Music for the Seventh Sunday after Epiphany, Year C: February 23, 2025

OPENING VOLUNTARY Be Thou My Vision James Pethel
See the text and tune at ELW 793.

This ancient Irish tune with a text by Eleanor Hull is a favorite hymn of many.  I chose to play a setting of Slane because we'll hear a different setting of the text by John Rutter at the musical offering. 

GATHERING HYMN Lord of Glory, You Have Bought Us (Hyfrydol) ELW 707

How far is it from Ireland to Wales? It's about 108 miles, but this morning we'll close that gap in about 2 minutes. The tune for our Gathering Hymn is Welsh. Both Ireland and Wales have Celtic roots.

In today's gospel reading, Jesus tells how to treat our enemies - we are to love them, do good to them, and bless them. This can be a tall, tall order. But we acknowledge, in the third stanza of this hymn, that our love can do it with the love of Jesus.

HYMN OF THE DAY Light Dawns on a Weary World (Temple of Peace) ELW 726

For many of the hymns we sing, the texts are written to go with a meter, not with a tune. That is not the case here with this hymn. The composer, William P. Rowan, wrote about 18 hymntunes with no texts in mind, so that the music, and not the text, would "animate the creative process. He shared this tune with Mary Louise Bringle who called it "love at first listen." 

Bringle drew on images from Isaiah and wrote a refrain that shows humans living in joy and peace, not just with each other, but with all creation.

MUSICAL OFFERING Be Thou My Vision John Rutter

John Rutter's original music for this much-loved text still manages to maintain a Celtic feel. The piano imitates both an Irish flute and a Celtic harp to accompany a melody that sounds like it might be coming from  mists over Loch Lomond. 

A loch in Scotland. From Wikipedia.

COMMUNION HYMNS

In All Our Grief (Fredricktown) ELW 615

In today's gospel reading, Jesus teaches us how to live together. This hymn expresses our remorse when we fail to live that way. Its refrain combines elements of two of our liturgical songs - the Kyrie (Lord, have mercy) and the Agnus Dei (Lamb of God).
Lord, have mercy. Christ, have mercy. Lord, grant us peace.

Jesus, Remember Me ELW 616

The beauty of this hymn is that you don't need to carry a hymnal with you. Sing it once, maybe twice, and you'll be able to sing it from memory. You can turn it into sung prayer by closing the book and continuing to sing as you approach the Lord's table, and as you return to your seat.

SENDING HYMN God, When Human Bonds Are Broken (Merton) ELW 603

CLOSING VOLUNTARY Trumpet Tune on "Freu dich sehr" 

Jerry Westenkuehler
See the text and tune at ELW 783.

DON'T MISS THE SAN MARCO CHAMBER MUSIC SOCIETY THIS SUNDAY, 02/23/2025

Sources:
The Hymnal Companion to Evangelical Lutheran Worship (Augsburg Fortress)
Wikipedia 

Music for the Sixth Sunday after Epiphany, Year C: February 16, 2025

OPENING VOLUNTARY Three Settings of "O Lord, We Praise You."

Kenneth T. Kosche (See the text and tune at ELW 499.

In church music, a partita is a collection of variations on a hymn tune. We'll hear four variations from Kosche's collection - three at the opening voluntary and one at the closing voluntary.

I chose to play this most Lutheran of communion hymns (partly written by Martin Luther himself!) because of words from the Introduction for the Day: The risen Christ stands among us in the mystery of the holy supper with an invitation to live in him. . . (Sundays and Seasons)

GATHERING HYMN God of Grace and God of Glory (Cwm Rhondda) ELW 705

HYMN OF THE DAY Let Streams of Living Justice (Thaxted) ELW 710

To be a disciple of Jesus is to work for justice for the poor and hungry of our world - and not just the poor who lack material resources and those who don't know where their next meal is coming from. There are many ways to be poor and hungry.

