Liturgy Lessons: March 12, 2017 (2nd Sunday in Lent)
Call to Worship: Psalm 111 (Responsively from Trinity)
Hymn of Adoration: Give to Our God Immortal Praise (#3)
Confession of Sin: from Psalm 38 (vs. 1-4; 17-18; 21-22)
Assurance of Pardon: Psalm 32:1-7
Hymn of Thanksgiving: O the Deep, Deep Love of Jesus (#535)
Catechesis/Congregational Prayer
Tithes & Offerings
Doxology: #731
Sermon
Meditation
Supper: The Power of the Cross (Getty); When I Survey (#252)
Closing Hymn: Lift High the Cross (#263)
Benediction
Maps
By Holly Ordway
Antique maps, with curlicues of ink
As borders, framing what we know, like pages
From a book of travelers’ tales: look,
Here in the margin, tiny ships at sail.
No-nonsense maps from family trips: each state
Traced out in color-coded numbered highways,
A web of roads with labeled city-dots
Punctuating the route and its slow stories.
Now GPS puts me right at the centre,
A Ptolemaic shift in my perspective.
Pinned where I am, right now, somewhere, I turn
And turn to orient myself. I have
Directions calculated, maps at hand:
Hopelessly lost till I look up at last.
“I lift up my eyes to you, to you whose throne is in heaven.”
–Psalm 123:1
Much has been written, said, and discussed about the effects of technology on every aspect of life in our modern culture. I have often noticed how our slow slouch toward the screen mimics a posture of prayer. Bowing our heads before the cellphone 250 times a day—even while in the car—can lead to a wreck, perhaps not of the SUV (though that happens far too often), but a wreck of the soul. The contemporary sonnet “Maps,” by American poet and academic Holly Ordway, is a fitting Lenten reflection. The poem is about three kinds of maps (antique, AAA, and GPS), and it calls us to be rightly oriented in our fast-paced, Wi-Fi culture. We are, as Ordway says, “hopelessly lost” until we find the true GPS (God, Providence, Savior). Technology, she argues, has caused a “Ptolemaic” shift, a modern retrogression to pre-Copernican thought (where earth is the center of the universe). May this Lenten season bring with it a Copernican shift, an intentional looking up and away from our screens, and focusing on the true Sun, beholding him in all his glorious passion and blinding glory.
This is all wonderfully ironic, I know, because you are probably reading this on a screen, even as I write it on my laptop. But after I press “send” and close the lid, the echoes of these scriptures, hymn texts, and melodies steer my heart compass toward true north. During this 40-day journey, may we not be “pinned” to where we are, but be able to look up at Him, pinned to the cross, and hear him calling us. And, may these hymns become like maps for all of us, pointing the way to the savior, prompting the soul to sing.
Give to Our God Immortal Praise
Text: Isaac Watts (1719)
Tune: WARRINGTON, Ralph Harrison (1784)
I have already written quite a bit on Watts in our past Liturgy Lessons, so I will keep this entry brief. I am including this wonderful versification of Psalm 136 for two reasons. First, so that you can get familiar with the tune. And, second, so that you can hear the recording provided in the link below. It is a sweet a capella version by Shenandoah Christian Music Camp in Virginia. It gives us a glimpse of what is possible when we foster a love of singing and choral training in our young people. Enjoy.
Sheet Music: http://www.hymnary.org/hymn/TH1990/page/3
Suggested Choir Recording: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LL2lIpfjh9U
Lift High the Cross
Text: George William Kitchin (1887)
Tune: CRUCIFER, Sydney Nicholson (1916)
“The Son of Man must be lifted up, that everyone who believes in Him may have eternal life.”
–John 3:14
George W. Kitchin (1827-1912) was a scholar and Anglican clergyman who spent most of his life in academia. Dean of Winchester Cathedral and of Durham Cathedral, he was widely published, and wrote on archaeology. He wrote the original version of the hymn text in 1887 for the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel, and it was first used for a festival service at Winchester Cathedral, England.
In 1916, Michael R. Newbolt revised the text in twelve couplets for the 1916 Supplement to Hymns Ancient and Modern. Five of his couplets and refrain are included in our Trinity Hymnal. Newbolt served as a priest in the Church of England, and then as a principal of the Missionary College in Dorchester. He wrote several theological works, including a popular commentary on the Book of Revelation.
It is through the combination of these two men’s talents that we have the singing text of “Lift High the Cross.” I love the fact that two clergymen and teachers, one being an archaeological scholar and the other an expert on Revelations, join through their work to celebrate the supremacy of Christ over all of time. “Lift High the Cross” is a hymn that celebrates the sufficiency of the Cross for the whole world, from the most ancient of times to the end of days. It has been noted that this hymn text is similar to Constantine’s vision of the Cross, and may be inspired by that source. But more than a hymn of conquest, this text makes clear that the cross is a symbol of Christ’s love. Each verse reveals a unique implication of Christ’s cross: Christ rallies his people behind him (vs. 1-2); Christ draws people unto himself (vs. 3); Christ gives healing to the despair of the world (vs. 4); Christ’s victory enjoins our praise to him (vs. 5).
Sir Sydney Hugo Nicholson (1875-1947) was an English choir director, organist and composer, now chiefly remembered as the founder of the Royal School of Church Music (RSCM). He was organist at Westminster Abbey who left his post to found the School of English Church Music (now the RSCM). Nicholson was concerned at the sad state of music in the parish churches throughout the country, and wanted to contribute to the rebuilding of that rich tradition. A man after my own heart! He was editor of Hymns Ancient and Modern, still the standard hymn book in many Anglican churches today. In 1938 he was knighted for his services to Church music. He died in Ashford, Kent at the age of 73. He was buried at Westminster Abbey.
Sheet Music: http://www.hymnary.org/hymn/TH1990/page/274
Recording: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GbcBXYP4AlE