Commentary on The Reed of God - Part Two: Fugue

Commentary on The Reed of God, Part Two: Fugue What is a fugue? While musicians and those who know more about music than I do might frown at my simplistic definition, a fugue is a musical piece where two separate musical parts are quite different from each other and yet because of the talent of the composer are brought together in one mix of beautiful sound. Moreover, it is generally the case that there is a recurrence of these themes throughout the entire work. Houselander relates this idea of a fugue to God. “The history of the Incarnation is like a fugue, in which the love of God for the world is the ever-recurring motif. It was uttered first in Mary’s voice, in its very simplest phrase, like a few single notes. A few words spoken to an angel and heard only by him: “Be it done unto me according to thy word.”” And in true fugue style, after the great fiat of Mary, this recurring motif is not present for the next nine months. There is a silent waiting for the Son of God to become fully human in this world. And in a way seemingly so unfitting for a Messiah, there was that dramatic moment when the cry of the infant burst forth at birth. The words of Mary gave way to the Word of God fully human in our world. And as the child-Jesus becomes the man-Jesus, two statements become bookends of the grace of Jesus here on this earth. Mary and Jesus both utter powerful words to surrender to God. Both phrases have so much to do with our salvation. They uttered perfect surrender that we aspire to have in our own lives. The first bookend is when Mary says, “Be it done unto me according to thy word.” And the second bookend comes in the words of Jesus, “Not my will by thy will be done.” The first bookend brings the human Jesus in the world so he can utter the second. And both Mary and Jesus show us, model for us, exactly what we should do in life; we must surrender our will to the perfect will of God. These two bookends are the two motifs that get played again and again. There is the dissonance of the sinful world in which both persons, both Our Lady and Our Lord must live, but again and again these motifs get played to show us the profound beauty of surrendering to the will of God. And yet, from time to time, the motifs become evident in others. Others are inspired by these musical motifs to play melodies that arise from the notes of surrender. The manifestation of God’s will is seen in an infant leaping for joy in his mother’s womb. It is seen in the eloquent writing of the actions and words of the Messiah. It is seen when one brother brings another to Jesus. It is seen even after the resurrection in the conversion of one who persecutes the Church into one who becomes one of her great apostles. The purpose of the two motifs is to show us just how deep faith in God and surrender to Him can in fact transform. Houselander puts this beautifully. “When he was born again, in life after life, it would always be in order to live through the same things as He did the first time: fear, poverty, exile, work, publicity, temptation, pain, betrayal, and crucifixion. “It is obvious, too, that He intended to overcome all this in each person’s life, not by doing away with it, but by transforming it; and to overcome death itself by dying.” ...