"Once to every man and nation comes the moment to decide."

"Once to every man and nation comes the moment to decide."
Hymn: “Once to Every Man and Nation” – James Russell Lowell (1819-1891)

Various Tunes

I’m not a political person – never have been, never hope to be. In my ministry career, we were discouraged from voicing our opinions on politics, candidates or party affiliations. As the creative director of a non-profit (Waxahachie’s Old Fashioned Singing Project), by agreement with the IRS for tax-exempt status, we are not allowed to support any political candidates or causes. I am fine with that. THIS is not a political statement, so don’t even go there!

This has been a very interesting few months for Americans as we have watched and listened to impeachment proceedings. It has been troubling on so many levels -- frankly, depressing. Partisanship played a larger role than getting at the truth -- on both sides of the dividing wall... I mean "aisle." Most were pumping up their constituents with the rhetoric they think will garner the most votes at the next elections.

To complete today’s hymn-line:

            Once to every man/woman and nation comes the moment to decide,

            In the strife of truth with falsehood, for the good or evil side.

There has always been and always will be "strife" -- a battle between truth and falsehood, good and evil. It started in Genesis, and it continues. We who fight this war daily in our decision-making can not side with falsehood or evil. That would put a check in our loss column. It would be the antithesis of our Christian commitment, the very opposite of What Would Jesus Do!

            Some great cause, some great decision…

This impeachment acquittal was a great (as in massive) decision. It will likely loom large in the annals of history. We're too close to it now to truly see its enormity. And all of us have been a part of that decision in some way: by the persons we have elected, by our lack of direct involvement in the governing process, by our silence. I'm not taking sides here, but either way, they/we were deciding between truth and falsehood… between good and evil. And in a few months we step back into the voting booth to pull levers deciding between those same realities.

The stanza ends with this near-haunting sentence:

           

            The choice goes by forever ‘twixt that darkness and that light.

“Twixt!” What a great word for where we find ourselves. And twixt is struggling, uncomfortable place to be because it is not always easy to determine which is which -- it is not obviously black-or-white.

Let’s set aside our preconceived notions and the garbledygook we hear on the slanted news channels. THAT decision has been made. But we move on into our own battles "with the cross of Jesus going on before."  Fortunately those are not broadcast over the airwaves... or cable. Pray with me that when comes the moment to decide in our own lives, we – after striving with the facts known and unknown – will come to a conclusion with which the Mighty-Warrior-Who-Is-Also-the-Prince-of-Peace will agree.

“In your mercy, Lord, hear our prayer. Amen.”

Hear Hymn Sung by London Philharmonic Choir

Tune: EBENEZER

 

"Savior, teach me day by day."

Hymn: “Savior, Teach Me Day by Day” – Jane E. Leeson (1807-1882)

Typical Tune: POSEN

This is the first time I have selected the opening statement as the hymn-line for the day. I will deal with another line or two from this one later on, but it simply seems to be an adequate prayer for any day. It speaks for itself, and I probably should let it. But I feel the need to add a thought or two!

I semi-retired for several reasons, but one was to slow down and be a little less busy. That has not happened. I’m as busy (or busier) than ever; I am just paid less for the work I do! Last night I said to Carlita, “For a person without a real job, I could sure use a day off.”

I would like to be more like Mary and less like her sister Martha. I have a tendency to be so busy – albeit many times with worthy, noble tasks – that I miss out on the opportunity to sit quietly and listen to what Jesus has to say. Mary has sometimes gotten the bad rap for having neglected the housework (preparing meals, etc.) for the visit of Jesus while Martha bustled around the kitchen. Others say Martha should have slowed down and taken advantage of listening to the words of their very special Visitor.

