Requiem Contemplation

My favorite date (his name begins with a "K") took me to another chorale event last night. The only problem is that I couldn’t sit with him. I had to sit with a bunch of strange ladies in the alto section and, per instructions from the conductor, we all gave each other shoulder massages as a warm-up exercise. (Shouldn’t I be up for some kind of Best Wife of the Year award by now?)

The thing I love about requiems is that the lyrics encourage introspection. Despite my extraverted tendencies, I firmly believe that it’s important to regularly pause and reflect on the deeper things in life. Requiems, as I’m sure you know, are prayers for the dead. They embody deep, soul-searching emotions. Last night we sang of the terror of the judgment of Christ. And then we sang of the beauty of the forgiveness of Christ. While in the midst of song, I looked around the room at the hundreds of vocalists. I wondered if they were thinking about the words they were singing. I mean, really thinking. (Christ is coming to judge, am I personally forgiven?) I know that the conductor, who goes to a very liberal church, sincerely contemplates the lyrics of all the pieces he conducts. I don’t doubt his sincerity. Or the sincerity of anyone else. (Most people in the chorale are very "religious.") But I was also thinking about how often people become involved in religion and go to church for the wrong reasons. For many religious people God is simply an emotional experience and church is a kind of social "club." Religion feels good - it meets emotional needs - so why not do it? I realize that it’s not for me to judge a person’s motive for engaging in religious activities. It’s just interesting to think about, that’s all. I just can’t imagine someone spending a lifetime singing such beautiful words, with such tremendous emotion and depth, and having it not be real for them. "Real" in the sense of having lasting consequences based on true belief vs. temporary feel-goodism. But I’m sure it happens every day.