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Hymn hits discordant tone

18 Aug 2013 - Preaching the News for Sunday

The psalmist praises the Lord, who "put a new song into my mouth, a hymn to our God." A committee putting together a new hymnal for the Presbyterian Church (USA) has run into criticism rather than praise for dropping a popular him when the song's authors refused to change a phrase about the wrath of God.The original lyrics of "In Christ Alone" say that “on that cross, as Jesus died, the wrath of God was satisfied.” The Presbyterian Committee on Congregational Song wanted to substitute the words, “the love of God was magnified.”The song’s authors, Stuart Townend and Keith Getty, objected, so the committee voted to drop the song. Critics say the proposed change was sparked by liberals wanting to take God’s wrath out of the hymnal. The committee says that's not true.Instead the problem is the word “satisfied,” which the committee says refers to a specific view of theology that it rejects. Debate over “In Christ Alone” is a mix of church politics, the touchy subject of updating hymn lyrics, and rival views of what Jesus’ death on the cross meant."People think that we’ve taken the wrath of God out of the hymnal,” said Mary Louise Bringle, a religion professor and hymn writer who chaired the hymnal committee. “That’s not the case. It’s all over the hymnal. The issue was the word ‘satisfied.’ ”That term was used by the medieval theologian Anselm, who argued that sins offended God’s honor and therefore someone had to die in order to satisfy this honor. The 15-member committee rejected this view and voted 9-6 to drop the hymn.The Rev. Chris Joiner of First Presbyterian Church in Franklin, Tennessee agrees with the move. He said some of his church members are fans of the song and will be disappointed that it was dropped. But the song's words don’t work, he said. “That lyric comes close to saying that God killed Jesus,” he said. “The cross is not an instrument of God’s wrath.”Homily hint: “The one who sings, prays twice,” Saint Augustine is commonly quoted as having said. His actual words differed, but the quote does help us understand why congregations care so much about their music. Hymns move us while they instruct us. Surveys show Catholics have their own concerns about the music used in worship. Make sure your own community is actively working to enhance its offering of liturgical music. Source: An article by Bob Smietana for USA TODAY

Crucifixion presbyterian church usa wrath of god in christ alone chris joiner mary louise bringle atonement satisfaction stuart townend keith getty presbyterian committee on congregational song jesus christ cross hymns

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Homily stories

03 Jun 2012 - Solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity, Cycle B

For those of us over a certain age, the minute we hear Paul referring to the disciples as sons of God as he does in today’s second reading, we feel the urge to break out into a refrain of “Sons of God,” a popular 1970s Communion song that was etched in every young Catholic’s memory: Sons of God: Hear His Holy word, Gather around the table of the Lord Eat His Body, drink His Blood And we’ll sing a song of love Allelu, allelu, allelu, alleluia. Hymns, prayers, chants, and songs are essential primarily because they are lasting. Indeed, they often become a lifeline to our faith. Consider the case of Servite Father Lawrence Martin Jenco, who was held hostage for 564 days in Beirut in the 1980s: Deprived of company for much of his capture with no reading material and little if any light, he spent his time reciting psalms, prayers, and Bible verses he had memorized as a young boy. In Bound to Forgive, the book he wrote about his time in captivity, Jenco said it was his faith that sustained him, and in turn it was a host of simple prayers and verses stored in his memory bank that helped sustain that faith.

