Some of the Music from the Week

"A Lamb Goes Uncomplaining Forth" (LSB 438) from Cheryl on Vimeo.



"His Love Is Everlasting" (Psalm 136) - Setting by Marty Haugen from Cheryl on Vimeo.


(There is no picture for this one, just audio.)
"O Sacred Head, Now Wounded" from Cheryl on Vimeo.



Easter Vigil Procession, Immanuel Lutheran Church, Broken Arrow, OK from Cheryl on Vimeo.



"Come All Ye Thirsty" from Cheryl on Vimeo.


Click here for "Jesus Christ is Ris'n Today." (I could not get it to embed.)



"This Is the Day" (Psalm 118) from Cheryl on Vimeo.



 
Be Ye Glad from Paul-Andrew Cromer on Vimeo.

April 20

Three years ago on April 20 a bad thing happened. The last two years I was painfully aware of the approach of the date on the calendar. Yesterday I didn't even think about it until about halfway through the day. I write this today to encourage you, if you have recently had an April 20 in your life, to take heart. I know it doesn't seem like it now, but there will come a time when that date on the calendar won't be completely overshadowed by what happened in the past. I'm not saying you will forget. Your April 20 may be a hundred times worse than mine, and the last thing I want to do is make light of anyone's pain. It may be that you haven't had just one April 20 but a series of them in quick succession, and you are wondering when they're going to stop. In that case, I pray God's care and protection of you. I also pray that in time your April 20s, however many of them there are, hurt less and the day comes that you wake up to discover that April 20 came and went and you didn't even realize it because you were too busy enjoying a life that is better than you ever imagined it could be. Until then, be ye glad and trust in the One who took the worst day in history and turned it into the best day there ever was.

Humility

Evan: "I'm nervous about my Good Friday solo. I don't know if I can sing all alone without the piano. What if I make a mistake and embarrass myself?"

Caitlin: "Of course you can do it, Evan. Trevor did it when he was younger. I did it, too. If we can do it, you can do it. You're just as good a singer as we were at your age."

Evan: "Really? Mom says I'm better."

Good Friday

A sampling of last night's musical selections for those who would like to listen. Thank you to all the musicians who gave of their time and talents in the service of the Word last night. Many were blessed by your efforts.

Psalm 2 led by a specially recruited Good Friday youth choir. The congregation joins in on the refrain and the adult choir assists with the descant. After the organ prelude, this was the first musical selection of the service.

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Psalm 2 from Cheryl on Vimeo.


A dramatic and powerful meditation on Jesus' anguish in the Garden of Gethsemane. "“Father, if you are willing, remove this cup from me. Nevertheless, not my will, but yours, be done.” (Luke 22:42)

 
"Thy Will Be Done" from Cheryl on Vimeo.

The treble choir again, singing the Isaiah text: "Surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted." (Isaiah 53:4)


"Surely He Has Borne Our Griefs" from Cheryl on Vimeo.


 A quiet moment in the darkness, shortly before all the lights are extinguished and the strepitus is heard. "Sorrow and love flow mingled down." This is the essence of Good Friday: so awful, and yet so very good.

 
"When I Survey the Wondrous Cross" from Cheryl on Vimeo.

The Reproaches for Good Friday

Another one, from last year. Phillip was commissioned by St. Paul's Lutheran Church in Denton, Texas, to compose this piece in memory of Rev. Al Donsbach, who officiated at our wedding at St. Paul's in 1987. It is a setting of The Reproaches for Good Friday (Improperia) and runs for over twelve minutes. It's worth the twelve minutes.

 
The Reproaches for Good Friday from Cheryl on Vimeo.

Remembering a Time Past

Lamb of God, Pure and Holy from Cheryl on Vimeo.

"Lamb of God" Like You Haven't Heard It Before

A few months ago my husband was commissioned by the Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod (WELS) to compose a piano meditation on the Twila Paris song "Lamb of God." The piece is to be featured at that church body's triennial national worship conference this summer in St. Peter, Minnesota. Last month Phillip completed the composing process and began learning to play his piece! He says it is not technically difficult, but it is so unusual that I think it is at least conceptually challenging. It is much more "classical" than "popular" in its approach. The result is haunting and beautiful and is growing on me with each successive listen. Here are Phillip's thoughts on the composition process (you can read his full blog post about the piece here):

I used some polytonal techniques to paint "no sin to hide" and some impressionism to highlight "brought me to his side" and "O wash me in His precious blood". I created a mutation of the tune's intervals to accompany "I was so lost", and derived a harmonic progression from the polytonal assertions I made in the first stanza to accompany the Passion stanza, with pianistic flourishes to evoke the mocking and crucifixion. I was able to land all this with recapitulations of several ideas in the third stanza and found resolution in the end for "and to be called a lamb of God."

