Reflection #12: Two and a half Hymnals

The hymnal of my childhood was the SBH (Service Book and Hymnal – commonly known as the Red Hymnal).  As a child I loved the harmony singing of the liturgy, but wasn’t too fond of the antiquated language (too much ‘beseeching’ and words ending with ‘eth’).  The year I headed off to Camrose Lutheran College (later known as Augustana University College) a new hymnal was being introduced.  The Camrose Lutheran College Choir, under the direction of Jonathan Mohr, was intentional in presenting some of the new music in this new hymnal as we performed around Alberta.  This hymnal caused controversy (as all new hymnals do) for reasons I don’t really remember any more.  What I do remember is delighting in some of the new hymns, most notably “Have No Fear Little Flock” which had a walking bass line in the accompaniment!  I remember the basses in the choir singing this jazzy bass line imitating the sound of a double bass being plucked – “doon, doon, doon, doon…”  I thought it was pretty cool.

By the time I got to seminary the LBW (Lutheran Book of Worship) was pretty well established as the hymnal used in Canadian Lutheran churches (at least those in the ELCC and the LCA-Canada Section, the Lutheran Church Missouri Synod had been involved in the development and production of this hymnal, but at the last moment they withdrew their support and created their own version, which was pretty similar as far as I could tell).  The Green Hymnal, as it commonly was known, was the worship resource for most of my time in ministry.  There were things I liked about the LBW, like the use of current English, and a simpler layout of the content.  There were also things I was disappointed in, like the emphasis on unison singing – I missed the harmonic emphasis of the SBH.  Most irritating was how some of the great harmonies for hymns found in the SBH was deliberately changed, and seldom for the better as far as I was concerned.

The LBW wasn’t as contemporary as many people originally thought.  In Seminary David Hunter and I decided to write new liturgical music as a special project.  We used the words from the LBW, but composed new music.  The result was “Hosanna: a Jazz Setting for Holy Communion.”  This new setting met with great approval from our professors and colleagues, so at their encouraging we sent it to Augsburg Publishing House, the primary publishers of Lutheran worship materials in North America.  The response was slow in coming, and when it did arrive it basically stated that there was no interest in our setting at all.  Later I discovered that around this same time Marty Haugen was not having any success in getting Augsburg interested in his worship setting “Now the Feast and Celebration”.  This led to Marty taking his work to GIA Publications (a Roman Catholic based company), which has published most of Marty Haugen’s music ever since.

In the early 1991 GIA published a hymnal supplement, complete with Marty Haugen’s music.  This book, simply called “Hymnal Supplement”, was primarily the work of a group of Lutheran Campus pastors who were looking for something more contemporary to use in their settings.  The popularity of this supplement got Augsburg’s attention and in 1995 they introduced With One Voice (WOV) which came to be known as the Blue Book.  This is what I call half a hymnal – it contains 4 different worship settings, and a collection of 200 new hymns, but it was clearly intended to supplement the LBW, rather than replace it, as indicated by the hymn numbers starting where the LBW hymn numbers ended.

Ironically in my own parish by this time we had already put together our own “Blue Book”, complete with a number of worship settings and words to many Country Gospel and Contemporary Worship songs.  At first we didn’t see the need to get another Blue Book, but then with a generous memorial donation we were able to purchase this supplement.  It quickly became a favourite resource, the liturgies and hymns reflecting a more diverse musical world.

A few years after WOV was released the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America and the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada began a project called “Renewing Worship”.  After much consultation and discussion the Renewing Worship program led to the development of a new hymnal called “Evangelical Lutheran Worship”.  The ELW was introduced in 2006 and given our propensity for calling hymnals by their colours this book was designated the “Cranberry Red Hymnal” (cranberry was added to distinguish it  from the SBH I suspect, however lately I am noticing that most places have simply dropped the ‘cranberry’ and call the ELW the Red Hymnal.

