Wednesday, October 25, 2017
Yes, There Will Be New Posts
Sorry for the silence on the blog lately - my laptop screen is on the fritz, which makes typing kind of challenging. I am hoping to get caught up soon. Thanks for your patience!
Saturday, October 7, 2017
Sunday, October 8th - The Shakers and Difficult Times
My fellow music ministers and I are getting really tired of having to scrap our plans for the upcoming Sunday in order to reflect on horrible current events. The Shaker song I wanted to do this week asks "O brethren, ain't you happy?" and the answer at the moment is a solid "no." Hurricanes, earthquakes, political unrest, and now the deadliest mass shooting in American history. It's exhausting and I know I'm not the only one whose heart is tired from hurting for others.
I've been continuing my research on the Shakers and this week I've found them to be not only intriguing, but a source of comfort and an inspiration. From the beginning, the Shakers practiced pacifism. The last remaining Shakers explain their approach to pacifism on their website:
"We strive daily to put into practical terms, 'Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself.' The central teaching of the New Testament is quite simply love, the love of God for man and that of man for God as evidenced in the life and death of Jesus of Nazareth. This same love was always and is today the very cornerstone of Shakerism. For us as followers of the Christ we feel we show that peace as pacifists. This does not mean merely refusing to bear arms against another, it also requires us to never feel bitterness, never to feel any desire for revenge, but always to seek only the highest good of every person no matter what they may do to us. We further believe in the practice of universal Brotherhood as well as equality for all, the Shakers being forerunners in applying this to our daily life over two hundred years ago."
Where is the bitterness in my own life? Where is the desire for revenge? I must find these and root them out as they have no place in Christian love. The Shakers also believed their practice of total equality was a part of pacifism - the more you start to see someone as an "other," the more you might feel inclined to hostility toward them.
But with all this study, I was still left with the problem of what to have my choir sing on Sunday. So I turned to one of my resources of Shaker music and found a song with lyrics that seemed to speak directly to the hurt in my soul.
I haven't been able to find any information on the song - I don't know when it was written or by whom. I can't find any recordings of it. I just know that it will be a continual source of comfort for me because of the words:
Soul Pleadings (author unknown)
On my way from earth to heaven, scenes of trial and of pain
Fill my soul with deepest sorrow, and my labor seems in vain
When I view the work before me, see the laborers how few
Oh, my heart becometh heavy, and I ask, Lord, help us through.
I've been continuing my research on the Shakers and this week I've found them to be not only intriguing, but a source of comfort and an inspiration. From the beginning, the Shakers practiced pacifism. The last remaining Shakers explain their approach to pacifism on their website:
"We strive daily to put into practical terms, 'Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself.' The central teaching of the New Testament is quite simply love, the love of God for man and that of man for God as evidenced in the life and death of Jesus of Nazareth. This same love was always and is today the very cornerstone of Shakerism. For us as followers of the Christ we feel we show that peace as pacifists. This does not mean merely refusing to bear arms against another, it also requires us to never feel bitterness, never to feel any desire for revenge, but always to seek only the highest good of every person no matter what they may do to us. We further believe in the practice of universal Brotherhood as well as equality for all, the Shakers being forerunners in applying this to our daily life over two hundred years ago."
Where is the bitterness in my own life? Where is the desire for revenge? I must find these and root them out as they have no place in Christian love. The Shakers also believed their practice of total equality was a part of pacifism - the more you start to see someone as an "other," the more you might feel inclined to hostility toward them.
But with all this study, I was still left with the problem of what to have my choir sing on Sunday. So I turned to one of my resources of Shaker music and found a song with lyrics that seemed to speak directly to the hurt in my soul.
I haven't been able to find any information on the song - I don't know when it was written or by whom. I can't find any recordings of it. I just know that it will be a continual source of comfort for me because of the words:
Soul Pleadings (author unknown)
On my way from earth to heaven, scenes of trial and of pain
Fill my soul with deepest sorrow, and my labor seems in vain
When I view the work before me, see the laborers how few
Oh, my heart becometh heavy, and I ask, Lord, help us through.