After Martha’s murmurings about Mary’s inattention to all the details of her duties, Jesus is pretty profound in his response: “Martha, Martha. You are worried and upset about too many things, but only one thing is needed. Mary has chosen what is better, and I will not take that privilege away from her." (Luke 10:41-42)

Jesus was a friend of their family. The two sisters and their brother Lazarus seem to have a long-term relationship with Jesus that transcended the occasional attendance at one of his sermons or participation in one of his grand-scale meal provisions. Jesus knew their ‘natures’. Before Martha invited him over for dinner, he knew which sister would be taking which role.

Life requires a balance of work and reflection… of busy-ness and listening/learning. For fear of appearing lazy, we may over-work and under-reflect. Monasticism is not an option for most of us and is not what Jesus is calling for. He does, however, say that taking time out to be a student of his teachings is the “better” option – a privilege he will not rescind.

His commonly-used earthly name “Teacher” was one of respect (Rabbi), but it was also descriptive of how his followers viewed him.

There is a lesson to be learned today, and Jesus wants to teach it to us. Let’s un-frenzy ourselves and absorb whatever he sends our way. Then when the testing comes, we will more likely be prepared.

            Savior, teach me day by day love’s sweet lesson to obey.

            Sweeter lesson cannot be: loving him who first loved me.

No good recording found. Sorry.

"Tune my heart to sing thy grace."

Hymn: “Come, Thou Fount of Ev’ry Blessing” – Robert Robinson (1735-1790)

Tunes: NETTLETON, WARRENTON

I had an aunt in Tennessee who played a great “country piano”. She could add all those runs and flourishes that make the Saturday-night-singing southern style work so well. I’m not sure she could read a note of written music, but she could make any familiar gospel song come to life.

In an un-heated, non-air conditioned room in her farm house she played the heck out of that piano for a while most every day, but she never had the piano tuned. Over the years, the tuning got so bad, there was no longer an identifiable pitch to any key; there were 88 out-of-tune notes on her piano. Little by little, she didn’t even notice. To the rest of us, her playing was a blurred smear of noise; as far as she was concerned, she still heard the melodies and harmonies. It’s sort of like that hackneyed illustration of the frog in the boiling water pot – as the tuning went away, my aunt lost all her sense of musical hearing.

I vividly remember being at her house on a Christmas Eve when she began to play what I thought must have been a carol. Turning to me she said, “Go ahead. Sing, Ronald George!” I had no earthly idea what she was playing; I knew the meter was grouped in two’s, but beyond that, I recognized nothing! My reply, “I don’t think I know that one,” was to no avail. “Everybody knows, ‘Joy to the World’,” she said. So I broke into an atonal singing of the carol as whole-heartedly – and with as little internal laughter – as I could!

Have you ever been in a room when someone was tuning a piano? It is not an easy process to endure. Tuners are highly-skilled and trained in what is becoming a lost art, and how THEY stand it, I’ll never know. But it is something that just has to be done if we are to hear the notes with any clarity.

Sometimes, my heart gets out of tune. Like my Baldwin, I need a good tuning; like my Toyota, I need a tune-up. That’s when my hymn-filled brain turns to this hymn-line, and I ask God to tune my heart so I can better express his gracious self.

Like piano-tuning, it may not be an easy process to endure, but it is something that must be done occasionally if those around me are to hear the gospel lived out through me.

Things to do today: call a piano technician, schedule a mechanic, get my life back in tune.

Hear Mack Wilberg's Arrangement by the Mormon Tabernacle Choir

Hear Gary Chapman Sing This Hymn

"Adoration leaves no room for pride."

"Adoration leaves no room for pride."
Hymn: “When in Our Music God Is Glorified” – Fred Pratt Green (1903-     )

Typical Tune: ENGLEBERG

This new hymn (1972) is one you may have not sung, especially if you are in a projector-driven service where for the most part only the hymns with familiar tunes are included. Even so, this one would be worth teaching to any congregation and making it as familiar as “How Great Thou Art”!

It’s common lack of use notwithstanding, Fred Pratt Green's hymn is filled with wonderful phrases about worship – especially the musical elements. It ranks right up there with “Fill the Earth with Music.” :) … or perhaps it’s the other way around!

