its message, became a spiritual experience for me as well. I couldn't understand the words, but somehow, the music conveyed a moving spiritual message to me. I feel like I have a better understanding of the scriptual experience of Islam. The beauty of the music expressed the beauty of God in a way that sometimes escapes words.