17th Sunday After Pentecost
This is a very special week here at St. Paul's. At the 9:00 AM service on Sunday, we are privileged to be joined by the Wartburg College Ritterchor, the college's men's ensemble, directed by Dr. Lee Nelson. Having Ritterchor here at St. Paul's further strengthens the bond between St. Paul's and Wartburg College. As an ELCA church, having an associated ELCA college only blocks away is a wonderful boon for us. The resources they provide for us are immeasurable.
The Gospel reading for this week continues directly from last week's, where Jesus declared that he was to suffer through his own passion and death. This week, he continues on this path, where not only does he prophesy his death again, but also his resurrection three days later.
The story continues when Jesus discovers the disciples arguing amongst themselves about who of them is the most worthy (interesting, hmm?). Jesus approaches them and puts them in their place, saying "Whoever wants to be first must be last of all and servant of all." He then plucks a child from the crowd and puts it among them, saying "whoever welcomes one such child in my name welcomes me, and whoever welcomes me welcomes not me but the one who sent me."
This is the second example in the last month of Jesus using a child to demonstrate the proper way to live one's life, putting children first. It gave birth to many examples of music and hymnody that are used today.
PRELUDE
Prelude in G major, BWV 568- J.S. Bach
J.S. Bach is arguably the greatest composer of all time for the organ, and possibly across all mediums as well. His organ works can be divided into two broad types, those which are chorale based (ie. an organ piece organized around a specific melody), and those which are "free," or freely composed (ie. not based on an existing melody or other source material).
Just about any of his works titled "prelude," "fugue," "toccata," "chaconne," "ricercar," etc... are free works. Many of them are paired, but this prelude is an orphan, with no corresponding fugue, toccata, or other work. Centered in G major, it contains a very succinct, clear ABA form.
OPENING HYMN
Let The Whole Creation Cry
Stopford A. Brooke, an Irish Chaplain and prolific writer, penned the words to this hymn in the 1870's. As far as I can tell, this is his one and only hymn that remains in usage today, of only just about a dozen total.
This hymn is a paraphrase of Psalm 148, where everything in the universe is praising and shouting glory to God. Rarely is there a hymn, or a psalm, that maintains a single focus all the way from beginning to end. It can do so because the subject manner it addresses is virtually limitless. Every living, breathing entity in the world has the ability to praise God, and this hymn lists a good many of them. Particularly, the people of the church are listed at the beginning of stanza three, with line two pointing out the integral role of children in worship, a practice that hearkens to Jesus' teachings today.
At the 9:00 AM service, Ritterchor will be singing stanza one of this wonderful hymn of praise, with the congregation joining for the two concluding stanzas.
HYMN OF THE DAY
Lord, Whose Love In Humble Service (7:45 AM only)
Both of our hymns of the day today come from the same time period and very similar sources. This hymn, used at the 7:45 AM service, is from the Sacred Harp hymnal, the hymnal used since its publication in 1844 until today at hundreds of Sacred Harp community sings around the country.
In addition to Jesus' words regarding children this week, he also preaches to his disciples on the importance of servanthood. In a way, by saying his prophesy of his future death, he is declaring himself as a servant to us.
That is the subject of this hymn. Just as Jesus bore himself to the needs of us, so must we bring ourselves to worship with all of our hearts and souls. Using stanza three as a conclusion, we pray for vision to see the sacrifices Jesus made for us in order to become better servants of God and the Word.
Loving Spirit (9:00 AM only)
While The Sacred Harp played an integral part of the history of early American hymnody, the Southern Harmony hymnal, published 9 years earlier, played as equal of a part. Where Sacred Harp has been edited frequently throughout the 20th century, Southern Harmony has remained unchanged since 1854.
This Southern Harmony tune is paired with a text that was commissioned in 1986 for the annual Hymn Society Conference. A text that is very appropriate for Pentecost, it is based on the Holy Spirit entering, watching over us, drawing us to it, and putting its sign of grace and peace on us.
The interior stanzas describe this spirit as a mother, father, friend, and lover. Just as a mother enfolds and feeds us, a father protects and carries us, and a friend comforts us, the Holy Spirit does all of these things as well. The closing stanza is a recapitulation of the first, bringing it full circle.
OFFERING
Rise Up, O Men, Of God- arr. Kenneth Jennings (Wartburg College Ritterchor)
This hymn has been altered to fit more modern tastes (with the alteration "Rise Up, O Saints Of God" (see ELW 669)), but here it is presented in its original form, in an arrangement by long time conductor of the St. Olaf Choir, Kenneth Jennings. This is a wonderful showpiece for men's choir, featuring rich, four part harmonies that are unbelievably effective when they are sung with gusto and spirit.
COMMUNION HYMNS
Thy Holy Wings (9:00 AM only)
The two communion hymns are meant to be a pair. The first, sung to a Swedish folk tune, uses God as a metaphor for a bird, holding us within his wings and comforting us in our times of need. Thanks to this comfort, it enables us to be better servants of God, to serve each other and our children, as once again mentioned in stanza three.
Children Of The Heavenly Father (9:00 AM only)
The second hymn in this duple is much more well known, and continues the message of comfort and support, particularly for children.
With hymns such as "Children of the Heavenly Father," Lina Sandell has placed herself into the hearts of Christian worshipers young and old, creating one of the most timeless, relatable texts in all of hymnody.
Though Sandell penned these texts, they may not have been successful and widely known if it weren't for the Swedish troubador Oskar Ahnfelt. He traveled through both Sweden and Norway with a 10-string guitar, singing Sandell's hymns and sharing his ministries. He was even endorsed by Swedish King Karl XV, who declared that these songs should be shared throughout the entire kingdom. He later assisted in the publishing of Sandell's texts, which paved the way for them to be included in hymnals throughout the world.
CLOSING HYMN
Lord, Whose Love In Humble Service, v. 4 (7:45 AM only)
The closing stanza of this hymn sends us out into the world from worship into service, to serve children, youth, and adults in the name of God.
POSTLUDE
Fugue in C major- J.S. Bach
You may remember that I played a Fugue in C major last week, only by Pachelbel. This Fugue by Bach is quite a bit longer, with more voices, and more development in the motivic material. While the contrapuntal writing of Pachelbel is brilliant, the fugal writing of Bach is truly masterful, a miraculous display of precision and use of material. It truly takes a lot of creativity and inspiration to be able to start a fugue subject on an 8th rest, rather than a note. In the second measure of the subject, the syncopations creating amazing chances for suspensions, which Bach uses to great degree.
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