I was on the Saskatchewan Synod Introduction Team for this new worship resource. This meant that I became very familiar with the content of the newest hymnal before most folks.  Thus it surprised me when people made comments about the new hymnal that were quite inaccurate.  For example some people complained about the new hymnal being heavier than the LBW, actually both are the same weight (2.4 pounds), though the ELW has 251 more pages – thus the paper is thinner, which admittedly makes page turning a little more finicky.  Another complaint making the rounds before it was even produced was that all the masculine language for God had been replaced with gender-neutral words.  There are some places where gender neutral language is used, but there are far more examples of where the familiar masculine based language for God has been maintained.  Perhaps the most ridiculous comment I heard was that the new hymnal had a service for use in the blessing of same-sex unions.  This is quite inaccurate, and the marriage service that is included actually re-introduced a ‘declaration of intent’ which harkens back to the SBH and earlier.

This final example points to something I like about the new hymnal, that it has really tried to take the best from the past and the present and include it all in one book (which would account for the 1211 pages).  Many of the hymn harmonisations from the SBH which I enjoyed so much as a child have been brought back.  Worship settings range from a Gregorian chant-like setting to African–American Gospel style to Latin-American music, and even what is known as Contemporary Worship music.  There are even familiar worship settings drawn from the LBW and WOV.  This new hymnal really tries to reflect the diversity of the Lutheran Church in North America, and it packs a whole bunch of resources into one book.  I admire the impossible task the editors had, and how well they managed to succeed in the end.

However the ELW will never be the sole worship resource for the Evangelical Lutheran Church, there is far too much excellent worship resources available these days, and far too many wonderful liturgies, prayers and songs being created every year.  Some of these are found in printed resources, but more and more of them are being distributed through the internet.  It has been noted that the average life of a denominational hymnal is about 20 to 25 years.  Will there be a new hymnal introduced in 2025?  I suspect not, rather I think congregations will have moved to digital based worship resources, either projecting words and music on screens, or printing the liturgies in the bulletins.  Already we are doing this more and more at Christ Lutheran Church, where I serve.  I still enjoy paging through hymnals, and I don’t think I will ever get to the point of totally disregarding these printed and bound worship resources (I actually have quite a collection of Hymnals from different generations, denominations and locations).  What I am quite certain is that within the span of my ministry I will have had to deal with primarily two and a half hymnals.

The Lamb

A Christmas Eve Sermon

The Lamb is a poem by the 18^th century poet, painter, printmaker and mystic William Blake.  It has been set to music by the contemporary British composer John Tavener.  Both the poem and the music function on two levels, simple and complex.  The poem has a childlike nursery rhyme character about it, the choral work uses only 7 notes in simple phrases.  At the same time there are deep theological inferences in the words Blake uses, and Tavener combines the 7 notes in complex harmonies that point to something more than childlike innocence.

The poem begins with the poet asking a lamb (or perhaps a child) “Little Lamb, who made thee?”  In the second stanza the poet answers his own question by saying the lamb’s Creator calls himself by the same name: Lamb – describing the Creator with the lamb-like characteristics of ‘meek and mild.’

What a contrast!  The creator of all, the all-powerful force behind the vast universe, is given the name “Lamb” - Why?

Part of the answer comes in the nativity story – the birth of Jesus.  Echoing the Gospel of John’s proclamation that the Word became flesh, Blake reveals that the Creator who is a Lamb “became a little child.”

The descendants of Abraham and Sarah were familiar with God appearing in spectacular ways. Mighty and powerful, smoke and fire, thunderous voice, shaking mountains!  This is why the incarnation, the birth of Jesus, is so astonishing!  God choose to enter the world, our world, as a baby – completely opposite to what was expected.

Instead of power, Jesus came as a vulnerable baby. Instead of loud booming thunder – the tiny cry of an infant.  Instead of fire on the mountain – a bed of straw in a stable.  Jesus enters our world as a meek and mild baby, dependent on the care and compassion of others.

A lamb and a baby have some things in common: they’re both cute, they’re both soft, they’re both nonthreatening.  This is the opposite of the fierce, hard and forbidding.  By coming into the world he created in this lamb-like way Jesus tells us something about God and us.

About God - the incarnation tells us that God wants to draw close to us, to all of us.  As a fiery presence on Mount Sinai only a select few could draw close to God, any one else would die if they got too close to the holy mountain (Exodus 19:9-24).  As a baby in a manger all could draw close, as illustrated by the shepherd’s coming to see the child (Luke 2:15-17). God does not want us to stay clear because of fear, rather God draws us close with love.

