OPENING VOLUNTARY Where True Charity and Love Abide (Ubi caritas)
setting, Gerald Near (b. 1942)
The text of this hymn is very old - dating from the ninth century. It talks about how Christians should live together - watching out for division, and without "contention, envy, ill will." It is most often sung on Maundy Thursday when the church remembers - and seeks to live out - Christ's mandate to love one another.
Part of this hymn ties to the Prayer of the Day. There we talk about lauding God's majesty with the angels and all saints. In Where True Charity and Love Abide we sing of a time when "All surrounded by the blest saints, we shall see you face to face in glory and light. . ."
GATHERING HYMN The Day of Resurrection! (Lancashire)
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John of Damascus
14th century Greek Icon
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The author of this hymn, John of Damascus, was one of the Greek church's most important poets, hymnwriters, and theologians. He was born circa 675, then left Damascus to become a monk and a priest.
Damascus takes an important role in the first reading today, as it recounts St. Paul's conversion while he was on the road to that city. There's no theological point here, just an interesting fact.
Evangelical Lutheran Worship pairs John's text with the tune Ellacombe;, I have chosen to use Lancashire instead. It was composed by Henry Smart (1813-1879), an English organist and composer.
PSALM Psalm 30
This is a metrical setting with a refrain by Hal Hopson (b. 1933) who combined his work with that of
Michael Morgan (b. 1948) who paraphrased the psalm's verses so they could be sung with a metered tune.
The tune here is Y'Isarael voraita, a Hasidic tune. According to Westermeyer, the Hasidic movement values "the study of Torah, a continual awareness of God's presence, joyful and ecstatic exuberance, and physical involvement of the whole body at worship." This tune fits the bill of being joyful and ecstatic. We don't dance a lot at St. Mark's, but feel free to tap your toe as you sing!
HYMN OF THE DAY Touch That Soothes and Heals: See My Hands and Feet (Civility) ACS 939
This hymn describes the embodies dimensions of Jesus' ministry: with human hands and feet, Jesus heals, feeds, carries, and serves. The refrain proclaims the ongoing power of Jesus' incarnation as love risen from the dead. . . The refrain gently turns the singing community from contemplation to action, alluding to Teresa of Avila's assertion that "Christ has no body now on earth but yours." (from Sundays and Seasons)
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St. Mark's Choir 1942
Back Row: Pastor Hart, Art Fraley, Charles Kelly, Herman Eppler, Richard Kaszner Front Row: Ella Eppler, Hednig Simonsen, Myrtle Kaszner, Doris Brubaker, Betty Fraley, Doris Smoak, Pat Dickert, Marjorie Clifford |
MUSICAL OFFERING Bread of Heaven
Ray Hopp (b. 1951)
Have you ever been gobsmacked by the text of a hymn? That's exactly what happened to me in this text by Richard Leach (b. 1953).
When the tongue shows up in a hymn text, it usually has something to do with singing or otherwise using our mouths to praise God or proclaim the gospel. There are lots of examples:
O, for a thousand tongues to sing my great redeemer's praise. . .
Sing, my tongue, the glorious battle. . .
At the name of Jesus every knee shall bow, every tongue confess him. . .
The final stanza of Leach's text says Faith and hope and love have come; joy and freedom on our tongue.
It's easy to take the usual meaning and to understand that faith, hope, and love have come, and with them the freedom to sing about and praise God.
But consider another meaning.
Regarding communion, Lutherans teach In this sacrament the crucified and risen Christ is present, giving his true body and blood as food and drink. This real presence is a mystery.
Leach is showing us something of the mystery of Christ's presence in the eucharist. For a moment, we have the true body and blood of Jesus, his actual presence, on our tongue. We may not understand it, but here we have words to sing about it!
Communion will have a different emphasis for me today!
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By Jonathunder - Own work, GFDL 1.2,
https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=9929602 |
COMMUNION HYMN You, Lord, Are Both Lamb and Shepherd (Picardy) ACS 954 |
Resurrection of Christ
Hans Memling, 15th century
from Wikipedia |
The author of this poignant text, Sylvia Dunstan, was an ordained minister in the Anglican Church of Canada, who died at a young age after a battle with cancer. The hymn, originally titled "Christus Paradox," presents images of Christ that are seemingly contradictory. Consider, for example, an "everlasting instant." At the crux of these paradoxes stand death and resurrection with the cross at the center of it all. This particular paradox is the heart of the Christian faith. (from Sundays and Seasons)
SENDING HYMN Rise, O Church, Like Christ Arisen (Surge ecclesia) ELW 548
CLOSING VOLUNTARY This Joyful Eastertide (Vreuchten) ELW 391
setting, Kevin Hildebrand
You may not actually hear the full tune in this setting. Hildebrand takes snippets from tune and repeats them at different musical intervals. It gives this postlude a playful quality that I hope you enjoy.
Sources:
The Hymnal Companion to Evangelical Lutheran Worship
Wikipedia
The Use of the Means of Grace: A Statement on the Practice of Word and Sacrament
