Christ The King Sunday
This is the final Sunday of the Liturgical Year. The Reign of Christ is celebrated and he is crowned the King of all glory. The Kingship of Jesus is referenced at several points in the Bible (1 Timothy 1:17, John 1:49, Matthew 27:11, Revelation 1:5), and the feat of Christ the King generally serves as a close of the liturgical year across all major western denominations of Christianity.
The amount of music that is appropriate for Christ the King is extremely large and varied. I have spent a lot of my first fall here at St. Paul's doing some "innovative" (ie. risky) things, and they have been, for the most part, very well received. For Christ the King Sunday this year, I have decided to pretty much do all the old standards that have been around for years, with hopefully a new, exciting spin on them.
HYMNS AND SONGS
Crown Him With Many Crowns (Opening Hymn: 7:45 AM, 9:00 AM)
When most people think of hymnody for Christ the King Sunday, this is most likely the first one that pops into people's minds. Initially, this hymn was a collaboration between two English poets, Matthew Bridges, and Godfrey Thring. The collaboration was not direct, but rather Thring wrote his stanzas in response to Bridges', fearing that Bridges' stanzas may have been viewed as too Catholic (the evidence of Catholic doctrine is rather noticeable, particularly in ELW stanza two, which has been slightly altered from the original version). In our five stanza ELW version, only stanza four is Thring's... the rest are Bridges' original version, slightly altered.
The tune, by English composer George Elvey, was composed to accompany this specific text. The closing three lines of this five line tune contain one of the most glorious, upward sequences in the hymnal repertoire, climaxing on the high D at the start of the last line.
Several stanzas of the hymn almost make commentaries on other Biblical moments, and show how those situations are either impacted by Christ's Kingdom, or how they would react to them. A reference to the "root sprouting from the stump of Jesse" is hinted at in stanza two. Stanza three discusses the angels in the sky being overwhelmed with the amazing royal power of Christ. Could these angels be the same ones that danced and sang "Holy, holy, holy" in Isaiah 6? Stanza four references the resurrection and how it leads to the Kingdom.
Oh... stanza five. One of my favorite stanzas in all of hymnody, this is. From the "potentate of time" (referring to the most powerful being to exist past, present, and future), to the "creator of the rolling spheres," (the universe), it is the definition of creative use of language.
This hymn will be accompanied by our wonderful St. Paul's Brass Quartet, as well as the Bells of Praise.
Lo, He Comes With Clouds Descending (Hymn of the Day: 9:00 AM)
The may be the least known hymn we are doing this morning, especially inside of our four walls. (Methodists sing this every year!). Charles Wesley is certainly the father of Methodist hymnody, though of all of his hymns, this is one that can certainly break down any and all denominational barriers.
Stanza one is representative of the coronation itself. All the saints that have come and gone before and after join in a refrain of "Alleluia! Christ the Lord returns to reign!" Stanza two is referencing the second coming, and the redemption and healing that accompanies it. "All the saints this world rejected" I feel is a line that could be easily misinterpreted. I think that "this world" is the subject of the sentence, and it refers to the world of sin and Satan. It could be re-stated as "This (is the) world (of sin) that (was) rejected (by) all the saints." It is open to interpretation, however, so I'd be interested in hearing any others.
Stanza three, while not doxological or Trinitarian in nature, certainly has that same feeling, ending with the emphatic statement of faith, "Thou shalt reign and thou alone."
At The Name of Jesus (Hymn of the Day- 7:45 AM, Communion Hymn- 9:00 AM)
This is a very interesting hymn of praise. On one hand, the text is a rather straight forward poem where we worship and bow in adoration of the King. Stanza two touches on birth, and three touches on the suffering and death.
Of primary interest here is the tune. KING'S WESTON, by British composer Ralph Vaughan Williams, is one of the most under-utilized and under-appreciated hymn tunes in the repertoire. I find it amazing that a hymn of praise and adoration can be so effective with a tune cast in the minor mode. More specifically, the tune is in the Dorian mode, which means a minor scale with the sixth scale degree raised (as evident by the B-natural at the end of the third line).