About us - the incarnation tells us that God wants us to enter into the lives of those around us in a similar manner – gently and humbly, nonthreatening and mild.  As God has come to us in love, we are to go to one another in love.  In teaching his disciples Jesus makes this clear: “I give you a new commandment, that you love one another. Just as I have loved you, you also should love one another."  (John 13:34)

There is another reason the Creator is called The Lamb in this poem.  In the salvation history of the descendants of the Abraham and Sarah the lamb is a significant animal.  The lamb was an important part of the Passover, when the Hebrew slaves were set free from slavery.  The lamb was sacrificed for the freedom of others (Exodus 12:3-13).  After the Exodus the sacrificial lamb became part of the ritual worship life of Jewish people, offering forgiveness for sin and restoration of the covenant.  For the people of Israel the lamb was a symbol of freedom and forgiveness.

Jesus is also killed for the freedom of others – in this way he is like the Passover Lamb – but for all the world.  We too are freed from slavery, not from human masters, but freedom from sin and death.  The Gospels tell us that Jesus went to his death quietly and humbly, not using his immense power for personal rescue or revenge – rather ending his life the way he began it, like a lamb – humbly, non-violently, peacefully.

The Lamb reminds us that we need not fear.  We need not fear God because God loves us. Nor do we need to fear earthly powers because they are limited and will end.  We need not fear even death, which is no longer the end of our story because of our connection with Jesus’ life, death and resurrection.

The Lamb reminds us that peace is what we should strive for, it should be the very core of who we are. We are reminded that “Peace on Earth” is not just for one night a year – but it is God’s intention for all people, in all places, and all times.

The Lamb reminds us that the Creator is a God of surprises, that God will show up in the most unlikely places and people – thus we should treat all places and all people as holy, as part of God’s good creation.

The Lamb reminds us that God, who could have blazed into the world to set things right, instead choose to do things differently – using love and self-sacrifice to do what power and might could not. We are reminded to live as lambs ourselves – to recognize that more of God’s will is accomplished by humble love and sacrifice than any other manner.  To be lamb-like to one another is the greatest gift we can give at Christmas or any other time.

May you find the peace and love of the Lamb of God filling you to overflowing this day and in the year to come.  “Little Lamb, God bless thee!”

____________________

Click here to hear a version of John Tavener’s composition based on William Blake’s poem “The Lamb” sung by The Choir of King's College, Cambridge.

Nothing...

For years I have told people that my favourite scripture passage outside of the Gospels is from Paul’s letter to the Romans, the 8th Chapter, especially verses 28 - 39. I was thinking about this passage the other day and it became apparent to me that if Paul was writing his letter today to churches in North America he might have chosen different words to make his point. In this time and place people are not too concerned about persecution, famine or nakedness, nor do many think about angels, or powers, or even rulers separating them from God’s love. The list that Paul used in verses 35 - 39 caught the attention of his 1st century audience – but not so much a 21st century crowd. I thought I would reword this passage with some of the things we fear most, or consider powerful today – perhaps this revised version will help people understand the amazing message proclaimed by this special passage.

"Who or what will separate us from the love of Christ? Will cancer, or terrorists, or financial collapse, or corrupt corporations, or pandemics, or natural disasters? No, in all these things we are far more than mere survivors through the one who loves us.

For I am convinced that neither the finality of death, nor the uncertainty of life; neither things we know nor things we don’t understand; neither the immensity of the universe nor the power of the atom; neither the things we perceive nor the things beyond our perception; nor evil – neither in its banal or most hideous forms; neither the regretful past nor the unknowable future, nothing in time or outside of time; there is absolutely nothing that will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Ultimate Authority."

Reflection #11: Helping Everyone Can End Up Not Helping Many

This is one of the hardest lessons I have learned in ministry so far, that in trying to help everyone one may simply end up not helping many. Let me explain: there are limits to anyone's inner resources, and to have those used up without proper replenishment leads to a diminishment in one's ability to be helpful to anyone. Most pastors I know are in this vocation because they are helpful, compassionate people who yearn to help others in a meaningful and substantial manner. This yearning is admirable on one level, but dangerous on another. On one level trying to be helpful to those who have troubles, especially those marginalized by society, is simply following the lead of Jesus who spent much of his time ministering to the outcasts and unfortunates of first century Palestine. On the other hand this intention to be helpful can descend into an unhealthy form of co-dependency, which in the end doesn’t do anyone any good.

