The Gospel of...Mozart?

A week ago, I attended a wonderful concert of the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra.  It was a fairly last minute decision, which in itself is a rarity these days. The dark times of report cards are upon me and that means planning out my time awfully carefully.  Nonetheless, the program was all Mozart and I could not resist. Plus, at $15 per ticket, the price was right.  I ended up trudging through the rain with my dear friend Christina to attend this event.

It has been said of Mozart that his music is God speaking to us. As a Bible-believing Christian, I know that God has spoken to us through His Word but I do not discount that Mozart's music has the power to invoke thoughts of God.  

The first piece was the surreal, Ave Verum Corpus, K. 618.  This is the last religious work that Mozart composed before dying at age 35.  Jesus says in John 14:27 : "Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid." The gentle and prayerful mood that Mozart creates in this short but stunningly beautiful work reminded me of the peace that we receive from believing in the promises that Jesus fulfills by dying on the cross - the promise of eternal life in the high courts of Heaven. 

After the intermission, the orchestra and choir performed Mozart's Mass in c minor, K. 427.  From the very introductory notes of music in the Kyrie, my heart was deeply moved.  Kyrie is the first part of the traditional Latin Mass and means "Lord have mercy."  That's when I realized, again, that it is indeed Christ's property to have mercy upon those who are faithful and turn to Him in repentance. As Mozart's music filled my ears, my soul began to understand once again that God is rich in mercy because of the great love with which He loved us (Eph. 2:4).  As the choir made supplications for mercy, it became clear to me that Christ's response is to indeed have mercy and "if we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins." (1 John 1:9). 

Recently, I have been struggling with guilt and just feeling generally weighed down by sin.  Whether or not Mozart believed in God or Jesus is not for me to know or to even speculate. I simply know that the music that Mozart composed communicated to me a sense of truth - the most comforting truth. I left the Orpheum Theatre very convicted that indeed my transgressions have been wiped out by God by His one and sufficient sacrifice - Jesus Christ.

In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of His grace, which He lavished upon us, in all wisdom and insight making known to us the mystery of His will, according to His purpose, which He set forth in Christ as a plan for the fullness of time, to unite all things in Him, things in heaven and things on earth. - Ephesians 1:7-10