All Hail The Power of Jesus' Name (Communion Hymn- 7:45 AM, 9:00 AM)
When you open the hymnal and look at this on paper, you may be surprised at how little content there actually is. With only two lines in each stanza, the entire hymn is composed of twelve lines. Much like the closing stanza of Crown Him With Many Crowns, the language of this hymn is extremely elevated and colorful. Here's a little dictionary...
Prostrate- standing or bowing in awe, adoration, or worship
Diadem- a crown or royal title
Terrestrial ball- referring to the Earth
Contrasting from KINGS WESTON, this tune, CORONATION, is as triumphant and joyful as they come.
Lord, Reign In Me (Opening Song- 11:15 AM)
A couple of our songs at 11:15 AM this week are songs that we have done in weeks past. We did Brenton Brown's wonderful song, Lord, Reign in Me, a couple of weeks ago. Just as Christ's physical reign is celebrated here on Christ the King, this song speaks of Jesus reigning over all our lives in edition to that of the earth.
Soon and Very Soon (Praise Song- 11:15 AM)
As far as African American spirituals go, this is one of the most joyful and emphatic ones there is. Many spirituals come from a very dark place. The trials and tribulations of the people led to a lot of turmoil and apparent hopefulness in their songs. Underneath all of that pain though, there is always some type of hope or alleluia.
This song, musically, is extremely joyful, though in the words, there is still the reminder of what is being dealt with on earth. The spiritual proclaims that there will be no more crying or dying, and it's only a matter of time before we all head off to meet the King.
Open Our Eyes, Lord (Scripture Song: 11:15 AM)
A few weeks when we did this song, we did it a little more uptempo. This week, we'll do it as I believe it was intended from the beginning, as more of a ballad.
He Is Exalted (Communion Song: 11:15 AM)
The repetitive, simple nature of this Twila Paris song is perfect for during Communion. "He is exalted, the King is exalted on high," pretty much sums up the message this Sunday in one succinct sentence.
Majesty (Sending Song: 11:15 AM)
"Jesus who died, now glorified, King of all Kings!"
Again, this pretty much sums up the message of this Sunday right here. It's also a celebration of yet another liturgical year ending. There are so many stories and so much theology that we learn about each year, some of it annual, more of it unfamiliar. We can take the opportunity to use this wonderful Gospel song as a chance to rejoice that the year is ending and another Advent is nearly upon us.
CHORAL ANTHEM
Climb To The Top of the Highest Mountain (Offering: 9:00 AM)
One thing that is really being emphasized on this Christ the King Sunday from our Gospel reading is Jesus, in his role as King, is also the Good Shepherd, guiding his flock through all the trials and tribulations. A line at the end of this anthem demonstrates that, "He will feed his flock like a shepherd. He will carry the lamb in his arm." This lovely piece by Carolyn Jennings is mostly used during the Advent season (it will be in the Advent festival on the 14th), but I feel it is equally appropriate on this Christ the King Sunday as well.
INSTRUMENTAL MUSIC
Crown Him With Many Crowns- arr. Cathy Moklebust (Prelude- 7:45 AM, 9:00 AM)
This arrangement for the Bells of Praise uses a lot of extended techniques. It is book ended by sections with a lot of rhythmic excitement and harmonic modulations, augmented by martellato techniques in the bells. They surround two playthroughs of the tune DIADEMATA, the first of which is rather straightforward, and the second being very elaborate and augmented with a running bass line, and triplet rhythms.
Toccata on CORONATION- Tim Fields (Postlude- 7:45 AM, 9:00 AM)
This expansive toccata is the finale to Tim Fields' Suite on the hymn All Hail the Power of Jesus' Name. Like most modern day toccatas, it contains rapid 16th note figurations in the hands with the tune being presented in the pedal.
And thus ends another Liturgical year. Next week we start the first Sunday of Advent, and we'll have a whole new section of the hymnal to explore! This is a big December for us, and I'm really looking forward to it. In addition, next week we will have our mid-week Thanksgiving service, so look for a special edition blog detailing that service as well.
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