Music for the Fifth Sunday after Pentecost: July 14, 2019

It has been said the Sundays after Pentecost are green to suggest growth;
 hence, the background of lush ferns in this graphic.

Opening Voluntary Ubi caritas et amor     

setting, Gerald Near (b. 1942)

See the tune and text at ELW 653.

This Sunday’s gospel lesson has an important reminder for us:
You shall love the Lord, your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength, and with all your mind; and your neighbor as yourself. Luke 10:27 NRSV

The Good Samaritan
Aimé Morot (1880)

This piece is based on a hymn that comes to us from Gregorian chant. It was first sung between the 4^th and 10^th centuries of the common era. It is often sung on Maundy Thursday during the foot washing part of the service. The text that accompanies this gentle melody calls us to “love the living God,” and tells us that where we find true charity and love, we also find God.

Hear the chant sung as it might have sounded in an ancient monastery by following the link. As a bonus, this YouTube recording allows you to follow along with the Gregorian chant notation. Notice the antiphon is sung by the assembly while soloists sing the verses. You might also notice a slight change in the text: Ubi caritas est vera. . . is what is sung here.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b_QEP-RHYLY

In this organ setting we hear the melody on an oboe stop accompanied by some of the organ’s softest flute sounds. (The latter were added to organ in 2013.) Later, the melody moves to the manuals and the sound fills out so that the pedals take on a supportive, rather than solo, role.

Gathering Hymn Great God, Your Love Has Called Us (Ryburn)

Evangelical Lutheran Worship ELW 358

Brian Wren (b. 1936) is one of my favorite writers of modern hymn texts. He drew this text from the following scriptures: Genesis 1:27, Isaiah 43:12, John 13:1-17, Romans 3:21-26, and II Corinthians 3:17 and 5:10.

Wren has a total of five hymns in Evangelical Lutheran Worship, but my favorite Brian Wren text, Bring Many Names, is not in ELW. Hear Bring Many Names, sung at First Plymouth Church in Lincoln, Nebraska, at the following link. It has subtitles, so you’ll be able to understand the text. The tune, Westchase, is by Carlton Young.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YTP85GwoE88

Hymn of the Day Where Cross the Crowded Ways of Life (Walton)

ELW 719

The author of this hymn, Frank M. North, was ordained in the Methodist Episcopal Church in 1872. He advocated for women’s rights, child labor laws, and for the rights of workers to organize. His passion for social justice is clearly reflected in this hymn. May we truly rise above “the cries of race and clan” and lift ourselves above the “noise of selfish strife” so that we can hear Christ’s call to love, and serve, our neighbor.

Communion Hymns

Christus
by Lucas Cranach the Elder (1472-1533)

When the Poor Ones (El camino)

ELW 725

Will You Let Me Be Your Servant (The Servant Song)

ELW 659

Sending Hymn Joyful, Joyful, We Adore Thee (Hymn to Joy)

ELW 836

I probably don’t have to tell you this infectious tune was written by Beethoven for the fourth movement of his Ninth Symphony. Our final hymned petition to God in this worship service is “teach us how to love each other.”

Closing Voluntary Praise God from Whom All Blessings Flow (Old Hundredth)

setting, Michael Burkhardt

See the tune and the text at ELW 885.

This tune is probably in every hymnal! Many people call it “The Doxology,” but the actual name of the tune is Old Hundredth because it was first paired with a metrical setting of psalm 100.

Burkhardt has set it as a toccata, a term that comes from an Italian word meaning “to touch.” Usually the keys are meant to be touched lightly – but the registration from the organ is often anything but light!

Sources:
Wikipedia

"The Good Samaritan" painting via Wikipedia

Discipleship Ministries (The United Methodist Church)

https://www.umcdiscipleship.org/resources/history-of-hymns-where-cross-the-crowded-ways-of-life

"Christus" woodcut via Wikipedia

Hymnal Companion to Evangelical Lutheran Worship, Paul Westermeyer