To move with the world, to remain in Christ!
Catholics' liturgical music basically sings the word of God. In this case, it is therefore not a question of what theme, with what words, a given piece of music should be expressed. How to shape the gospel message can arise during the musical accompaniment of glorification or evangelization occasions outside the liturgy. The missionary purpose of the Christian message constantly raises the question of creators and speakers: how can I "translate" the eternal message into the language of people who do not know God. We can come across several solutions applied in order to achieve the desired result. However, it doesn't matter how far we wind the "Jesus potter" in the end. The closer we get to zero, the more we identify with the world, and the world does not recognize the reality of God's presence.
For the creators of light music, how to convey God's message and good news through their songs to those who have not yet encountered it in their lives is often a real headache. The background of the dilemma lies mainly in how far it is still possible to secularize the never-ending, so that it becomes comprehensible. In many cases, we sacrifice Christ again on the altar of popularity. Although we are recruiting believers around us, with our skillful activity we have stood before God, who cannot be known by those to whom the gospel that we have packaged and silenced implicitly reaches almost as a profane message.
It is difficult to call music that hides the reality of God in this way Christian music. The gospel "to be preached from the rooftops, whether at an opportune or inopportune moment" suffers an irreparable damage in the case of such utterances. Especially if the essence of the message of Jesus cannot be discovered in any musical production. With this artistic attitude, although we will be able to position ourselves in the art world, we hide our Christianity under a bushel.
We will try in vain to "repent" from our worldly recognition and become mouthpieces of God's word. Our previous songs with profane or even sinful messages will discredit us. As a result, they create the impression that we can be Christians in other ways, thinking that a little fornication, depravity and sinful passion is just fine, since the grace of Christ keeps us anyway.
It is therefore not correct to turn the "Jésus potometer" to zero - in the words of an acquaintance of mine, but even a position close to zero does not seem appropriate. Rather, we should push it to the maximum so that many people can encounter the love of God through our confession of faith. Therefore, it is not necessary to use spoon medicine to pass on the gospel. Let's face it: in many cases, this latter attitude is risky and will cost us our lives. By displaying Jesus in the world, we will receive the same reward as Jesus. We will live our lives with it, for which even in artistic life it is worth suffering unfavorable judgment and less popularity.
Jesus told his disciples that he was sending them out like lambs among wolves. In other words, he did not say that you, my dear sheep, look a little like wolves in order to stay alive. Gergely Horváth, the chairman of the jury of the Szikra award for Christian music, gave a previous statement in this matter as well, which can be a guideline for artists appearing in the world with the message of the gospel:
"To move with the world, to remain in Christ!"
