Voice Without A Name
The Face of God in Creation
Who are you, voice without a name:
speaking from mountain top and desert,
thunder, the sound of your laughter,
rainfall, the music of your promise,
whisper in the breeze, gentle sighing of the wind,
brushing the treetops, swaying through the fields?
speaking from cloud-top and horizon,
scorching, the heat of your presence,
blinding, the light of your creation,
stabbing tongues of fire, burning bush, flame of rebirth,
cleansing and healing, soothing without tears?
speaking from river bank and sea bed,
waters, which flow through the desert,
gushing from rock and from the earth's core,
windstorm, flood and ice, land emerging, springs of life,
vineyards and wheat fields, pastures lush and green?
A Reflection on 1 Kings 19:9-18
Elijah went a day's journey into the desert.
There he came to a cave, where he found shelter.
Then the Lord said to him,
"Go outside and stand before the LORD on the mountain."
A strong and heavy wind was blowing,
shaking the mountain,
crushing the rocks before it.
But the LORD was not in the wind.
After the wind there was an earthquake.
Nor was the LORD in the earthquake.
After the earthquake came fire,
but again, the LORD was not in the fire.
After the fire came a great calm
And it was then that Elijah heard a small, tiny voice,
a sound little more than a whisper.
And he hid from this in the entrance of the cave.
Composer's Reflection
WHO ARE YOU is a way of speaking about God. We discover the One who is for us in the pages of Scripture, in those images and stories describing the God of Covenant. God continues to speak to us in history and through nature. Who are you.... is a good translation of the sacred word YAHWEH, meaning WHO ARE YOU FOR US? Moses asked of the burning bush, Who shall I say sends me? The answer may best be translated as I WHO Am For You, WHO Shall Be There For You, WHO Will Always Be There For You In Your Greatest Need. WHO is a name for God which must be followed by a verb or descriptive phrase: who leads us from slavery to freedom, who takes us by the hand, who promises us our future. Who is footprint on the sea bed? Who is pathway through the desert? Who is the voice from the mountain top? To be able to answer these is to know the God WHO is for us.
WHO are you, voice without a name is not a question. It is a description, a litany of names for the God WHO exists for us, WHO cannot be pinned down. In each of the three verses following this statement, images unfold which are the questions and not the answers. Are you... the voice from mountain and desert, the thunder, the rainfall, the wind?... the voice from the cloud, the fire, the light, the burning bush, the searing healing heat?... the voice from the river bank, the waters from the rock, the streams in desert place, flood and ice, the fertile land of promise? Questions become statements, statements questions.
Is God still in those images from the Scriptures? May the Voice be heard in the flashing fires and burning flames of Ezekiel (Ez 1:4-5), or in the stillness of Elijah (1 Kg 19:9-13)? Is the voice to be found in the burning coals empowering Isaiah;s prophecy (Is 6:1-13), or in the flaming chariot of Elijah (2 Kg 2)? Where might we seek that path through sea bed and desert, led by fire to cloud covered mountain top, to that voice without a name? These images raise many questions. In meditatively singing of them, we are go a long way to finding answers, affirmations, about who God is for us. Since this is a meditative piece, we should not theologize. Rather, enjoy the stories, the visions, and come to an awareness of the One Who Shall Always Be There for Us. The purpose of this mantra is to bring pleasure to body, mind and soul. Even as we enjoy the images, we are engaging in the quest. As Bernard Huijbers constantly reminded me, 'Always the questions, questions, question.... never expect answers, because every answer becomes a new question.'
This piece is a mantra, a form of meditation, based on simple repetition. It is a cycle of prayer whose rhythms flow smoothly, evenly, gently. There are pauses for reflection, but no breaks. Use both the pacing and the spaces to relish the text. The mantra is divided into three continuous movements, each prefaced with the phrase who are you... The music allows for a moment of composure after every phrase. It is important to pay attention to the phrasing. Although each phrase is subdivided into two measures, the measure line is insignificant. Each phrase must be sung in one breath. Controlled breathing is the essence of a mantra. The flame and wind of the Spirit of Pentecost flows in the breath of the mantra.
Instrumentalists, enjoy the freedom to harmonize within the harmonic structure, using augmentations, clustered chords, and so on. The bass line (on keyboard or stand-alone bass) could benefit from some sustained pedal work, such as sustaining a D for for an entire phrase, or opting for an extended bass figure, ranging through F#, D, B, C#, D, F#. Sempre legato is to be maintained throughout, with only a poise and not a pause at the end of each line or four measures. The only feramta is on the very last note of the piece.
This mantra is suitable for all liturgical seasons: Advent-Christmas (WHO are you for whom we wait, whose presence surrounds us?), Lent (images of desert, mountain, vineyard), Eastertide (images of a land of promise for all who live in resurrection hope), Pentecost (images of fire, wind, storm); and throughout Ordinary Time (images which speak of Covenant, and God's presence among us in the silent music of creation), culminating in Christ the King (reflecting in a non-triumphalistic manner about God's kingdom on earth). It is a good song for the communion procession, but don't treat it as a Taize‚ piece because the verses and inner tensions are different, more complex. It is also a good piece for evening prayer, liturgies of reconciliation, and so on.