This hymn-line drives home a very, very important truth about what happens when engaged in acts of adoration – or worship: there is no room for the ego! My personal pride must be set aside in order that I can express how proud I am of God… how much he is revered… what a high value we place on him. In order for him to be magnified (increase), I take the place of humility (decrease). See John 3:30.

To put that into the language of music, I must decrescendo so he must crescendo!

There is no place for show business in the worship business. Entertainment is not commensurate with a spirit of sincere worship. I am startled by it every time I sing this hymn; fortunately the congregations I have led most recently have known and appreciated this hymn. It is one I catch myself singing on my own – a lot actually – because I need to be reminded of this as much as anyone: hubris and holiness are not compatible.

It doesn’t mean that my personal tastes must be set aside in order that the person down the pew from me can exercise his/her preferences. To me, this says that when we approach the throne together, we ALL have to ‘check our pride at the door.’ The narthex of every church in the world this morning should be stacked to the ceiling with pride-backpacks left there by those who have entered the sanctuaries/worship centers. Perhaps we need to install a pride-check closet instead of a coat-check closet!

You’ve heard the phrase “my pride and joy”? In worship, these two cannot genuinely coexist. We should be going after a pride-less joy. It could revolutionize corporate worship, especially if all of us in the room – the leaders and the participants – all of us set aside the deadly sin* of pride. When that happens, I think the adoration that emerges might be unprecedented, overwhelming.

It is a more exciting thought that I can get my mind around. I’m sincerely waiting for that to happen one Sunday morning – maybe even this week.

  * The seven deadly sins are: wrath, greed, sloth, pride, lust, envy, and gluttony. Most would say that pride is at the root of the other six!

 Listen This Hymn

"Yes, on through life's long path, still singing as you go."

Hymn: “Rejoice, Ye Pure in Heart” – Edward H. Plumptre (1821-1891)

Typical Tune: MARION

Of course, I’m going to be drawn to this hymn-line: it’s all about singing!

We’re not necessarily following the Yellow Brick Road with Munchkins at our ankles, but we are on a lengthening path filled with uncertainties. Oh, I realize we know where we’re going to end up, but we can never be quite certain what to expect along the way. To carry that Oz analogy a bit further, some of us are hopelessly positive, skipping down the path in our ruby slippers with great confidence and resolve that we can find our way back home. Others are heartless – or have lost heart. Some are totally without courage. Still others are mindless in their travels, not alert or thoughtful. Then there are the ones who are Toto-ly happy to just follow everyone else, making no decisions of their own.

 

It is not, however, the Great and Powerful Oz we seek in order to ask him for fulfillment. “Weeee’re (not) off to see the Wizard!” Rather we are on the path to things that are higher, things that are nobler. We have set our sights on the heavenly vision, and pleasing the Ruler of Heaven and Earth is our highest call. Thankfully, he has not hidden himself behind a curtain, pretending to be someone he is not!

I never remember walking alone through a cemetery after dark, but I’ve seen that in plenty of movies. In all those situations, the one traversing the graves is whistling or humming… or singing as they go. Perhaps they are trying to ward off the imagined evil spirits lurking there – or better yet, the singing will take their mind off the situation in which they find themselves: the music allays their fear.

We share life’s long path. Our struggles and difficulties may vary, but if we can face whatever lies ahead with a song – perhaps even a hymn – to take our mind off those things which so easily beset us, we may more likely make it safely to the other side of the graveyard… or the end of the Yellow Brick Road.

The word “still” in this hymn-line indicates that we have already been singing, and that we should keep it up. “Yes” – with confidence we set out across the uncharted territory, “still” with a song in our heart and on our lips as we rejoice, give thanks and sing.

Let’s lock arms and head down life’s road together – heartily vocalizing our common faith in song!

Hear Garrett Martin Play Al Travis’ Arrangement of This Hymn Tune!