Help us through these scenes of peril that like clouds upon us frown
Or as angry waves of ocean threaten to engulf and drown
Lift thine arm, almighty Father, thou alone hast power to save
Thou canst calm the surging tempest, rule the storm and still the wave.
Thou canst calm the surging tempest, rule the storm and still the wave.
Thou canst draw, O heavenly Father, weak and doubting ones to thee
By the cords of love eternal and the truth which maketh free
I have felt thy warm embraces, and thy constant care have known
Sweet and tender is thy mercy unto erring mortals shown.
Sweet and tender is thy mercy unto erring mortals shown.
Though the burden may be heavy, lighter grows the weight each day
At the thought of many blessings that are shared along life's way
Many saints have gone before me, loved companions with me stand
Who have gained through faithful labor treasures in the promised land.
Many saints have gone before me, loved companions with me stand
Who have gained through faithful labor treasures in the promised land.
The Shakers believed that the second coming of Christ was in his Church. So what can we learn from the Shakers? How can we as the Church make earth more heavenly? How do we ease the bitterness in our own hearts and the hearts of others? Who do we see as an "other" instead of a "brother"? It often feels like the work to be done is too great and there are too few of us. But the Shakers went from only 8 to over 6,000 in less than 60 years. Our numbers are so much greater, we can do so much more. Be a force of love. Be a force of charity. Don't be afraid of the storm.
Amen.
Friday, October 6, 2017
Post coming soon
Yes, there will be a new post before Sunday. The tragic news from Las Vegas put me behind - I know my fellow music ministers are getting tired of having to scrap our plans for a Sunday service because of events in the news. But it would be somehow worse to ignore them. Check back soon for the new post!
Wednesday, September 27, 2017
Sunday, October 1st - Stewardship Season and Songs of the Shakers
First things first - sorry for the lack of a post last week. I've been playing the piano for Rosh Hashanah services at a local Jewish congregation and it took up a lot of time last week. Shanah Tovah, everyone!
October is the month when we focus on stewardship at St. George's. It's not just about taking pledges of giving for the coming year so we can plan our budget, it's also a time to think about what we have and what we can do to benefit the church and our community. As I was planning ahead for music for the fall, I realized I had chosen two selections for the choir that were Shaker songs. After doing a little more research, I decided that our time of stewardship would be an excellent time for a series of Shaker songs. Subsequently, my blogs this month will include some information and stories about the Shakers. If you can find a copy of Ken Burns' documentary "The Shakers: Hands to Work, Hearts to God," I highly recommend watching it. I will be referring to it often in my blogs this month.
We will begin our series of Shaker songs with what is perhaps the most famous one - "Simple Gifts" - but first, some background information on the Shakers.
Their official name was The United Society of Believers in Christ's Second Appearing, but because of their ecstatic dances, they became commonly known as "Shaking Quakers" and eventually just "Shakers." The Shakers were founded by an English factory worker named Ann Lee. After receiving what she believed to be divine visions and guidance, she came to the New World with eight followers in 1774. They established the first Shaker community near Albany, NY. Ann was imprisoned for her pacifist doctrine but upon her release, she toured New England and persuaded more converts to Shakerism. At their height in the middle of the 19th century, there were more than 6,000 Shakers in 19 villages around New England, Ohio, and Kentucky.
75 years before the emancipation of the slaves and 150 years before women could vote in America, the Shakers practiced total racial, social, economic, and spiritual equality for all members. They believed in pacifism, feminism, freedom from prejudice, and joyful personal worship. They raised and educated orphans, caring for them like their own children. They lived in communal villages and remained celibate, devoting themselves to the community, their work and their craftsmanship. They believed God dwelt in the details of their craftsmanship and were renowned for their furniture, fabrics, and inventions. You can thank the Shakers for flat brooms, clothespins, and the circular saw, among other things.