Phillip decided to play his arrangement at our Good Friday Tenebrae yesterday, so I was able to capture a recording. My daughter helped me to edit the video so that it begins and ends with a photo of the altar at our church as it will look tonight at the Easter Vigil. It's not the best visual--I would have preferred that the photo be of a Lenten or Good Friday theme to reflect the seriousness of the music, but I didn't have one readily available. Maybe I can eventually switch it out with something more in keeping with the mood of the piece. But at this point it will depend on my daughter's availability since I have zero movie-making skill!

You are invited to listen and to meditate on the words--provided below--that the music is intended to evoke. I suggest reading line by line as you listen. Listen for the crucifixion, the scorning and mocking, the washing, and the Lamb. You will hear the text painted by the music. Sometimes the music is not pretty, and that is by design--the crucifixion of our Lord was not pretty. But in the midst of all that ugliness two thousand years ago was the sweetest, most beautiful thing that ever was or will be. And the beauty is not the sentimental, Hallmark card sort, but the type that makes you catch your breath in disbelief as you try and fail to take it all in. I think in its refusal to be forced into a musical mold this piece captures that sense of puzzled awe. How can this be, that the Lord of the Universe died for me?

I hope you are blessed by listening as I was.



Your only Son no sin to hide
But You have sent Him From Your side
To walk upon this guilty sod
And to become the Lamb of God.

Your gift of Love they crucified
They laughed and scorned him as he died
The humble King they named a fraud
And sacrificed the Lamb of God.

Chorus:
Oh Lamb of God, Sweet Lamb of God
I love the Holy Lamb of God
Oh wash me in His precious Blood
My Jesus Christ the Lamb of God.

I was so lost I should have died
But You have brought me to Your side
To be led by Your staff and rod
And to be called a Lamb of God

A God of Life

I'm turning my Facebook status this morning into a blog post.

Last night Evan, my 7-year-old, asked me one of those questions that makes ME feel like a 7-year-old: "Why didn't God kill the snake before it could tempt Adam & Eve?"

I fumbled around a bit with this and that, telling Evan that in His death on the cross Jesus did conquer the devil, but finally summarized with the standard "There are things we don't fully understand now that we will understand some day when we get to heaven."

This morning I shared Evan's question with my husband, who responded: "Well, God doesn't kill US before WE can sin, does He? The devil kills his enemies; the Lord kills Himself to save His enemies, reconciling the world to Himself."

See why I love this man?

Good Friday

I've enjoyed the uptick in my sitemeter that daily posting has brought about this week. But for the next few days I have some other things to focus on. May each of us fix our eyes on the Cross and see there both our condemnation and our only Hope. God bless you and yours.

In Christ,

Cheryl

See You at the Party

In addition to the Tenebrae, our congregation has an afternoon Good Friday service. It is not technically a Tre Ore ("Three Hours") service because it does not start at noon and end at 3:00. It is also not three hours long, but it does have many of the elements of the Tre Ore (the reading of the Passion narrative, and the Bidding Prayer, for example). The service is held at 4:00 p.m.; from 12:00 until 3:00 our pastors are available for individual Confession and Absolution.

I normally attend the Tenebrae rather than the afternoon service because that's where I am needed to serve as a musician. And although I might personally choose to attend both services, asking young children to do so is pressing my luck. So I have not always attended the afternoon service. But yesterday I did, and now I don't think I will ever want to miss it again (and since my last baby is now 5 years old, I don't think I'll have to). I don't know why--maybe I am just finally growing up--but I have never been more engaged in the reading of the Passion than I was yesterday afternoon. It was broken into segments and interspersed with stanzas of "O Sacred Head, Now Wounded" and was followed by a homily during which Pastor pointed us to the various parts of Jesus' body and how they received the punishment that should have been ours. Then we sang, "Stricken, Smitten, and Afflicted," the final two stanzas of which speak Law and Gospel as clearly as anything I can think of:

Ye who think of sin but lightly
Nor suppose the evil great
Here may view its nature rightly,
Here its guilt may estimate.
Mark the sacrifice appointed,
See who bears the awful load;
'Tis the Word, the Lord's anointed,
Son of Man and Son of God.