The text was written in 1989 and the author had fresh images in his
mind, including the events of Tianenman Square and the cries of justice in Argentina from the Mothers of the Disappeared. These and other images of the time are present in the first stanza.

A demonstration in Hong Kong on the 20th anniversary 
of the events at Tianenman Square.
By ryanne lai - originally posted to Flickr as 香港人一條心, CC BY 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=8304194

The second stanza implores God to teach us how to live together - not just without war and hardship, but in genuine love for each other.

In the third stanza, we ask to be agents of God's kingdom in the world, ruled by love and justice.

MUSICAL OFFERING Kum Bah Yah arr. Michael Larkin

Most people are aware that this song, sung happily around campfires and wherever people gather, had its beginnings as an African American spiritual. The words "Kum ba yah" are an African language rendering of the English "Come by here." It asks God to come and be with those who crying, singing, and praying.

More specifically, this song comes from the Gullah Geechee people - descendants of slaves (mostly from western and central Africa) who lived along the eastern coast of the United States from South Carolina to Florida. One such group lived in the Fort Caroline area in a town called Cosmo. Most of Cosmo is gone except for two historic churches and a cemetery.

Freedom Park (near Fort Caroline in Jacksonville) is a monument to many of these people and their way of life. I can walk to Cosmo from my home. I was happy to visit the park and learn more about their culture.

A historical marker near Fort Caroline in Jacksonville

Another marker at Freedom Park. The park is located at the intersection of Fort Caroline and McCormick Roads in Jacksonville.

COMMUNION HYMN Lift Every Voice and Sing ELW 841

Two brothers from Jacksonville wrote this song to honor Abraham Lincoln and his Emancipation Proclamation. It was first sung a children's chorus at Stanton School in Jacksonville - at the time an all-black school. The date of the performance was February 12, 1900 - Lincoln's birthday.

Now known as the Black National Anthem, it's a sobering reminder that the road to justice and freedom is rarely an easy one. 

SENDING HYMN Jesus Shall Reign (Duke Street) ELW 481

Note: Did you notice the Luther Rose in front of the opening voluntary? For a time, I'll be using that as a symbol that a piece of music is particularly Lutheran. 

What makes a hymn Lutheran? Good question! You can read about the criteria I use in a previous blog post that you can find here:
https://smljax.blogspot.com/2014/05/our-lutheran-heritage-in-hymns-is-hymn.html

COMING EVENT

ANOTHER COMING EVENT

Just prior to our parish trip to Germany, I'll be doing a demonstration/recital of German organ music and hymns relevant to the places we'll visit. I hope you'll join me!

Sources: The Hymnal Companion: Evangelical Lutheran Worship (Augsburg Fortress)
Wikipedia

Music for the Fifth Sunday after Epiphany, Year C: February 9, 2025

OPENING VOLUNTARY Isaiah in a Vision Did of Old

Martin Luther / setting, John Hirten

See the text and tune at ELW 868.

Martin Luther's German Mass had options. His hymns could be used as replacements for the Latin propers, or as an enhancement for them. Isaiah in a Vision Did of Old, a hymn, by Luther himself, stands for the Sanctus (Holy, holy, holy) sung after the proper preface in the Great Thanksgiving.

The hymn uses imagery from Isaiah 6 (today's first reading), including a verbatim singing of the song of the seraphim. It lacks one phrase from the Roman rite, the one that evokes Palm Sunday imagery: Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord. Hosanna!

From Petites Heures de Jean de Berry
14th century illuminated manuscript

But Luther didn't exclude it fully - it's present in and under the music!  Luther's tune, Jesaia, dem Propheten, was fashioned from a chant the people would have remembered singing for the Sanctus text. Even while singing Luther's new text, they would have remembered the tune that used to include Blessed is he who comes. . ."

The imagery in this hymn, poetic and stately, relates Isaiah's vision of God's throne and the seraphim who approach God with covered faces and feet.  If you miss some of the imagery, you'll get to revisit it when the Festival Choir sings another arrangement of this hymn at the musical offering.