From a distance, the Shakers may resemble the Amish, but unlike the Amish, Shakers were open to progress and technology. One village in New Hampshire owned one of the first automobiles in the state and rigged their community with electricity at a time when even the state capital was still burning gas. While many may blame the Shakers' commitment to celibacy as the reason for their dwindling numbers, it was largely a result of the industrial revolution. Once furniture, fabric, and other items could be mass produced and purchased more cheaply, there was less need for the industry of the Shakers. Their communities dwindled and there is currently only one remaining Shaker community in Maine. They even have a website.
The song "Simple Gifts" was written in 1848 by a Shaker named Elder Joseph Brackett. He only wrote one verse, though other verses have been added over the years. Another popular setting of the tune is the song "Lord of the Dance," written Sydney Carter in 1963. The tune was mostly only known in Shaker circles until American composer Aaron Copland used it in the ballet "Appalachian Spring" in 1944. Since then, the tune has been used and covered countless times and remains an enduring favorite. The tune is, like the Shakers themselves, simple and sweet and timeless.
"'Tis the gift to be simple, 'tis the gift to be free
'Tis the gift to come down where we ought to be
And when we find ourselves in the place just right
It will be in the valley of love and delight.
When true simplicity is gained to bow and to bend we shan't be ashamed
To turn, turn will be our delight, 'til by turning, turning we come round right."
This song makes me think of our annual parish retreat. For one weekend in November, I am away from my computer, from the television, from the hustle and bustle of Austin, and I live in community with my St. George's family out in the middle of nowhere in the beautiful Texas hill country. It's definitely a gift to live like that, even just for a weekend. And when we focus on our community and spend time in the presence of God, we realize there is no shame in bowing and bending our will to a greater purpose. If we could do that a little more often, we would definitely "come round right."
Amen.
October is the month when we focus on stewardship at St. George's. It's not just about taking pledges of giving for the coming year so we can plan our budget, it's also a time to think about what we have and what we can do to benefit the church and our community. As I was planning ahead for music for the fall, I realized I had chosen two selections for the choir that were Shaker songs. After doing a little more research, I decided that our time of stewardship would be an excellent time for a series of Shaker songs. Subsequently, my blogs this month will include some information and stories about the Shakers. If you can find a copy of Ken Burns' documentary "The Shakers: Hands to Work, Hearts to God," I highly recommend watching it. I will be referring to it often in my blogs this month.
We will begin our series of Shaker songs with what is perhaps the most famous one - "Simple Gifts" - but first, some background information on the Shakers.
Their official name was The United Society of Believers in Christ's Second Appearing, but because of their ecstatic dances, they became commonly known as "Shaking Quakers" and eventually just "Shakers." The Shakers were founded by an English factory worker named Ann Lee. After receiving what she believed to be divine visions and guidance, she came to the New World with eight followers in 1774. They established the first Shaker community near Albany, NY. Ann was imprisoned for her pacifist doctrine but upon her release, she toured New England and persuaded more converts to Shakerism. At their height in the middle of the 19th century, there were more than 6,000 Shakers in 19 villages around New England, Ohio, and Kentucky.
75 years before the emancipation of the slaves and 150 years before women could vote in America, the Shakers practiced total racial, social, economic, and spiritual equality for all members. They believed in pacifism, feminism, freedom from prejudice, and joyful personal worship. They raised and educated orphans, caring for them like their own children. They lived in communal villages and remained celibate, devoting themselves to the community, their work and their craftsmanship. They believed God dwelt in the details of their craftsmanship and were renowned for their furniture, fabrics, and inventions. You can thank the Shakers for flat brooms, clothespins, and the circular saw, among other things.
From a distance, the Shakers may resemble the Amish, but unlike the Amish, Shakers were open to progress and technology. One village in New Hampshire owned one of the first automobiles in the state and rigged their community with electricity at a time when even the state capital was still burning gas. While many may blame the Shakers' commitment to celibacy as the reason for their dwindling numbers, it was largely a result of the industrial revolution. Once furniture, fabric, and other items could be mass produced and purchased more cheaply, there was less need for the industry of the Shakers. Their communities dwindled and there is currently only one remaining Shaker community in Maine. They even have a website.