Here we have a firm foundation,
Here the refuge of the lost:
Christ the Rock of our salvation,
Is the name of which we boast;
Lamb of God, for sinners wounded,
Sacrifice to cancel guilt!
None shall ever be confounded
Who on Him their hope have built.

By the end of the hymn I felt as though I could look Satan himself in the eye and without flinching tell the old buzzard to "Get lost! I have Jesus on my side!"

Of course I couldn't have. Not of my own power, anyway. And neither can you. But we who wear the name of Jesus may boast indeed, because it is He who stands between us and Satan and who in our stead 2000 years ago told Satan to "Get lost!" And He continues to do so today and every day in a million different ways, each time we flee to Him who is our refuge.

It is finished. The battle is won. I'm going to the victory celebration.

Are you?

Good Friday

The video below is of approximately the last five minutes of our Tenebrae service tonight. It begins with a whispered Lord's Prayer, continues to the strepitus, and concludes with a young soprano* singing a cappella the second stanza of Paul Gerhardt's hymn, "A Lamb Goes Uncomplaining Forth." The strepitus at our service is the most extended one I have ever experienced and signifies the shaking of the earth and splitting of rocks described in Matthew 27. It is accomplished by the playing of one or more timpani, beginning as a low and distant rumble and gradually crescendoing to a thundrous and deafening climax, representing the closing of Jesus's tomb. Prior to the strepitus the final candles are extinguished and the Christ candle removed, so much of this video is in darkness. A little over halfway, however, the Christ candle returns, pointing us towards the Resurrection, and these words are heard:

This Lamb is Christ, the soul's great friend,

The Lamb of God, our Savior,

Whom God the Father chose to send

To gain for us His favor.

"Go forth, My Son," the Father said,

"And free my children from their dread

Of guilt and condemnation.

The wrath and stripes are hard to bear,

But by Your passion they will share

The fruit of Your salvation."

(Lutheran Service Book 438)

*named Caitlin

Triduum Tableaux

Triduum - The "great three days" of Jesus' Passion, death, and resurrection, beginning the evening of Maundy Thursday and continuing through the celebration of Easter Sunday.

Tableau - a vivid image, scene or picture.

As I reflect on the Triduum weekend, here are a few of the tableaux that come to mind:

The bittersweet lump in my throat while watching the stripping of the altar at the conclusion of the Maundy Thursday service as cantors and congregation responsively sang Psalm 136: "Give thanks to the Lord for He is good; His mercy endures forever."

Trying to warm up with the adult choir on Good Friday amidst a virtual forest of Easter lilies in my church's "Multi-Purpose Room" . . . it was like singing in a flower shop (not great for the more allergic among us)! It's not supposed to smell like Easter on Good Friday, but the lilies had arrived and needed a place to be. Multi-Purpose Room indeed! (It also serves as a meeting place and Sunday School classroom as well as the day school lunchroom.)

Accompanying my husband on piano while he sang "Why Do the Nations So Furiously Rage Together?" (Psalm 2) from Handel's Messiah and wondering how anyone's fingers could possibly play all those notes at such a raging and furious tempo (I will admit that thanks to some carefully planned edits, these fingers didn't).

The Litany (prayers) sung in a darkened sanctuary at the conclusion of the Good Friday Tenebrae, followed by the congregation's whispered Lord's Prayer, the final crying out of Jesus ("Eloi, Eloi, Lama Sabachthani?") and taking away of the Christ candle, the drum roll and strepitus signifying the closing of Jesus' tomb (as I tried to reassure my nervous 4-year-old), and the return of the Christ candle (signifying Jesus' impending resurrection) while the sweet voice of a child (in this case, my own little girl) sang a cappella the words of Paul Gerhardt: "O wondrous Love, what have You done! The Father offers up His Son, Desiring our salvation. O Love, how strong You are to save! You lay the One into the grave Who built the earth's foundation."

Rejoicing in the adult baptism that took place at our Easter Vigil service, and then hearing the amazing news that Pope Benedict baptized a Muslim man at the Easter Vigil in Rome. Read more about it here.

