15 April 2025
Ever since a definable
liturgy began to emerge in the nascent Church, it has been traditional to read
the Passion narrative from one of the four gospels on Palm Sunday or Good
Friday. It was the beginning of the dramatic arts which emerged with the
Mystery Plays in the Middle Ages.
Throughout my ministry, I
incorporated the Passion narratives in three ways. Firstly, at the Good Friday service, we read the Passion often
from St. John’s Gospel with different voices taking the roles of narrator,
Christ and Pontius Pilate.
On Palm Sunday, I always
told the children the story of Christ’s Passion beginning with the donkey ride
into Jerusalem and ending with Christ’s moving burial in the garden belonging to Joseph of Arimathea. This was accompanied by artefacts of the Passion or pictures
illustrating the events.
This all came back to me
on Sunday when we went to St. John’s Kirk in Perth to hear the St. Matthew
Passion composed by JS Bach for Palm Sunday or Good Friday. The whole Passion
as recounted in Matthew is sung together with arias bringing out poignant
devotional insights.
The Dunedin Consort was
responsible. There were three encouraging things. Firstly, they had a youthful set of soloists
and a portion of the RSNO Youth Chorus. If the audience was predominantly older,
it was young people who were retelling the tale beautifully.
Secondly, the kirk was
full and at the end of the performance no-one clapped for some minutes. It was
so moving, we were literally entranced by the profundity of the tale and the
music. Clapping did ensue but the silence remained long after. It is a memory I
shall not forget.
Thirdly, the restrained
environment in which the drama took place made the gestures which were made
more effective. The singers turned to face each other as appropriate e.g.
Christ and Peter, Christ and Pilate etc. And the drama was evident in the music
like the thundering and lightning which rent the Temple curtain in two!
One of the most beautiful things about our Presbyterian tradition is the emotional restraint which can become the perfect foil for a much deeper and profound religious experience. Too much colour, too much movement may distract. Smaller and more intentional actions may command greater attention and be more illuminating.
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