The song "Simple Gifts" was written in 1848 by a Shaker named Elder Joseph Brackett. He only wrote one verse, though other verses have been added over the years. Another popular setting of the tune is the song "Lord of the Dance," written Sydney Carter in 1963. The tune was mostly only known in Shaker circles until American composer Aaron Copland used it in the ballet "Appalachian Spring" in 1944. Since then, the tune has been used and covered countless times and remains an enduring favorite. The tune is, like the Shakers themselves, simple and sweet and timeless.
"'Tis the gift to be simple, 'tis the gift to be free
'Tis the gift to come down where we ought to be
And when we find ourselves in the place just right
It will be in the valley of love and delight.
When true simplicity is gained to bow and to bend we shan't be ashamed
To turn, turn will be our delight, 'til by turning, turning we come round right."
This song makes me think of our annual parish retreat. For one weekend in November, I am away from my computer, from the television, from the hustle and bustle of Austin, and I live in community with my St. George's family out in the middle of nowhere in the beautiful Texas hill country. It's definitely a gift to live like that, even just for a weekend. And when we focus on our community and spend time in the presence of God, we realize there is no shame in bowing and bending our will to a greater purpose. If we could do that a little more often, we would definitely "come round right."
Amen.
Saturday, September 16, 2017
Sunday, September 17th - Confirmation and Ministry
Some of my earliest memories are either of church or of music. Many involve both. I had a toy piano that I taught myself to play "Jesus Loves Me" on, my mother taught my sister and I some old hymns, and I was in the church's children's choir from a young age. I had a cassette of Bible songs that I listened to often. I was so excited when we got a piano, even though it was an enormous, unwieldy upright that I wouldn't want to touch today.
When I was about 13, I started taking piano lessons from our church pianist who let me play preludes and offertories for church services on occasion. When I was in high school, I started playing the piano for one of the elementary Sunday school classes who started their classes with a few worship songs. Before my senior year of high school, I went to a conference for church music where I was introduced to some basic music theory. I was fascinated and I knew from that moment that I wanted to be a college music theory professor.
I got several scholarships to a small Baptist college in the Texas panhandle. My theory classes were a breeze and my dream of being a college professor seemed to get closer every day. On the side, I worked as a church pianist and I accompanied voice lessons. In 2006 I took the next step in achieving my dream and started my Master's degree at Texas State University.
That's when my dream began to unravel. I saw a larger picture of collegiate music theory and there was a lot of in-fighting and general snobbery. I wanted to reach my students on their level - I wrote my Master's thesis on using popular music to teach students sight singing and ear training and was told by more than one professor that we shouldn't "stoop to their level." I loved my students and I didn't consider using familiar music to teach them "stooping." When it was time to apply for PhD programs, I met with a man who is considered one of the leading sight-singing/ear training pedagogues in the country. I thought if I studied with someone who had a passion for teaching, he would understand my passion for teaching. But even he said that couldn't be my focus.
I was crushed. All I wanted was to make music understandable and accessible to people. I thought teaching college music theory was a way to do that but the deeper I got into that world, the further away that goal seemed to be. I decided to put off the PhD while I figured out what the next step was.
It was like drifting at sea. For so long I had known the path: get the BA, get the MM, get the PhD, teach. Now I had gotten the MM and the path abruptly stopped.
As luck would have it, my church found itself in need of a music minister around this time. When they first asked me, I said no. I was applying for community college teaching jobs around the country, looking for anything that would take me away from San Marcos. When they asked me again, I said okay. I was out of options.
I didn't love it right away. I was still applying to other jobs and hoping that something would come along and take me far, far away. During my first few weeks directing the choir, the anthems had already been selected and one of them was "Make Me a Servant" by Benjamin Harlan:
Make me a servant, Lord
Give me a willing heart
May all I do be done for you
Cleanse me and fill me anew.
Make me a servant, Lord
Give me a willing heart
Ready to go, ready to stay
Ready to always obey.
Make me a servant, Lord
Give me a willing heart
Walking in love, living by faith
Make a servant, I pray.
