Advent 2022

 “Sometimes you need to sing your way into the truth.” Sara Hagerty, quoted in Adore.

Advent is a time to show up and sing your way into the truth whether you feel like it or not. The words of Isaiah 40 are a perfect way to begin:

“Comfort ye, my people…” from Handel’s Messiah

Do you feel comforted? Encouraged to look up and anticipate God working? I tend to when I hear the beginning of this. I know the entire Messiah was composed to be performed at Easter, but this bit is a perfect beginning to Advent, don’t you think?

More of The Blessing

Recordings of “The Blessing” have continued to pop up as communities of Christians all over the world have recorded virtual choir versions.

 Christianity Today has a thoughtful article about how the text is translated into different languages. We tend to overuse the word “blessing” in English; “Be blessed,” “bless your heart,” various hashtags, etc. Our worship and knowledge of God can be deepened by hearing how He is praised in other languages. The article contains a link to over 100 Youtube versions of “The Blessing.”

Blessed by “The Blessing”

A dialect from the Philippines translates the word “blessing” to “caused to be pierced by words causing grace.” How lovely; how sobering.

To Be a Pilgrim

This is an obvious post and long overdue. The title of this blog comes from this song!

To Be a Pilgrim - Maddy Prior

Don’t you love the exuberance of the Renaissance instruments? I used to cover a Maddy Prior version of “Poor Little Jesus” that I’ll post sometime. She is a fun singer.

This is the only hymn John Bunyan wrote. Wikipedia has two versions of the lyrics listed - Bunyan’s original and the 1904 version that is probably more familiar. The original text is more fanciful and forceful at the same time. Bunyan spent time in jail for his beliefs...he understood firsthand how discouragement and “dismal stories” meant to deter a Christian could end up strengthening him. May it be so with us!

John Bunyan's Original Version	1906 The English HymnalVersion
1. Who would true valour see,	1. He who would valiant be
Let him come hither;	′Gainst all disaster,
One here will constant be,	Let him in constancy
Come wind, come weather	Follow the Master.
There’s no discouragement	There’s no discouragement
Shall make him once relent	Shall make him once relent
His first avowed intent	His first avowed intent
To be a pilgrim.	To be a pilgrim.
2. Whoso beset him round	2. Who so beset him round
With dismal stories,	With dismal stories,
Do but themselves confound;	Do but themselves confound——
His strength the more is.	His strength the more is.
No lion can him fright,	No foes shall stay his might,
He’ll with a giant fight,	Though he with giants fight:
But he will have a right	He will make good his right
To be a pilgrim.	To be a pilgrim.
3.  Hobgoblin, nor foul fiend[,]	3. Since, Lord, thou dost defend
Can daunt his spirit;	Us with thy Spirit,
He knows he at the end	We know we at the end
Shall life inherit.	Shall life inherit.
Then fancies fly away,	Then fancies flee away!
He’ll fear not what men say,	I’ll fear not what men say,
He’ll labour night and day	I’ll labour night and day
To be a pilgrim.[4]	To be a pilgrim.[5]

Family Hymn Sing

Here is another of the Getty Family Hymn Sings, this one with the added pleasure of Sandra McCracken and Tim Nicholson. It is a simple porch singalong, not a concert, though the musicians have certainly performed in front of large audiences.

Getty Hymn Sing

The comments below the video are almost as enjoyable as the music. People from all over the world are blessed and encouraged by these sings.

It is fun to see and hear three of the Getty little girls join in, though one of them gets past her bedtime...

Someone does persuade her off-camera eventually. Maybe they will move the rocking chair before the next porch sing. 

Joy in the Journey

There is a joy in the journey.

There’s a light we can love on the way.

There is a wonder and wildness to life,

And freedom for those who obey.

All those who seek it shall find it;

A pardon for all who believe,

Hope for the hopeless and sight for the blind.

To all who’ve been born of the Spirit,

And who share incarnation with Him,

Who belong to eternity, stranded in time, 

And weary of struggling with sin.

Forget not the hope that’s before you, 

And never stop counting the cost,

Remember the hopelessness when you were lost?

Joy in the Journey - Michael Card

Wonderful poet, deep-thinking theologian, and gifted musician. All those terms describe Michael Card. The link above is to a live performance with just Michael, the piano, and a cellist. So beautiful! 

I remember sweeping a house in Decatur while waltzing to this music, truly feeling “a wonder and wildness to life.” Our little church plant met in that house, and we were preparing for a wedding. It was around 1989, and the song was new to me then. Different phrases have been more meaningful at different seasons. Sometimes “who belong to eternity, stranded in time, and weary of struggling with sin” resonates the most. (“That’s right, I don’t quite belong here...”) Other times I need to be reminded to press on - “Forget not the hope that’s before you.” It is all a journey, and there is always joy in some measure.

My Shepherd Will Supply My Need

My Shepherd Will Supply My Need - Thompson

Click the link above to enjoy one of the loveliest choral arrangements ever. The Washington Cathedral Choir does a wonderful job with it, though no one could match Ross Magoulas conducting the Berry Singers back in the day. Magoo (our nickname for him) would vary the tempo of the verses in a way that gave the song more energy.

Mack Wilberg has a lush, beautiful arrangement of the same words and basic tune. Enjoy this performance by the Baylor A Cappella Choir conducted by my conducting mentor, Alan Raines.

My Shepherd Will Supply My Need - Wilberg

No one conducts singers better than Alan Raines at his best. We sang this song at a tour through Finland, Estonia, and Russia just as I completed my Master’s in Choral Conducting at Georgia State University in 2004. Dr. Raines asked me to play flute while Katie Baughman played the violin. Mostly due to my lack of technique as a flutist, as well as having an instrument in need of an overhaul, I felt the flute was too shrill and pitchy to work well with the violin. I ended up playing the Yamaha recorder that I always kept in my flute case. It just worked better.

Katie Baughman has gone on to earn a PhD in voice and is now a cantor at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception as well as having done a stint in the Army as one of the Singing Sergeants. Well done, Katie!

My trip down memory lane with this song was actually a distraction. Music can be that way sometimes. The text came to mind as I was out walking today. These are sobering, sad times. No choirs are singing, much less performing international tours. Parents of school-aged children are being asked to make decisions based on the shifting sand of scientific recommendations. Our politics have gotten so toxic that the average person is rightfully suspicious of anything that comes out of the mouth of an elected official.

I started Life Without Lack by Dallas Willard right about the time the pandemic struck the US. I’m going slowly, savoring every sentence. It is a study of the 23rd Psalm, which the above songs are based on. What do we mean when we say “The Lord is my Shepherd, I shall not want?” It means that in God we have everything we need; we can truly live a life without lack. We don’t need assurances about how and when things will be more normal, he is our shepherd. He’s got it. We are already part of his flock, his kingdom, and that will not be shaken, even by death.

I need to spend more time in that book.

Home

We are nearing the end of a 14 day quarantine after being exposed to Covid. Sunday is a little too close for me to sit inside a room with other folks. The sanctuary is capacious, but I want to be a few days past the minimum to safely be with others.

I’ll miss hearing our friend Michael Boyd sing special music “I Need Thee Every Hour.” I don’t have a recording of him singing, but I did write about the song a few weeks ago. You can read background and listen to some recordings Here.