I Corinthians 13:1, “Though I speak with the
tongues of men and of angles, and have not charity, I am become as sounding
brass or a tinkling symbol.”
Christian musicians many times are gregarious people who love to
talk. However, this passage of scripture
gets to the heart of what really matters in one’s music ministry. Agape (26) love is a love that is in
action. It is truly charitable love. This kind of love is essential to a Christian
musician’s music ministry. Without this
kind of love a musician’s musicing is little more than mere performance.
The
ancient Greek theorist and acoustician Vitruvius believed that the words
sounding brass translated from the Greek words echo (2278) and chalkos (5475) refer
to the chromatically tuned metal sounding vases which were placed in niches
around the Greek outdoor theaters.
According to Vitruvius, these chromatically tuned metal vases amplified
the sounds produced in the theatre, but the sounds were somewhat hollow and
incapable of producing accurate authentic sounds. [For more on this see my book Music of
the Bible in Christian Perspective] Therefore,
the sounds produced were not an
accurate representation of the actor or singer’s voice.
The
import of the the words translated “sounding
brass” is that if one speaks or musics
without agape love, then what he or she says or sings will not be efficacious
because it is mere hollow and un-authentic performance. The Corinthian writer further explains that mere
performance without agape love is like a tinkling (alalazo 214) or even better
put a clanging symbol (kumbalon 2950).
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