Waking up at 4:15 a.m. on Sunday morning and not minding one bit because it's Easter and Christ is risen! . . . then hurrying to put on the crock pot and fill the Easter basket before leaving for sunrise service.

Driving to church with my children at 5:45 a.m. and noting with wonder the full moon that due to atmospheric conditions (or something else?) was exhibiting a most unusual glow this day, resulting in vertical and horizontal beams of light emanating from it so as to create a cross shape in the sky . . . the vertical beam was highly pronounced, the horizontal beam less so, but nevertheless, the cross was there, shining in the darkness and leaving me speechless. I stopped at an intersection and tried to take a photo, but time was short and conditions didn't cooperate, so this picture in words will have to suffice. Wow.

Warming up with the adult choir once again on Sunday morning in the Multi-Purpose Room, this time while shivering with cold because the outside door had been left open to help dissipate the haze of smoke wafting in from whatever had burned next door in the kitchen as the youth prepared Easter breakfast.

Enjoying that mouth-watering Easter breakfast (eggs, pancakes, Canadian bacon, pastries, coffee and orange juice) served restaurant, not buffet style, in peace with my husband and two older children while the youngest slumbered at home with Grandma (I picked them both up for a later service).

Thinking to myself during communion that one of the reasons I prefer male lay ministers (aside from its being Biblical) is that there is nothing so touching as seeing those big, strong, tall men humbly serving their brothers and sisters in Christ as, with the utmost care, they carry the very blood of the Saviour and carefully bend down to lift that life-giving chalice to waiting lips while gently gazing into the communicant's face and pronouncing the gift of Christ's blood, "shed for you."

Preparing to accompany the youth choir on organ while my husband (the cantor) and friend (assistant cantor) nervously double-checked stops and pedals for me . . . . I say this not with resentment but with appreciation for their care . . . I am not an organist and need all the help I can get on the rare occasions I lower myself on that bench!

Playing percussion on the Tanzanian hymn "Christ Has Arisen, Alleluia!" (LSB 466) with my two older children as well as the same friend mentioned in the previous line while my husband played piano . . . it was joyful, and all we needed to complete the picture was some of these.

Playing the piano while my daughter's choir sang the Gerhardt hymn "Awake My Heart with Gladness" (full text here) to music by an especially gifted contemporary composer (see more of his stuff here and here).

Listening to my husband play and sing his way through eight liturgies in four days and realizing that having never had another cantor during my 20-plus years in the LCMS I am one blessed Lutheran indeed.

Helping my 4-year-old look for his "Ow-We-Woo-Ya" (Alleluia) butterfly (photo below).




Noting with satisfaction the "Closed" status of many of the retail businesses in our neighborhood as we drove home after services . . . though not as many were closed as on Christmas Day.

Coming home to a waiting crock pot full of this lady's ham and potato casserole (thanks for the recipe, Glenda!)

Returning from taking my mother home Easter evening to discover my four-year-old bleeding from the forehead . . . . a closer look revealed a deep cut in need of more than a bandage. . . . so off to the ER we went. Five stitches and a couple of days later he is doing just fine, but we still can't figure out exactly how one gets a cut on the forehead from running into the refrigerator (no one saw it happen, so we have to rely on his version of events, and all we know is that he was chasing the dog, or vice versa, and somehow the refrigerator attacked him!)

Good Friday

A Lamb goes uncomplaining forth,

The guilt of sinners bearing

And, laden with the sins of earth,

none else the burden sharing;

Goes patient on, grows weak and faint.

To slaughter led without complaint,

That spotless life to offer.

He bears the stripes, the wounds, the lies,

The mockery, and yet replies,

"All this I gladly suffer."

"This Lamb is Christ, the soul's great friend,

The Lamb of God, our Savior,

Whom God the Father chose to send

To gain for us His favor.

"Go forth, My Son," the Father said,

"And free My children from their dread

Of guilt and condemnation.

The wrath and stripes are hard to bear,

But by Your passion they will share

The fruit of Your salvation."

"Yes, Father, yes, most willingly

I'll bear what You command Me.

My will conforms to Your decree,

I'll do what You have asked Me."

O wondrous Love, what have You done!

The Father offers up His Son,

Desiring our salvation.

O Love, how strong You are to save!

You lay the One into the grave

Who built the earth's foundation.

(Lutheran Service Book #438, "A Lamb Goes Uncomplaining Forth," Text by Paul Gerhardt, 1607-76)