It was that second verse that really struck me. I was ready to go. I desperately wanted to go. I wasn't ready to stay. I turned that song into my own personal prayer. Several months later I was surprised to realize how much I was enjoying my job.
In 2013 I became the music minister at St. George's Episcopal Church. Two years later, I wrote a setting of the Lord's Prayer and the rector encouraged me to write settings of the other service music. Since then I have written settings of the Gloria, Sanctus, Kyrie, Agnus Dei, Doxology, Fraction, Trisagion, and Gospel Alleluia. I hope to continue writing church music as long as I am able.
In church music, I found what I had been looking for in academia - I can help people understand music. I can help them be better performers and better listeners. For me it's an act of service. It's everything I didn't know I was preparing for my whole life - from the early days of plunking out "Jesus Loves Me" on a toy piano, to a Master's thesis on meeting people where they are, to the blood, sweat, and tears I've poured into being a music minister these last nine years.
This summer I was awarded a scholarship to go to the Sewanee Church Music Conference in Tennessee. If I hadn't already known that I was doing exactly what I was supposed to be doing, Sewanee would have confirmed it. As it was, it lit a new fire under me. It's impossible to sing in that beautiful chapel and not be transformed.
This Sunday, September 17th, I am being confirmed in the Episcopal Church. My choir is singing "Make Me a Servant." We're using some of my service music. My heart is full.
I love the movie "Mr. Holland's Opus." At the end, the titular character reflects on his many years teaching high school music - a job he initially took as a fallback position. "It's almost funny," he says. "I got dragged into this gig kicking and screaming and now it's the only thing I want to do." Like Mr. Holland, it's amusing to me now how I resisted at first. Looking back it's obvious where it was all heading. My earliest memories are of music and church - I could hardly give my life to the one without also devoting myself to the other.
I hope to continue using my musical talents in service. I hope to continue writing music for churches. This is my dream and this is my prayer. Amen.
Make a joyful noise to the Lord, all the earth
Break forth into joyous song and sing praises
Sing praises to the Lord with the lyre
With the lyre and the sound of melody
Psalm 98:4-5
When I was about 13, I started taking piano lessons from our church pianist who let me play preludes and offertories for church services on occasion. When I was in high school, I started playing the piano for one of the elementary Sunday school classes who started their classes with a few worship songs. Before my senior year of high school, I went to a conference for church music where I was introduced to some basic music theory. I was fascinated and I knew from that moment that I wanted to be a college music theory professor.
I got several scholarships to a small Baptist college in the Texas panhandle. My theory classes were a breeze and my dream of being a college professor seemed to get closer every day. On the side, I worked as a church pianist and I accompanied voice lessons. In 2006 I took the next step in achieving my dream and started my Master's degree at Texas State University.
That's when my dream began to unravel. I saw a larger picture of collegiate music theory and there was a lot of in-fighting and general snobbery. I wanted to reach my students on their level - I wrote my Master's thesis on using popular music to teach students sight singing and ear training and was told by more than one professor that we shouldn't "stoop to their level." I loved my students and I didn't consider using familiar music to teach them "stooping." When it was time to apply for PhD programs, I met with a man who is considered one of the leading sight-singing/ear training pedagogues in the country. I thought if I studied with someone who had a passion for teaching, he would understand my passion for teaching. But even he said that couldn't be my focus.
I was crushed. All I wanted was to make music understandable and accessible to people. I thought teaching college music theory was a way to do that but the deeper I got into that world, the further away that goal seemed to be. I decided to put off the PhD while I figured out what the next step was.
It was like drifting at sea. For so long I had known the path: get the BA, get the MM, get the PhD, teach. Now I had gotten the MM and the path abruptly stopped.
As luck would have it, my church found itself in need of a music minister around this time. When they first asked me, I said no. I was applying for community college teaching jobs around the country, looking for anything that would take me away from San Marcos. When they asked me again, I said okay. I was out of options.
