1st Sunday of Lent
This past Wednesday at church, we celebrated Ash Wednesday, where we again heard the annual refrain of "For you are dust, and to dust you shall return." It of course also marked the beginning of our forty day journey towards the celebration of the death and resurrection of Jesus. It was a wonderful day at St. Paul's, beginning with Father Mike and Pastor Schneider (playing Jesus and the devil respectively), depicting the temptations of Jesus. Kinderlent began with an amazing turnout, and our Lenten services kicked off with a celebration of Holy Communion, imposition of ashes, wonderful music, and a lovely Lenten message.
While Lent still contains some brief signs of celebration and gratitude, it is also a time for repentance, remembrance, and self-examination. Our music reflects that this week, as we hear the story of Jesus' temptation in the desert for forty days.
HYMNS AND SONGS
O Lord, Throughout These Forty Days (Opening Hymn- 7:45 AM, 9:00 AM)
This hymn is a reflection on our Gospel reading for today. The form is unbelievably intuitive, it makes one think why other hymn writers haven't adopted it as directly as it has been here. Each stanza contains two phrases, divided musically by a half cadence. The first phrase of each stanza is a reflection on Christ and his experience while being tempted. The second phrase then puts the focus on us, and shows how we can learn a lesson from Jesus' experiences and use them to succeed on our Lenten journeys.
The first stanza simply shows us to look to Jesus for inspiration. Stanza two is a call for courage as Jesus stood up to the temptations. Stanza three talks about what we "give up" for Lent, and how Jesus is the example of that, and finally, the last stanza, much like the first, asks for Jesus to be with us as we traverse these forty days, so we can all celebrate the resurrection at the end.
Bless Now, O God, The Journey (Hymn of the Day- 7:45 AM, 9:00 AM)
This hymn encapsulates the message for the day. The journey through Lent is full of temptation, pitfalls, and danger, and throughout these forty days, we will call upon opposition from barriers that may or may not want to hold us back.
Sylvia Dunstan (1955-1993) is one of my favorite hymn writers from her generation, and she was taken from us far too soon. She left us with a legacy of beautiful, impactful, extremely profound poetry, much of which has been set to music in hymnals and choral anthems. The first two stanzas of this hymn detail the struggles of this Lenten journey. We journey through noise, silence, giving, and taking. Through deserts, water, and mountains, we travel until we find the road that faith is built upon. In stanza three, we are joined by the "divine, eternal lover" who meets us and guides us solidly along the path, not just when we need it, but always. Through the strength and support of God on this journey, we can all travel down our road of faith and arrive unscathed at the end of Lent.
How Long, O God (Communion Hymn- 9:00 AM)
The psalmist, as referenced in stanza one of this hymn, is in fact King David, who penned nearly half of the 150 psalms in the Bible. The psalm itself being referenced is Psalm 13, which begins, "How long, O Lord? Will you forget me forever? How long will you hide your face from me?" (Psalm 13:1)
The words "How long?" function as a refrain of sorts in that psalm, and they do here as well. We take this cry of "How long?" and make it our own throughout the Lenten season. Stanza two references temptation as "the evil" lurking "within, without" us, which carries over to stanza three where the grace of God, which seems like the perfect balm during times of trouble, seems so far away. The closing stanza echoes the opening nearly word for word. The only change is at the end, where instead of being "far away from home," we understand that "our God will lead us home."
Seed That On Earth Is Dying (Communion Hymn- 9:00 AM)
This Norwegian hymn comes to us from a pair of professors at the University of Norway in Oslo. The first stanza of this hymn talks about the substantial physical properties of communion elements. Stanza two references baptism, which we are celebrating this Sunday at the REJOICE! service. Baptism and Eucharist are so tightly bonded as two of our most important sacraments in the church. The closing stanza reveals the "seed" as a metaphor for Christ, rising from Earth at the resurrection.
If You But Trust In God To Guide You (Communion Hymn- 9:00 AM, Closing Hymn- 7:45 AM)
This is one of the great hymns of hope we have in the hymnal. Georg Neumark penned both the text as well as the chorale (a rarity for such a successful work) in the mid 17th century.
Stanza one alone is such an uplifting promise of faith and hope. Going on, we hear the message that there is no gain in stress or trouble as long as we are in our Savior's keeping.
From beginning to end, this hymn contains enough hope and guidance to sustain us all the way through our Lenten journey. Throughout all of the pain and turmoil we go through, we can always take comfort that we can rest in God's word and good will as long as we sing, pray, and keep God's ways unswerving.
CHORAL ANTHEM
A Lenten Walk- arr. Hal Hopson (Offering- 9:00 AM)
This week the Chancel Choir sings an arrangement of an old American spiritual by Hal Hopson, one of the most prolific composers of gebrauchsmusik (music for use) in the church today. Led by a soloist initially, the piece eventually blooms into a two part structure split between men and women. They each take turns singing the main tune, with the other part singing a counter-melody created by Hopson. A steady timpani beat signifying footsteps, a tolling handbell, and a clarinet line round out the anthem nicely.
INSTRUMENTAL MUSIC
Kyrie- Cathy Moklebust (Prelude- 7:45 AM, 9:00 AM)
Bells of Praise kicks off the music for our Lenten season this year, featuring a beautiful original handbell piece by Minnesota based composer, church musician, and handbell expert Cathy Moklebust. The piece, titled "Kyrie," is appropriately in a three part form, switching from C minor to the relative Ab major key. The character of this piece is a haunting and somber Lenten beginning.
Wer nur den Lieben Gott- John Behnke (Postlude- 7:45 AM, 9:00 AM)
This is a tremendous, underrated arrangement of this chorale. The tune is presented in its entirety throughout the piece, accompanied by a driving insistent melodic minor accompaniment.
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