GATHERING HYMN Holy, Holy, Holy, Lord God Almighty! (Nicaea)

ELW 413

This is a set-up, really, for the first reading!

There are some differences from Isaiah's vision.
This version includes us in the line . . .all the saints adore Thee. Heber's version includes cherubim. It also affirms our Trinitarian worship.

PSALM Psalm 138

With a musical refrain by Daniel Kallman, this setting is in the style we usually sing.

The psalm for the day, as used in the Revised Common Lectionary, is a response or reflection on the first reading. Front and center again is the Lord's dwelling. As a kid, "before the gods" often confused me. Now I know that even though the Hebrews worshiped ONE God, that didn't stop them from believing there were other gods. (How often did they turn to other gods only to find themselves rebuked by their one, true God?)

The image of God's dwelling from the Hebrew scriptures is magnificent indeed! But in that reading, the prophet Isaiah is being called to speak to a people who will not hear him. (As an aside, many assume the inspiration for the hymn Here I Am, Lord, to be the calling of Samuel - but it is actually the calling of Isaiah!) Isaiah is being called to a hard task - to tell the people that their actions are leading to a destruction that has no release. Perhaps that is why the psalm talks about the psalmist being protected from the fury of his enemies.

The psalm concludes with an assurance not found in the Isaiah reading.  God's steadfast love endures forever.

HYMN OF THE DAY In Christ Called to Baptize (St. Denio) ELW 575

Most of my readers will agree that Pastor Daniel Locke is an excellent preacher - and we are blessed to have him at St. Mark's. If we ever played "Pastor Daniel's Sermon Bingo," the most checked box would read "mentions the sacraments of the church" - because he always highlights baptism and holy communion.

Our baptismal font at St. Mark's

That's where this Hymn of the Day, by Ruth Duck starts, with our call to baptize others into the same baptism we already share. The second stanza reminds us we are called to invite others to the communion table. In the third stanza, we are reminded to share the gospel. In the fourth, we are called to serve our neighbors.

Ruth Duck (1947-2024), the author of this hymn text, was an ordained minister in the United Church of Christ. Her concern for justice, equality, and the care of creation is evident in the hymns she wrote - more than 200 of them! She has four entries in Evangelical Lutheran Worship.

Musical Offering Isaiah in a Vision Did of Old
See the entry under this morning's opening voluntary for more information. Notice how the two settings end very differently!

COMING EVENT: SAVE THIS DATE! YOU WON'T WANT TO MISS THIS!

COMMUNION HYMN You Are Holy (Du är helig) ELW 525
More "holy" language. It just seems unavoidable this week! 

The text and music are by a Swedish Lutheran pastor. The music does not sound Swedish, for sure. In fact, I sometimes think it's what you might end up with if Wayne Newton (aka Mr. Las Vegas) became a worship leader - and I mean that in the best possible way. This is one of my favorites!

COMMUNION HYMN Holy, Holy, Holy, Holy (Cuéllar) ELW 762
More "holies." More joy. This hymn has a Latin feel to it. It's rhythmically exciting because it alternates between dividing measures into three short beats and two long beats. It's one of the most "fun" things in our hymnal.

SENDING HYMN Here I Am, Lord ELW 574

CLOSING VOLUNTARY St. Denio Alice Jordan
An organ setting of the tune for the Hymn of the Day.

Sources:
Hymnal Companion to Evangelical Lutheran Worship (Augsburg Fortress)

Lutheran Service Book Companion to the Hymns

Wikipedia

Sundays and Season.com (graphics)

Seraph image credit: By Limbourg brothers/ Jacquemart de Hesdin/ Jean Le Noir/ Pseudo-Jacquemart - originally uploaded on en.wikipedia by Mirv (talk · contribs) at 27 April 2005. Filename was Seraphim - Petites Heures de Jean de Berry.jpg., Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=3431408