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Passion and Compassion
by Christopher Chantrill
April 10, 2009 at 11:57 am
TODAY IS Good Friday, the holiest day in the Christian calendar. It marks the culmination of the Passion of Jesus Christ, that is to say, the suffering of Christ.
Two thousand years later we are still arguing about the meaning of Christ’s crucifixion, probably because suffering is the most poignant aspect of human life. We know instinctively that it is suffering that makes us truly human even as we spend our lives trying to avoid it.
Likewise the apotheosis of western music is probably Bach’s Matthew Passion. It is a peculiarly German work, combining musical narrative, virtuoso arias, and the participation of ordinary folk in the chorales. For me the center of this amazing work of art is the contralto aria, “Erbarme Dich,” perhaps the most beautiful music I know. The aria takes place just after the Apostle Peter denies knowing Jesus, for the third time. “And he went out and wept with great bitterness.” Here is the text in German and English:
Erbarme dich,
Mein Gott, um meiner Zähren willen!
Schaue hier,
Herz und Auge weint vor dir
Bitterlich.
Have mercy Lord,
My God, because of this my weeping!
Look thou here,
Heart and eyes now weep for thee
Bitterly.
It is not, of course, strictly, a solo piece, but a duet, an intertwining, between the singer and a solo violin. My favorite recording is the performance by Christa Ludwig on the Klemperer CD.
For me the meaning of Christ’s Passion is all bound up in the connection between passion and compassion. We use the word “passion” these days to refer to strong feeling, particularly strong sexual feeling. But in the original meaning it speaks of suffering.
Com-passion, of course does not mean feeling sorry for someone and wanting to create a government program to help them, although in some cases it could. Compassion means “suffering with.”
In this world one of the hardest things to do is to understand things rightly, and one of the most important things to understand is the true meaning of Passion and of Compassion.
While experiencing the pathos of Christ’s Passion I always keep these two things in mind.
Passion means “suffering,” and compassion means “suffering with.”
Sphere: Related Content |Christopher Chantrill blogs at www.roadtothemiddleclass.com. His Road to the Middle Class is forthcoming.
Comments:
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