April 11John 14:15-21"If you love me, you will keep my commandments"
This is one of my favorite passages, in part because Thomas Tallis wrote an elegant motet on this text. I first sang it, and loved it from first hearing it, in high school. Our Chancel Choir has sung it as well. It has no instrumental accompaniment, just the four voice parts lifted in this loving and reassuring text. It starts out very simply, with everyone saying the words at once - a straightforward statement of fact. Those who love Jesus and His word will yearn to keep His commandments. It won't be work for us, if we truly love Jesus; it will come naturally. In the motet, when the composer gets to "And I will pray the Father," the voices all enter at different times, singing music that is similar but not exactly the same. Prayer takes many forms; not everyone prays the same way. The choir comes together on "another Comforter," but then the voice parts echo each other on the next text, in what is called polyphonic style: Each entrance is more beautiful than the last and builds on what came before. At the end, we join together once again to sing about "the Spirit of Truth." I feel that this composer, who lived from 1505 to 1525, felt the meaning of this passage as intensely as we can today. In my New American Standard home Bible, "Comforter" is translated as "Helper." The Holy Spirit will help us to love Jesus and to keep His commandments, as we understand them. There are many; perhaps one that particularly chimes with the meaning of this passage is from John: "Love one another as I have loved you." I'm not sure we humans can love with the strength, constancy and passion with which Jesus loves us, but with the help of the Spirit of Truth, we can certainly try.
Dr. E. Graham McKinley
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