A serpent so wily

A serpent so wily and set to deceive; 

A man and a woman who could not perceive;

A fruit plucked and eaten, the Lord's word maligned;

Now sin was the fortune of all humankind.

 

The Tempter, come boldly to stark wilderness;

The Teacher, sore troubled in hunger's distress;

Temptations rebuffed and the Tempter resigned;

And so came redemptions for all humankind.

 

As sin came through one, so redemption the same - 

But bringing new righteousness in place of blame.

The one who obeyed broke humanity's bind,

And brought God's free gift unto all humankind. 

 

 

TEXT: Charles Spence Freeman, February 2023, after Lent 1A verses

MUSIC: Tune ST. DENIO, Welsh folk melody; arr. Caniadau y Cyssegr, 1839.

 

 

The texts for the first Sunday of Lent in year A give us Adam and Eve in the garden, Jesus in the wilderness, and Paul trying to draw the connection between the two. 

 

Upon a holy mountain

Upon a holy mountain, the three disciples saw

Their Teacher-Friend transfigured; the sight provoked their awe.

All luminous and shining with holy light like flame,

He was the same good Teacher they knew, but not the same.

 

Then, to their shock and wonder, beside their Teacher stood

Both Moses and Elijah, a sacred brotherhood.

Both Law and Prophet with him - a sight too much to bear - 

Caused Peter to proclaim he would build them dwellings there.

 

At this, a bright cloud shining took all of them from view,

And from that cloud all booming a sacred voice broke through:

"This is my Son, Beloved, and I am gratified;

Now listen to him only! In him be satisfied!"

 

With awful fear and terror the three disciples fell,

But Jesus spoke to calm them and their great fear dispel.

No longer three before them, now Jesus stood alone!

Their Teacher was so much more than they had ever known.

 

 

Text: Charles Spence Freeman, February 2023, after Matthew 17:1-8

Music: Suggested tune LLANGLOFFAN, Welsh folk melody.

 

 

A hymn for the Sunday of the Transfiguration of the Lord (year A most particularly), perhaps with a slight ballad-ish influence from the originally-selected folk tune SALLEY GARDENS. The minor key but spirited tune used here seemed somehow to work especially well for a text on a scripture that seems to evoke joy and terror (in the disciples) in turn.  

 

 

What do we worship

What do we worship? Who do we serve?

What claims our joy and our fire and our nerve?

Our true affection, where does it go?

To whom do we our loyalties show?

 

Refrain:

God and God only must be our love!

God in Christ Jesus sent from above,

God in the Spirit come like a dove,

God and God only must be our love.

 

Idols of power vie for the mind,

Power to rule o'er whatever we find. 

This is not holy, not in God's will - 

Perfect submission ours to fulfill.

 

Refrain

 

Idols of wealth now vie for the soul,

Thoughts that possessions might render us whole.

There is no truth in such a design; 

Give it away, your soul to refine.

 

Refrain

 

So many idols call to the heart,

Things which in God's sure design have no part.

Only in service, living and new,

Can we be holy, lovely and true.

 

 

TEXT: Charles Spence Freeman, January 2023.

MUSIC: Tune ASSURANCE, Phoebe Palmer Knapp, 1873.

 

A reach back to a sturdy old gospel-song tune to write a hymn about idolatry. A silly thing to write, of course. Modern Christians would *never* be lulled into giving their ultimate devotion to any mere human or object, right?

Right???

Come to the water

Come to the water, hear the waves roll; 

Quiet and powerful, touching the soul.

God spread these waters over the earth

For us to find new life and new birth.

 

Come to the water, hear the brook flow;

Small streams, great rivers help life to grow. 

Jesus was baptized in one like this; 

Sharing our burden, sharing our bliss.

 

Come to the water, see the font full.

Feel how our souls are drawn by its pull.  

Sacrament living, filling the heart,

All in the power of God's holy art. 

 

Think and remember how you once came,

Then went on your way never the same. 

Come to the water! Hear once again

How God still loves you as God did then.

