Quotable

At the moment I'm reading Jeremy Begbie's Theology, Music and Time.  There's a wonderful moment during his discussion of musical resolution and how it might be drawn on to consider the nature of salvation that's worth sharing:

It is worth nothing in passing that much of the music currently employed in Christian worship deploys remarkably little in the way of delayed gratification.  Admittedly, a congregation must be able to grasp quickly new hymns and songs if music is to enable and release their worship, but...rather often goals are reached directly and predictably with a minimum of...delay...Could we be witnessing here a musical articulation of the tendency in some quarters of the Church to insist on immediate rewards and not to come to terms with the (potentially positive) realities of frustration and disappointment?  One of the most significant challenges for any composer for worship today is to offer music which can reflect the conviction that intrinsic to salvation is a process of learning in which we are led towards goals by paths which are not easy, straightforward or expected.  (pp. 105-06)