MUSIC AND THE TRANSCENDENT DIMENSION

This season, with the magnificence of the Christmas music, reminded me once again of the power of music to take us into the Transcendent Dimension. The secularism of these times, coupled with the narcissism and the mortal challenges of covid-19, often hold us captive to one-dimensionalism and hopelessness. But music-- good music--draws us out of ourselves into larger realities, transcending time and space.

I am reminded of the famous Greek philosopher, Pythagoras (b. 560 b.c.)--yes, the Pythagoras of the island of Samos in the Aegean just off the west coast of Turkey--yes, the Pythagoras famous for the theorem that for a right-angled triangle, the square of the hypotenuse is equal to the sum of the squares of the other two sides. (All that for those mathematically and geometrically inclined!)

But Pythagoras also believed that all is number, including music (and religion, for that matter, since he did in fact establish a religion.) Interestingly, Pythagoras was said to have been born of a virgin, Pythias, and the god, Apollo. His father was told by the Oracle of Delphi his wife was to have a special child. It was said Pythagoras worked miracles, taught in parables, promised mystical union with the divine, and heard the "music" of the stars.

In fact, he thought the universe was a great musical instrument "resonating with divine mathematical harmonies He believed hearing the harmony of the spheres was the epiphany of human experience, and that the soul responded to this "armonia" when a person listened to music. And Albert Einstein much later said that the longing to behold the harmony is still the driving force of cosmology. Reminds me of Job 38.7 which says:

"When the morning stars sang together,

and all the sons of god shouted for joy."

(I have drawn much of the above from Margaret Wertheim's excellent book, Pythagoras' Trousers, a history of the philosophy and theology of science.)

But now I turn to modern British music critic, George Steiner, who says spoken language has frontiers, and "that gives proof of a transcendent presence in the fabric of the world." When speech fails us, we can go no further, and as a result "we experience the certitude of a divine meaning surpassing and enfolding ours." (Taken from Karen Armstrong's, The Case For God.)

Or as our friend's needlepoint plaque hanging on our wall says: "God gave us music so we can pray without words." Fortunately, we had not only the words of the Christmas season, but also the outstandong, inspiring music. The music has transported us into the "Transcendent Dimension," and by it , our souls are refreshed for a better and healthier New Year. May it be so.