The song I present to you today is from my collection of piano music, “Songs for the Refugee Christ at Christmas.” The song is entitled, “In the Beginning Was the Word.” This is what I wrote about the song after its completion in 2018.
The scriptural reference for this newly composed Psalm Offering is the Prologue of John’s Gospel. John’s Prologue is the Gospel for Christmas’ Mass during the Day. Of all the Christmas narratives, this Gospel has always been my favorite. However, like the Genealogy of Matthew or Luke Gospels read at the Vigil Mass, it is one of the least heard Gospels on Christmas (everyone would rather hear the Baby Jesus story from the Christmas Eve, Mass at Midnight.
In the beginning was the Word,
and the Word was with God,
and the Word was God.
He was in the beginning with God.
All things came into being through him,
and without him not one thing came into being.
What has come into being in him was life,
and the life was the light of all people.
The light shines in the darkness,
and the darkness did not overcome it.
There was a man sent from God,
whose name was John.
He came as a witness to testify to the light,
so that all might believe through him.
He himself was not the light,
but he came to testify to the light.
The true light, which enlightens everyone,
was coming into the world.
He was in the world,
and the world came into being through him;
yet the world did not know him.
He came to what was his own,
and his own people did not accept him.
But to all who received him,
who believed in his name,
he gave power to become children of God,
who were born, not of blood or of the will of the flesh
or of the will of man, but of God.
And the Word became flesh and lived among us,
and we have seen his glory,
the glory as of a father’s only son,
full of grace and truth. (John 1:1-14, NRSV)
Resting in John’s Prologue is an experience of being completely enveloped by Mystery. To be able to rest in the Mystery of the Incarnation of Christ, the starting place is not the Presentation of Matthew’s Gospel, nor the Visitation of Luke’s Gospel. The starting place is John’s Prologue. It is the Christian Testament’s Genesis. Much like the first sentence in Genesis, “In the beginning was Creation,” John’s Gospel starts with the phrase, “In the beginning was the Word,” the moment in which God entered into relationship with Creation.
John reveals that the baby who rests in the arms of Mary is the Logos, the Word of God, through whom all life was created. The baby that Mary cradles is the very light of God which will pierce the darkness that began at the fall of humanity and covers human life as a shroud. John admits that there will remain a part of humanity that will always seek darkness and will flee from the light of God. For those who are bathed in the light of God, they will find themselves transformed into becoming Children of God.
In John’s Prologue, we encounter what God intended as human nature at Creation with what human nature became at the fall of humankind. The Child in Mary’s arms asks us to answer the question of whether we are to be people who seek Light or darkness, God’s life or eternal death. The Child tells us that in the Reign of God there is no place for human complacency. We are confronted with our own humanity and must either choose to be human or subhuman. It is far more pleasant to be dazzled and distracted by Christmas lights and music than to confront our humanity.
The music is really rather simple, in spite of all the music decoration in the higher register. The melody is simply what is called an ostinato pattern, a musical pattern repeated over and over (e.g. a boogie woogie pattern is an example of an ostinato pattern), beginning with it doubled in both hands, and then sustained in the left hand while the right hand provides a musical decoration on top of the ostinato. A second ostinato is created in the middle section of the song, and then to complete the song, the first ostinato pattern returns with a coda. What is different about the song is its meter. It is in 7/4 meter (7 beats to a measure), a meter that is rarely heard in music. Why 7/4? The number 7 has been considered the perfect number in ancient thought and has been used to described perfection e.g. “7th heaven” or Jesus whose name in numerology is “777” the perfect number.
The song is meant to be a peaceful meditation on the mystery of the Incarnation described in the Prologue of John’s Gospel. As with all the songs from this collection, they are dedicated prayer songs for all refugees fleeing political and economic violence throughout the world.
