As we
approach the end of July, we are finishing our month-long series of sermons on
hymns. Over the course of the month we
have sung many familiar hymns, explored their words and music, and learned
about their origins and their authors.
We have come to realize that hymns are more than mere traveling music;
that they are poetry and prayer, communal expressions of worship, a gift to us from
God and our gift back to God. Indeed, it
is hard to imagine worship without hymns.
“It shall be the duty of every Minister to see
that music is used as an offering for the glory of God and as a help to the
people in their worship.” Our church
canons charge the clergy with incorporating music into our worship and The
Episcopal hymnal is designed to be a resource that helps us to do exactly
that. Our hymnal is more than just a
songbook, or a collection of tunes. It
is a rich liturgical resource specifically crafted to serve a multiplicity of
uses, whether it is a two-person morning prayer in the middle of the desert to
the Easter Sunday resurrection mass at the National Cathedral in Washington
DC. As it says in the preface, the
hymnal is a response to the challenge of the Church’s mission to spread the
Good News of Jesus Christ to a changed and changing world. That is quite a task.
Since our
very beginning as a church, we have striven to incorporate music into our
worship. As we began as a branch of the
Church of England, our earliest music as you might expect was very Anglican in
character. Yet as an American church we
have gradually incorporated other music that reflects our diversity and our
character.
Look at the
cover of the hymnal and you will see that it is titled The Hymnal 1982. This is the most recent edition of the
hymnal, but there have been many others.
The previous edition was published in 1940, and before that there were
editions in 1916 and 1892. Each new
edition builds upon the foundation of the volumes before it. The charge for our current version is to
prepare a body of texts which presents the Christian faith with clarity and
integrity, to reflect the nature of today’s church by including the works of
contemporary artists and works representing many cultures, and to strengthen
ecumenical relationships through the inclusion of texts and tunes used by other
Christian traditions.
These are
common principles of our Church and reflect what I feel is one of our greatest
strengths. The recognition that we do
not have a monopoly on piety; that we don’t have all the answers, and that
maybe, just maybe, there are better ways to do things. Our church is not exclusionist. We welcome all as fellow travelers on the
way, and hope that we can learn from each other how Jesus is calling us in this
time and in this place. To that end, our
hymnal is specifically designed to incorporate music from other places, other
cultures, and other faith traditions. It includes music from the Anglican
tradition, but also recognizes the richness of Christian expression by
incorporating works from the Lutheran, Methodist, and Roman Catholic
traditions.
The 1982 hymnal includes not only hymns from
the great composers of Europe, but also some from Africa, Mexico, and
China. It also includes African American
spirituals, Native American music, and American folk music. In keeping with our Episcopal tradition of
the via media, the hymnal seeks to maintain our traditions while also being
open to new ways of worshiping that reflect the multi-cultural nature of our
church and our world.
Take out
your hymnals and turn to the table of contents.
You will see that there are two major sections, Service Music and
Hymns. I would imagine that while you
are likely familiar with the Hymn section, you are probably less familiar with
the service music. This section is
designed to support the different services provided in the Book of Common
Prayer. Much of our worship services can
be spoken or sung, and this section is designed to provide settings to support
that. It also includes musical settings
for special days like the Great Vigil of Easter. (This by the way is my
favorite service of the year, even if it is the least attended. If you have not experienced the beauty of
this service, plan to attend next year.
I cannot recommend it highly enough.)
The Holy
Eucharist section from S76 to S176 is likely to be the most familiar to us,
even if you don’t know it. That is
because much of the music we use for the Sanctus and the Agnus Dei are taken
from this section. Most people don’t
turn to the hymnal at these times, but learn the music by repetition as we
often will use the same setting for an entire liturgical season.
The most
familiar portion of the hymnal however is clearly the Hymn section. Each Sunday we sing a processional hymn, a
gradual hymn, an offertory and a recessional hymn, usually drawn from this
section. You may be tempted to think that
there is no real rhyme or reason behind which hymn we sing on which day, but
that would be incorrect. In fact, if you
look at the table of contents, you will see that the hymns are grouped to
reflect the Church year and the specific character of the services. The church does not follow the Julian
calendar, but our own which means that we begin our year on the first Sunday of
Advent. The hymnal recognizes this and
offers several hymns that are well suited to the Advent season. In keeping with what we have already
discussed, one of these hymns was written by Martin Luther, there are two
settings of a hymn by Charles Wesley, and the familiar O Come O Come Emmanuel is
an ancient setting from the 9th century.
Following
the Advent section is a rather large collection of Christmas hymns. One of the questions I am often asked during Advent
is why don’t we sing Christmas songs?
The answer is that, unlike the secular world where Christmas begins
right after Halloween (or lately it seems to be creeping backward toward Labor
Day), we keep the season of Advent as a separate and distinct time of waiting
for the coming of the Savior. To sing
Christmas hymns in early December would be to cheapen the Advent season and rob
us of this time of preparation.
Following
the Christmas hymns are those specifically set for Epiphany, Lent, Holy Week, Easter,
Ascension Day, and for Pentecost. The
hymnal then provides offerings for the Sacramental services of Holy Baptism,
Eucharist, confirmation, marriage, burial and for ordinations. Then we have a rather large section of
general hymns. These include hymns
fitting for the Holy Trinity (Holy, Holy, Holy), the kingdom of God (Hail to
the Lord’s Anointed) or the mission of the church (Lord you give the Great
Commission).
The grouping
of the hymns is not cast in stone, but is intended to assist in setting the
right liturgical tone. That means that
we can use hymns in a variety of ways to support our worship. The categories are a best effort to recommend
a hymn, but are not a rigid requirement.
In the 1940 version of the hymnal, there was a category titled hymns for
children and it included favorites such as Once in Royal David’s City and I
Sing a Song of the Saints of God.
Clearly those are used in other times and settings, and that is very
appropriate. The hymnal is meant to be a
guide, a tool, a way to help us embrace Canon 24 to see that music is used as
an offering to God in worship.
I want to
close by offering a few words about Bach, Handel and Purcell. The church has set aside a day for the three
of them in recognition of their contributions to the music and worship of the
church. Each had a profound impact on
church music and used their talents to leave behind a rich musical legacy that
glorifies God. Handel’s Messiah is
universally recognized as a masterwork.
From the Bach setting of Luther’s Might Fortress, to Purcell’s Christ is
made the sure Foundation, we remember their music and celebrate the glory of
God through their craft.
