WHEN ALL WORDS FAIL: YOU MUST BE JEWISH TO APPRECIATE THIS MELODY

The theme from Shindler’s List, the movie, stirs my soul as a haunting piece of melody that transports me to a place in my life where I think of the people of the Holocaust and how far we have strayed from being the human beings intended by our Creator. Good as this is for me, I can’t begin to fathom the depths of what it might mean to someone Jewish, specifically with family members who were killed or survived this humiliation. To be sure, the Jewish people were not the only ones murdered by this hatred. Lutherans, Catholic Laity, Priests, and Nuns, other “unwanted” members of society were also in those death camps, notably Saint Maximillian Kolbe, who died to save another inmate condemned to starvation. https://www.stmaximiliankolbechurch.com/about-us/biography-of-saint-maximilian

YOU MUST BE JEWISH TO APPRECIATE THE FULLNESS OF THIS MELODY

I love to listen to the theme from Shindler’s List, the movie, but, I must confess, I only hear things from the totality of my collective background experiences and choices. It is remarkable that John Williams, a Gentile, the Beethoven of our age, came up with this theme, haunting in its slow meandering through the suffering and degradation of a race (plus others), by another set of human beings who justified their horrendous crimes against humanity with such hatred that it seems to defy today’s thinking of what is good or what is evil. Sometimes evil wins out. The melody can only be appreciated because of the linkage of Jewish listeners with the experiences they suffered. This is not just the melody from the Holocaust but is the collective consciousness of the Jewish people all the way back to that “wandering Armenian,” Abram.

I offer it here as a vehicle from my Lectio Divina, during which I appreciated my own deep roots.

YOU MUST BELIEVE IN THE REAL PRESENCE OF CHRIST TO APPRECIATE THE FULLNESS OF THIS MELODY

The Lay Cistercian experience has brought me to a deeper understanding of how words, music, literature, art, and tradition all come together in contemplation to enliven the heart to be able to listen in silence and solitude. Here are two of my favorite hymns.

YOU MUST BE LUTHERAN OR PROTESTANT TO APPRECIATE THIS MELODY

Hymns and songs can lift up the heart to heights (depths) where words alone fail. Martin Luther’s hymn. A Mighty Fortress is Our God. It is one of my favorite hymns because of words plus melody. Yet, I appreciate that you must be Lutheran to delve into what it means to their collective consciousness.

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