I didn't love it right away. I was still applying to other jobs and hoping that something would come along and take me far, far away. During my first few weeks directing the choir, the anthems had already been selected and one of them was "Make Me a Servant" by Benjamin Harlan:
Make me a servant, Lord
Give me a willing heart
May all I do be done for you
Cleanse me and fill me anew.
Make me a servant, Lord
Give me a willing heart
Ready to go, ready to stay
Ready to always obey.
Make me a servant, Lord
Give me a willing heart
Walking in love, living by faith
Make a servant, I pray.
It was that second verse that really struck me. I was ready to go. I desperately wanted to go. I wasn't ready to stay. I turned that song into my own personal prayer. Several months later I was surprised to realize how much I was enjoying my job.
In 2013 I became the music minister at St. George's Episcopal Church. Two years later, I wrote a setting of the Lord's Prayer and the rector encouraged me to write settings of the other service music. Since then I have written settings of the Gloria, Sanctus, Kyrie, Agnus Dei, Doxology, Fraction, Trisagion, and Gospel Alleluia. I hope to continue writing church music as long as I am able.
In church music, I found what I had been looking for in academia - I can help people understand music. I can help them be better performers and better listeners. For me it's an act of service. It's everything I didn't know I was preparing for my whole life - from the early days of plunking out "Jesus Loves Me" on a toy piano, to a Master's thesis on meeting people where they are, to the blood, sweat, and tears I've poured into being a music minister these last nine years.
This summer I was awarded a scholarship to go to the Sewanee Church Music Conference in Tennessee. If I hadn't already known that I was doing exactly what I was supposed to be doing, Sewanee would have confirmed it. As it was, it lit a new fire under me. It's impossible to sing in that beautiful chapel and not be transformed.
This Sunday, September 17th, I am being confirmed in the Episcopal Church. My choir is singing "Make Me a Servant." We're using some of my service music. My heart is full.
I love the movie "Mr. Holland's Opus." At the end, the titular character reflects on his many years teaching high school music - a job he initially took as a fallback position. "It's almost funny," he says. "I got dragged into this gig kicking and screaming and now it's the only thing I want to do." Like Mr. Holland, it's amusing to me now how I resisted at first. Looking back it's obvious where it was all heading. My earliest memories are of music and church - I could hardly give my life to the one without also devoting myself to the other.
I hope to continue using my musical talents in service. I hope to continue writing music for churches. This is my dream and this is my prayer. Amen.
Make a joyful noise to the Lord, all the earth
Break forth into joyous song and sing praises
Sing praises to the Lord with the lyre
With the lyre and the sound of melody
Psalm 98:4-5
Friday, September 8, 2017
Sunday, September 10 - Everything is the Worst, But God is Love
I don't know about you, but I'm pretty depressed. Bad news keeps piling onto bad news. Devastating hurricanes on one side of the country while the other side burns up in a raging wild fire, and let's not even get into what is going on in politics.
Sometimes I feel like my heart can't take any more bad news. I want to just shut out the world because caring is exhausting. But that's because I'm only human. Thankfully, God never stops caring for the world. God never stops loving the world.
Our opening hymn on Sunday is one of my favorites; I never heard it before I came to the Episcopal church. The first verse establishes God's power over creation, but it's the second verse where the love really shines through. "When human hearts are breaking... we find the same aching... in the heart of God." What a beautiful thought! God's heart breaks when our hearts break. Then the last verse ties it all together and declares that "God is love, so love forever o'er the universe must reign." To succinctly sum up this hymn: God created the universe in love, God loves everything in it, and God rules over that creation with absolute love.
Opening hymn: God Is Love, Let Heaven Adore Him #379
This makes me think of my favorite opera, a lesser-known Mozart work called "La Clemenza di Tito" ("The Mercy of Tito"). The emperor (Tito) is betrayed by one of his closest friends (Sesto), who tries to kill him. Sesto is condemned and Tito must sign the death sentence. But he struggles to condemn his friend and sings my favorite aria, "Se all'impero."
"If a hard heart is necessary for ruling, O benevolent gods,
either take the empire from me or give me another heart.
