What Child is This?
He’s Christ the King!
Introduction
For some time I have been enchanted by the voice of Andrea Bocelli. I first encountered his angelic voice in a Youtube search for Ave Maria.
During this Christmas season I got acquainted with his duet with Mary J Blige — What child is this? Already this Christmas song makes me tear uncontrollably in church. When sung by Andrea Bocelli, it acquired an other-worldly quality that touched me profoundly.
Andrea Bocelli
Andrea Bocelli has a beautiful voice but it is not only the quality of his voice that is enchanting. It is the clarity and beauty of his soul reflected in his singing technique that really sweeps me away.
The virtue of temperance — he has it. Modern society is all about indulging excessively in things that are beautiful. When one is blessed with a powerful voice, the proclivity is to ‘BLAST AWAY’. Some forms of singing (i.e. R&D, pop) even encourage the unrestrained expression of emotions in music. But his singing is not one of that manner. It is always well-controlled and at every moment, filled with temperance. He has gained true mastery over his voice.
Intrinsically, one can feel that this mastery cannot come solely from discipline and training. It comes from the mastery of self. There is a tenderness in his voice that moves the soul in a visceral way. It is a tenderness that comes from the gentleness of the soul. This tenderness reminds me so much of the love of God that it often moves me to tears. Indeed, how powerful the love of God and how gently he lavishes it on us.
This world, as we know it, is so steeped in perversion that most of us have grown accustomed to seeing barely clad bodies and overly made-up faces on the red carpet. Hence, when the modern man encounters true beauty, he becomes disoriented and dumbstruck.
And that was the effect Bocelli’s voice had on me. To me, Bocelli’s voice was so beautiful that it led my soul to an encounter with God. Perhaps, it is his blindness and the resultant suffering throughout his life that has purified his soul. If so, there is nothing to fear in suffering. In fact, we should all welcome suffering with open arms.
Notably, I know for certain now that true beauty lies not in the perfection of outwards appearances. It lies in the perfection of the soul.
With a perfected soul, what ever medium you choose to express your creativity (e.g. music, art), your audience will be able to experience true beauty. At your best, your creations will lead them to an experience with God.
What Child is This?
The song is so beautifully written and utterly perfected by Bocelli’s voice. Indeed, the most important question one has to ask in life is this — What child is this?
The answer — he is Christ the King.
Yes. This vulnerable little baby indistinguishable from other infants; This tiny little being resting on Mary’s lap and depending on her for nourishment and protection.
This little infant — He is the one who would defeat the devil. He is the one who would conquer our sins.
It moved me to ponder about why God chose to come to our world in such a vulnerable form. It also moved me to consider what pains Jesus had to go through to accomplish his Father’s will on earth.
As a baby, he was destined to enjoy the tenderness of his mother’s love. And as an adult, he was destined to leave his mother and to die on the cross.
Indeed, the wise men of the epiphany did a wonderful task. They moved with haste and brought him gifts; They worshipped this little babe. They celebrated his birth and life.
As we move away from the season of Christmas let us continue to ponder this most important question — What Child is this?
God Bless!