Authors Patrice J. Tuohy

hymns prayers chants song lawrence martin jenco

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Exploring the word

25 Dec 2018 - Solemnity of the Nativity of the Lord (Christmas), Cycle C

The feast of Christmas is something to sing about. If we really understood the wonder of this day, we couldn’t keep ourselves from singing! Maybe that’s why more songs have been written for this season than any other. Think about it: How many Thanksgiving songs do you know? (“God Bless America” doesn’t count!) How many songs for a happy birthday? Just one. Except for a few moviemakers like Tim Burton, nobody puts much talent into composing songs for Halloween. When you move all the way around the calendar, the most celebrated and widely sung-about day of the year is this one. Although there have been a lot of hymns composed about Easter, not to mention some bunny songs, they will never monopolize the malls and seduce hip-hop artists and rock stars to write one of their own. Christmas alone has that power to transform the secular landscape and bathe it in the sound of caroling. “Sing to the Lord a new song!” the psalmist urges us. We do that nearly every year, but we also sing the familiar old ones that have been around for centuries. This is the season of the trumpet voluntary and the hand bell choir, the harp and the harpsichord. I’ve even heard “Joy to the World” on steel drums, and we’ve all been subjected to “Jingle Bells” barked by a dog chorus. Saint Francis of Assisi would have gotten the joke; after all, he was the one who put live animals in his crèche scene. Gloria in excelsis deo How can we keep from singing? Even the angels couldn’t; we sing our Gloria at Mass in remembrance of their gracious chorus before the shepherds to whom they first deliver the news of Christ’s birth. When the news is this good, even the sound of running feet is beautiful, according to Isaiah. Maybe that’s how musicals got started: The more excited a character in a drama gets, the more natural it is to assume he or she is bursting with the urge to sing it out. Maybe this is why so many of us sing in the shower, too, as all of our negative ions are clicking into positive ones under the refreshing influence of the water. Happiness is a very singable state of mind and heart. When we’re full of joy, we don’t care how off-key we may be or who may be listening. The prologue of John’s gospel that we read today isn’t properly a song, although much of it is written in verse. But it is part counterpoint, part harmony with another passage of scripture composed in a poetic style. You can imagine them being read in alternating verses: “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.” “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” “The earth was a formless wasteland.” “All things came to be through him, and without him nothing came to be.” “Darkness covered the abyss.” “The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.” “And God said, ‘Let there be light.’ ” “A man named John came to testify to the light.” It’s clear from even this brief comparison that the evangelist was imitating the creation story in his gospel, to emphasize the new world coming into being in Christ. We can hear the melody of Genesis breaking through like a song almost out of range in John’s gospel. Even at the conclusion of these passages we hear the perfect chord being struck: “God looked at everything he had made and found it very good.” “From his fullness we have all received, grace in place of grace.” John the troubadour In the musical Godspell—and let’s just point out that the gospel has been set to music a lot in the past generation, as folk music in Godspell, rock opera in Jesus Christ Superstar, and bluegrass in The Cotton Patch Gospel—John the Baptist is portrayed as a shofar-sounding troubadour. The shofar, a somewhat unmusical ram’s horn, was originally used at Mount Sinai to announce the arrival of God and later sounded famously by Joshua to blow down Jericho. Later it was adapted for less catastrophic purposes as a call to prayer. When John is introduced blowing the shofar in Godspell, we are invited to consider all the meanings of that horn: Prepare the way of the Lord! The mortal city is coming down! Get on your knees! The testimony of John in scripture, even though it isn’t sung, retains this sense of unity and counterpoint with the ministry of Jesus. Both proclaim the coming of the Kingdom and the need for repentance. But while John focuses on the urgency of the ax laid at the root of the tree, Jesus beckons us with healing power and the forgiveness of sin. This is a song for two voices: We can imagine John singing a deep and warning bass and Jesus bringing up the noble tenor. Applying the word The Christmas homily Preaching Christmas is a little like talking about ardor: Just kiss the girl, already! Lots of folks come home for Christmas, “home” meaning church as well as to their families, and now is not the time for an exploration of the theology of the Incarnation. The warmth of family, the wonder of snow, the softness of colored lights, the holiday feast, the excitement of gift-giving and the crèche scene are going to be more effective preachers under these circumstances than we are. A little humility is in order here: No matter how good you are, you’re not going to top the spread at Grandma’s. Capitalizing and focusing on the best elements of the season, like the backdrop of music that is an ever-present part of the magic, will give the Christmas proclamation staying power to follow the assembly home and through the Octave. Invite them to sing the rest of the liturgy with you, conscious that we are in harmony with the angels and all creation as we join in the unending hymn of praise. Related scripture links Music in scripture: Exod. 15:1-21; Judg. 5:1-31; 1 Sam. 16:14-23; 2 Kings 3:14-15; Ps. 149; Eph. 5:18-20; Col. 3:16 Creation story: Gen. 1:1-31 Shofar usage: Exod. 19:16, 19; Josh. 6:1-20 John and Jesus strike a chord: Mark 1:2-4, 7-8, 14; Matt. 3:1-2, 7-12, 4:12, 17

Authors Alice Camille

song singing joy darkness Light Praise hymns Music

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Homily stories

25 Dec 2018 - Solemnity of the Nativity of the Lord (Christmas), Cycle C

Why is it that Christmas carols, the same ones we sing year after year, mean so much to us? I hear "Silent Night," and I think of setting up the creche in the family grocery store. I hear "O Holy Night," and I remember being thanked by an elderly couple from their window after going caroling through the neighborhood. And "Adeste Fidelis" always reminds me of carrying the infant Jesus to the crib at Midnight Mass. It is precisely the memories that are attached to the carols that make them so powerful to us. These memories are part of our Christmas traditions. These traditions are part of the parcel of faith that has been handed down to us. We add to it and then we hand it on to others—to family, neighbors, friends, and, as important, to those bereft of all that has been handed on to us. When we have been given so much it becomes essential that we share it with others. It is more of a gift than any of the wrapped presents we will open. The music of this season sounds out of place in July or at a funeral or instead of our anthem at a baseball game. But the reality of what we celebrate today is for every single day of our lives. It is never out of place to share God’s loving presence with others. The Light and the Word born into our world has been memorialized in hymns and carols since the angels sang “Glory to God in the highest” that first Christmas. But it lives on through our actions today and every day.

Authors Father Dominic Grassi

carols song traditions hymns memories

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