The story of Tristan and Isolde is a medieval Celtic romance between ill-fated lovers. Tristan is a Cornish knight who transports princess Isolde of Ireland to marry his uncle, King Marke of Cornwall. Enroute, they accidently drink a love potion and fall in love, incurring the king’s wrath. They eventually make peace with Marke who marries Isolde, while Tristan goes to Brittany and marries princess Isolde of the White Hands. Sometime later, Tristan is mortally wounded and sends for Isolde of Ireland, the only person who can heal him. His jealous wife tells him that Isolde of Ireland isn’t coming, and he dies just before she arrives. When she arrives, she also dies, holding him in her arms. Their forbidden love never ceased.
In his opera Tristan and Isolde, Richard Wagner represented their unfulfilled longing with a minor chord progression popularly known as the Tristan chord. The opera opens with a minor chord (F-B-D#–G#) followed by three more minor chords. Normally minor chords are resolved by transitioning to a major chord. Wagner, however, used this unresolved progression throughout the opera to reiterate their incomplete relationship. It’s only at the very end as Isolde sings the aria “Liebestod” (Love-Death) that the chords are resolved.
Minor chords in music can express longing, uncertainty, fear, sadness, suspense, despair, danger, or even self-reflection. As such, I’d suggest that minor chords are a useful metaphor for the uncertainties we face in life. This is especially true for Christians. Like Wagner’s opera, we often deal with unresolved longings and issues throughout our earthly existence. For many of us, there’s no final resolution in the here and now.
We long for wholesome relationships, only to be frustrated by inattention. We long for financial security, but live paycheck-to-paycheck. We long for good health but struggle with chronic illness and pain and medication. We long for strong, active, growing congregations, but deal with stagnation and friction. We long for quiet neighborhoods, peaceful communities, and effective government, but we’re surrounded by noise, unrest, and ineptitude. We long for meaning and substance and hope, but even in Christ we realize that things will never be complete in this life. The Tristan chord remains unresolved.
The resolution of all things discordant will be the return of Jesus and the ushering in of his eternal kingdom. We wait “until the Lord comes who will both bring to light the things hidden in the darkness and disclose the motives of men’s hearts” (1 Corinthians 4.5). His return will bring resolution to all things: “We know that when He appears, we will be like Him, because we will see Him just as He is” (1 John 3.2).
None of this is to say that our earthly life in Christ is devoid of joy and blessing, purpose and resolution. In Christ we’ve been given “every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places” (Ephesians 1.3). Jesus’ first appearance in this world “brought life and immortality to light through the gospel” (2 Timothy 1.10). In Christ we have enlightenment, hope, glory, strength, and fulness (Ephesians 1.18-23).
It’s just a reminder that we’re awaiting something better, the sounding of the final chord that brings this life’s song to its joyful end.