This is particularly dangerous for people like me who are both people-pleasers and conflict-avoiders – that’s a combination that can quickly lead to a depletion of emotional resources for the helper and a perpetuation of unhelpful behaviour for the one supposedly being helped. When the person seeking help refuses to take “no” or “later” as a reasonable response to their request, then a conflict can ensue, and in order to avoid the uncomfortableness of the conflict a minister may just give in to the request for help, and wear themselves out further in trying to help another.

To a person in crisis, real or perceived, getting help is the primary and immediate focus of their attention. For that person (or people) to be aware of the emotional, physical and spiritual well-being of the minister is unlikely, especially if the crisis seems acute. Since we can not rely on the person or people in crisis to be aware of the inner resources of the minister, then it is up to the minister to be self-aware. This is what I learned the hard way. It was up to me to care for my own well-being, no one else could or would do that for me. I had to learn to recognize my limitations, to sense when enough was enough. I had to make time to get away from it all in order to sit quietly in the healing and loving presence of God.

Thus time for one’s self, time to recharge, to re-examine, and to reconnect with God is essential. Allowing one’s self to burn out, to get completely exhausted emotionally and spiritually, this simply means long term ministry has been sacrificed for short term expediency. Sometimes until getting away from a situation one cannot see clearly what is happening and what is needed. The Gospels record that Jesus would go off to be by himself. I suspect these times of private prayer and solitude were needed by Jesus to keep his ministry focussed and fuelled. According to the Gospel of Luke this was something Jesus did regularly: “Yet the news about him spread all the more, so that crowds of people came to hear him and to be healed of their sicknesses. But Jesus often withdrew to lonely places and prayed.” (Luke 5:15-16 NIV)

Another way to talk about this topic is to use the law of diminishing returns. There comes a point where the effectiveness of the worker declines, due to fatigue and other factors, so that the time spent working is less and less productive. I remember experiencing this especially back in my seminary and university days. I would be writing a paper, forcing myself to keep at it because of a deadline, and after so much time working on the assignment if I didn’t take a break I simply started making mistakes or writing so poorly that it would need to be re-written later. Far better at that point to take a break, to rest, and then return to the assignment with fresh energy and understanding. This was easier to do with a paper, a written assignment can’t keep asking for help – with people I needed to learn to say “Sorry but I can’t help you right now.”

I remember a lesson from Pastor Gordon Hanson, who told my seminary class of a technique he used with people asking for help when he was unable, or unwilling, to respond at that moment. He would say to the person “This sounds like a terrible problem. Do you think this problem will still be bothering you tomorrow?” To which the person would inevitably respond with something like “Oh yes, this problem is not going away.” Then Gordon would reply “Then we can set a time tomorrow to deal with this problem further.” Gordon Hanson taught us that we are the only ones who can set the necessary boundaries in our lives and in our schedules in order to maintain our personal well-being. I had to learn through hard personal experience that sometimes there was no way to avoid disappointing people, or even making them mad – but their disappointment or anger does not need to prevent me from doing what I need to do to ensure I am physically, emotionally and spiritually in good health. That’s the only way ministers can continue to serve others, by caring for themselves along the way. When I tried to help everyone who asked me for assistance I only ended up crashing and burning, then I wasn’t much use to anyone. Thankfully I discovered that by intentionally and regularly removing myself to a place of prayer, peace and privacy I was able to be rejuvenated and renewed for ministry.

To be truthful, I still have the impulse to help others whenever my assistance is requested. That urge to bring peace and healing into people’s lives seems to be part of my character. The wisdom that comes from experience now helps to bring a voice of caution when I am running low on personal energy. In the end I had to trust that God would provide someone else to help the person in need, it wasn’t all up to me. After all, we are called into community with one another precisely because we can’t do it all ourselves. Together, as a family of faith, we help and serve one another. In these past 25 years I have learned that sometimes I need to let someone else in the family have the blessing of being able to help a person in need.