 

 

TEXT: Charles Spence Freeman, January 2023.

MUSIC: Tune ADELAIDE, George C. Stebbins, 1907. 

I have found that if I sit long enough within earshot of a beach, something will come. In this case the steady rhythm of wave upon sand worked its way to the waters of the earth, and then to the waters of baptism. This one may lean slightly toward adult baptism, which does still happen. The tune represents another repurposing of those tunes that were the stuff of my church childhood. 

Open our eyes

Open our eyes, that we might know
How heaven came to earth below. 
How did you come and what did you show
In Bethlehem so long ago?
Quietly now we wait for you,
Seeking what you would have us do. 
Show us the good, the just, the true,
Spirit of love.

Open our eyes to see your light,
Filling the skies that holy night.
Show us the way from shepherds’ sad fright
To behold you as all their sight. 
Quietly now we wait for you,
Seeking what you would have us do. 
Show us the good, the just, the true,
Spirit of love.

Open our eyes to now behold
What to those sages was foretold, 
So that to travel they were enrolled 
With myrrh and frankincense and gold.
Quietly now we wait for you,
Seeking what you would have us do. 
Show us the good, the just, the true,
Spirit of love.

Open our eyes and let us see
How what we celebrate can be 
What gives our lives both purpose and glee,
This day we call Epiphany. 
Quietly now we wait for you,
Seeking what you would have us do. 
Show us the good, the just, the true,
Spirit of love.

 

TEXT: Charles Spence Freeman, January 2022, after Clara H. Scott.

MUSIC: Tune OPEN MY EYES, Clara H. Scott, 1895.

The end of the twelve days of Christmas seems to call for going forward, but changed in some way by what we have seen and heard. The excellently simple hymn "Open my eyes, that I might see" provided the unlikely point of departure for a plea for the Spirit to open us to understand what we have seen and heard and to move forward with that understanding infused into our lives.

Light now is born

Light now is born in this one tiny child,
Born from above and by sin undefiled;
Light that will shine through the bleakness of sin,
Guiding us homeward to be God’s own kin.

In the beginning, the story is told;
How God made light in creation of old.
Now in this baby the light is made new,
And all our deepest desires are made true.

In the beginning was one holy Word,
As it is told in the gospel we heard;
In him was light that is life to us all:
This child, that Savior on whom we must call.

Holy the light once created of old. 
Holy the light in the gospel retold.
Holy the light that cannot be undone.
Holy the light in this new life begun.

 

 

TEXT: Charles Spence Freeman, January 2023, after John 1.

MUSIC: Suggested tune SLANE, Irish ballad. (Various harmonizations that may be under copyright)

 

 

A prior edition of my denomination's Book of Common Worship once contained this sentence (in red no less) describing the importance of John's prologue being preached during the season of Christmas: "If these readings are not used on Christmas Day, they should be used at some service during the Christmas cycle because of the significance of John’s prologue." This is far from preaching, but John's prologue, in a rather mashed-up form interacting with things from other gospels,  is now somewhat represented in this "twelve hymns of Christmas" series of reflections set to music.

 

See this child

See this child on father’s knee,
Baby’s laugh and gurgling smile.
Yet in scripture we foresee
Punishment both cruel and vile,
For this child is God’s own Son;
This is Jesus, Holy One.

See this child in mother’s arms,
Nursing most contentedly, 
Who will face most grievous harms
For the witness he must be.
See, this baby is God’s own;
Through him God’s full love is shown.

See this child now sleeping fast, 
Tightly closed his little eyes, 
He who on the cross at last
Suffers for us all and dies.
Jesus, Savior, Lord is he,
Born for us, for you, for me.

 

 

TEXT: Charles Spence Freeman, January 2022.

MUSIC: Suggested tune REDHEAD 76, Richard Redhead, 1853.

 

 

I suppose if you contemplate the Christmas event long enough, it becomes impossible not to reflect on the Good Friday that eventually comes for the newborn child.