Hymnody

 Planning the music for worship is always a challenge. The lyrics should fit the theme of the day’s texts, but often those fitting lyrics are paired with tunes that people don’t know.   

 

Because most people don’t read music, they feel more comfortable singing tunes that they know. But limiting tunes means limiting lyrics and limiting lyrics means that texts won’t line up.

 

And so the music minister is given the task of holding these realities in tension—of creating a delicate balance of familiar hymnody with unfamiliar hymnody—of walking the line of safe versus radical—of honoring the old while upholding the new.   

 

I’m pretty sure that my current music minister does a great job of walking that line…but I honestly don’t know what’s old and what’s new because the difference between Baptist hymnody and Lutheran hymnody is vast!

 

Songs that are old standards to my choir-mates are brand new to me! Thankfully, I can read music, so the tunes aren’t that big of a challenge…and the lyrics…well…the lyrics are opening a whole new world to me. Some are just so very beautiful…or inspiring…or challenging:

 

“Publish to every people, tongue and nation that God, in whom they live and move, is love…Publish, glad tidings, tidings of peace, tidings of Jesus, redemption, release.” (Mary A. Thomson)

 

What hymn uses the word publish?! And yet. I was praying about what to write in my next note last week when I found myself singing these words. Publish that God is love, peace, redemption, and release, Deanna. Publish it in your note. Publish it wherever you can.

 

“Will you love the you you hide if I but call your name? Will you quell the fear inside and never be the same? Will you use the faith you’ve found to reshape the world around, through my sight and touch and sound in you and you in me?” (John L. Bell)

 

Yes. Yes, I will try to love the me I hide and quell the fear inside and I will use my faith to try to reshape the world through Christ. Will you?

 

“You need my hands, my exhaustion, working love for the rest of the weary—a love that’s willing to go on loving.” (Cesareo Gabarain)

 

God needs our exhaustion to show God’s love because other people are exhausted, too. We meet people where they are, even in weariness.  

 

These are just a few of the lyrics that have spoken to me recently. New hymns added to my old standards. New lyrics that I am willing to make my own.

 

What about you? What hymn or song lyrics are speaking to you these days? What lyrics are stretching you beyond…or bringing you back home?

 

Please comment. I’d love to hear.