If I cannot assure the loyalty of my realms by love,
I care not for a loyalty that is born of fear."
(You can hear it here - Michael Schade's interpretation of the character is my favorite. He really shows the internal struggle.)
I think that many people try to make God a God who rules by fear. Oftentimes, natural disasters bring out the people who claim that a hurricane or a flood is somehow God's punishment. But I believe in a God who rules with love. A God whose heart breaks when ours break. I think God weeps over the loss and destruction as much as we do. God is love, and love - not fear - will reign.
Sometimes I feel like my heart can't take any more bad news. I want to just shut out the world because caring is exhausting. But that's because I'm only human. Thankfully, God never stops caring for the world. God never stops loving the world.
Our opening hymn on Sunday is one of my favorites; I never heard it before I came to the Episcopal church. The first verse establishes God's power over creation, but it's the second verse where the love really shines through. "When human hearts are breaking... we find the same aching... in the heart of God." What a beautiful thought! God's heart breaks when our hearts break. Then the last verse ties it all together and declares that "God is love, so love forever o'er the universe must reign." To succinctly sum up this hymn: God created the universe in love, God loves everything in it, and God rules over that creation with absolute love.
Opening hymn: God Is Love, Let Heaven Adore Him #379
God is love, let heaven adore him
God is love, let earth rejoice
Let creation sing before him
And exalt him with one voice.
God who laid the earth's foundation
God who spread the heavens above
God who breathes through all creation
God is love, eternal love
God is love, and love enfolds us,
All the world in one embrace
With unfailing grasp God holds us
Every child of every race
And when human hearts are breaking
Under sorrow's iron rod
Then we find the selfsame aching
Deep within the heart of God
God is love, and though with blindness
Sin afflicts all human life,
God's eternal loving kindness
Guides us through our earthly strife
Sin and death and hell shall never
O'er us final triumph gain
God is love, so love forever
O'er the universe must reign.
This makes me think of my favorite opera, a lesser-known Mozart work called "La Clemenza di Tito" ("The Mercy of Tito"). The emperor (Tito) is betrayed by one of his closest friends (Sesto), who tries to kill him. Sesto is condemned and Tito must sign the death sentence. But he struggles to condemn his friend and sings my favorite aria, "Se all'impero."
"If a hard heart is necessary for ruling, O benevolent gods,
either take the empire from me or give me another heart.
If I cannot assure the loyalty of my realms by love,
I care not for a loyalty that is born of fear."
(You can hear it here - Michael Schade's interpretation of the character is my favorite. He really shows the internal struggle.)
I think that many people try to make God a God who rules by fear. Oftentimes, natural disasters bring out the people who claim that a hurricane or a flood is somehow God's punishment. But I believe in a God who rules with love. A God whose heart breaks when ours break. I think God weeps over the loss and destruction as much as we do. God is love, and love - not fear - will reign.
Wednesday, August 30, 2017
Sunday, September 3rd - Labor Day - Blankets and Bedding
This week is Labor Day weekend and the hymns are all about vocation and commitment. But what's really on my mind this week is another call to labor - the Texas coast and coastal plains have been devastated by Hurricane Harvey. There is a lot of work to do and will be a lot of work to do for a long time to come. While we should pray for the victims of the storm, we should also roll up our sleeves and get to work. And remember that while donations and funds are flowing in now, the communities will need a lot of support after the news moves on to the next thing. But for now, here are some charities you may consider donating to:
Blood drives:
South Texas Blood and Tissue Center
Carter BloodCare
Blood drives:
South Texas Blood and Tissue Center
Carter BloodCare
Food banks:
Houston Food Bank
Houston Food Bank
Animals:
Houston SPCA
Houston SPCA
With all of images on the television and Facebook, I'm reminded of the story I told earlier this summer about Gander, Newfoundland, taking in 7,000 stranded passengers from international flights on September 11th. A new musical, "Come From Away," depicts their story. One song in particular has been on my mind as calls for donations and volunteer work come in. I'll leave you with that. Think about what you can do and how you can help, however small you think it may be.
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