I was listening a Bach’s St. Matthew Passion
while working, not concentrating
much on the music, when suddenly this bass
aria, “Mache dich, mein Herze, rein,” sung after
recounting Jesus’ death, caught my
attention. My German being so-so, I looked
up the translation:
Make Thee my heart pure, [for]
I would inter Jesus [in] myself.
May He find rest in me,
Ever in eternity,
His sweet repose be here.
World, depart; let Jesus in!
This is an entirely different take
on the concept of the “Christ within.” We usually
think of the living Spirit dwelling in us,
accessible to us as a comforter, guide, and
teacher. In the aria, though, is the suffering
Christ, who has gone beyond the walls of
life into death. The suffering Christ is not
easy to carry inside us.
To be the suffering Christ’s grave is to
feel His suffering as if it were our own. Is
this not also the Christ who speaks to us
when we feel the suffering and oppression of
others? Should not sharing Christ’s
suffering move us to action?
In the aria is also the idea that we carry
eternity in us, and that we can be of service
to Christ by offering ourselves as a place for
Him to rest, forever. We are not so
insignificant as we might fear, if we do this.