Category Image Play the Notes, or Make the Music?




M*A*S*H devotees will recall the episode where Charles brings real healing to a concert pianist who had lost the use of part of his right hand. Charles captured the essence of the difference between a true musician, and those of us who are mostly hacks when he tells the pianist, "I can play the notes, but I cannot make the music."

I've had occasion of late, to ponder the adoption of some Orthodox practices, doctrines, etc., without actually becoming Orthodox. My parents were telling me about this story in their newspaper that described Tsoureki . I made the comment that I'd been making it for years, as we had been Orthodox for longer than the last year since we joined the Orthodox Church. My wife kindly corrected me. We merely pretended to be Orthodox.

A common mistake is to view Orthodoxy with medieval Western eyes. That is, as a group of doctrines and practices. So, we adopted some (but not all) practices, and taught/held many(but not all) of the doctrines. We had learned to play the notes. Unfortunately, Orthodox Christianity has never held that mere assent in some body of beliefs constitutes the faith by which we are saved. Nor has it held that the mere adoption of externals or practices does either. Rather, Orthodox Christianity is an organism, that is, the body of Christ. It is within this body that our souls are healed, we are able to partake of God's divine nature, and through which we have the hope of ultimate salvation. Doctrines and practices guide us through this healing process. This is not to say that doctrines, in particular, are somehow optional. Rather, it would be safe to say that these doctrines serve to guide us in developing our understanding of God. For instance, if we believe Jesus to be merely a created being (per Arius ), then we will never be able to develop the depth of appreciation for what he did, and this will forever limit our relationship with God. Just as we can imagine our relationship with any person being limited by what we either don't know about them, or, more importantly, by what we misunderstand about them.

Practices are more, well, practical. That is, we can understand how the practices help heal us. They are the medicine which the Church prescribes for our healing. But just as prescribing our own medicines is both less than effective, and sometimes dangerous, prescribing Orthodox practices while not under the care of a physician (the Church and the father confessors) can be either non-effective, or sometimes outright dangerous. The example which comes to mind immediately is in the case of fasting, which can lead to pride, especially if you are the only one in your church keeping it.

Several years ago, when I was singing with the St. Michael's choir, we had the occasion to really practice some intense pieces and perform them at the Cathedral, or in other settings. On these occasions, I got be part of a group that was actually making music. Describing the experience is difficult, frankly almost impossible for me. It was very much different from simply playing some notes. As we have lived in Orthodoxy for the past 10 months or so, I've discovered its much more like making music, and less like playing the notes like we did before.

(the picture is a loaf of Tsoureki I made back in 2002, when we were playing the notes).

Posted: Tuesday - April 10, 2007 at 11:33 AM          

©