Sermon for May 13, 2012 Music and Worship

Transcription

1 Sermon for May 13, 2012 Music and Worship May the words of our mouths, the meditations of our hearts, the music from our instruments, and the songs from our lips be always acceptable in your sight O Lord, our strength and our redeemer. Amen. When in our music God is glorified and adoration leaves no room for pride, It is a though the whole creation cried Alleluia, Alleluia! Let every instrument be tuned for praise! Let all rejoice who have a voice to raise! And may God give us faith to sing always Alleluia, Alleluia!...F. Pratt Green Consider humankind, created in the image of God: Humankind, a creator, Humankind, moved to create beauty frequently for the mere sake of beauty, what we call art. Humankind, called to worship. Worship may simply be defined as the offering of all our faculties to the glory of God. Worship is the primary and eternal activity of redeemed humankind. To quote from the late Canon Winfred Douglas: An increasing awareness of God almost inevitably results in some degree of adoration, a prayer of out-going to the Supreme Good, unmindful of self; for adoration is the movement not of the mouth only, but of the heart, of the mind, of the will, as well; in short, the movement of the entire being toward God. Listen to the words of the ancient canticle, Te Deum laudamus, frequently used in the daily office of Morning Prayer: We praise thee, O God, we acknowledge thee to be the Lord. All the earth doth worship thee, the Father everlasting. To thee all angels cry aloud: the heavens and all the powers therein; To thee Cherubim and Seraphim continually do cry, Holy, Holy, Holy, Lord God of Sabaoth; Heaven and earth are full of thy glory. For such a profound outpouring from the depths of the spirit, words alone can seem insufficient. They need to be vitalized and intensified by that most that most spiritual of all of the arts of self-expression, the art of music. What is music?

2 Music is an art which directly voices the very depths of the human soul in tone governed by rhythm. It is an utterance of the spirit through the flesh. In song, music can make the spoken word more intensely vital, more sincere, more true. What are the sources of this unique art? Music sources from our very existence, springing from two very diverse human impulses: specifically tone and rhythm. Tone can be identified as the impulse of emotional self-expression, an external manifestation of life as a personal feeling. Consider for a moment the high wandering sounds of a baby s voice which communicate directly the infant s inner mood, long before speech. Tone is a sustained sound, the material out of which music is made. Rhythm is an impulse of ordered law. Again, considering the baby, rhythm corresponds to an infant s individual life processes. It is significant because it also relates the infant to a universe outside of itself. A quote from one of my old education textbooks use when I was preparing for a career in teaching: The beat of a baby s heart, the steady rise and fall of its breath correspond in kind with the sequence of day and night. The baby will very early will yield to this impulse by making rhythmic movements which express its delight in corresponding to something outside of itself. We therefore call this the dance impulse. A little later in life when sustained tone is wedded to this dance impulse which we call rhythm, music is created. Music can be considered the most human of all of the arts because it directly expresses personality in action or life. Music responds deeply to life s rhythm. In Liturgical Christian Worship as practiced by the Episcopal Church as well as most of the main-line churches, we worship our Lord with praise and thanksgiving as we walk through the organized rhythm of the Church Year, each Sunday being a carefully planned drama enriched by sights, sounds and sometimes smells. Through the yearly progression of these weekly dramas, music moves most closely with the spoken word and action of the given Sundays. Briefly, let us consider the relation of music to the rhythm of the Church year, or what we commonly call the Liturgical Year. Advent Our Liturgical year begins in late November or early December with the season of Advent when we prepare for Christ s coming. In the northern hemisphere Advent comes at the season of maximum darkness. As we prepare for the coming of the Lord, we also prepare for the coming of light. Though there is a refrained underlying joy in the music of Advent, the music is yet

3 somewhat somber, reflecting the lessons for Advent: the prophets solemn warnings to repent, prepare for the coming of the kingdom. Christmas By contrast with the music of Advent, most of the music of Christmas is marked with vigorous, almost giddy joy as we celebrate Christ s birth and the returning of light into the world. Epiphany During this season the positive and joyful music helps us trace the manifestation of Christ as we learn of his miracles and teachings. Lent This is a season of self examination, fasting and repentance. As in Advent, Lent is a time of preparation. In the early church, Lent was a time of preparation for Baptism. The entire Christian community joined with those preparing for Baptism in fasting, self examination and prayer. The music of this season is somber and reflective. Holy Week I believe that at no point in the Liturgical Year is the reflection of music to the rhythm of life more obvious and poignant. We begin Holy Week on Palm Sunday with high music marking Christ s triumphal entry into Jerusalem, and then move to music expressing the emotions of tension, disappointment, sorrow, pain and finally, deep grief. Easter Following Holy Week, what is possibly the most powerful of all Christian music is heard as the triumph of Easter is celebrated the next seven Sundays with great joy when Christians commemorate the revelation of the resurrected Christ beginning on Easter Sunday and ending with the Sunday after the Ascension. Pentecost (Whitsunday) Pentecost Sunday, the eighth Sunday after Easter marks the birthday of the church as we commemorate the Holy Spirit descending upon the Disciples empowering them to go out into the world as Apostles, preaching the gospel. Pentecost Sunday is also a prime Sunday marked with Baptisms, so much so, that in England especially, this Sunday is frequently called Whitsunday in reference the prevalent white robes worn by those to be baptized. The music of Pentecost can reflect either fire and zeal, or a quiet inner strength. Following Pentecost Sunday the Liturgical Year enters a long season of 26 Sundays termed Sundays of Pentecost, but often referred to by clergy as ordinary time. This season begins with Trinity Sunday upon which we mark the full revelation of God as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, and ends with Christ the King Sunday, this year on November 25 th. The music of this long season may have a variety of moods reflecting the lessons of a given Sunday, but the underlying atmosphere of the music is that of joy and praise.

4 Music Ministry When asking me to give this sermon, Mary asked me especially to speak about Music Ministry. Though I love playing solo music, especially on the organ, I believe very truly, the very heart of music in worship is congregational singing, not the performance of music for the enjoyment of the listener. I believe that the primary task of music ministers is to lead the congregation in song and responses, and where needed within the worship experience, to supply appropriate music to enrich the worship experience of all present. When properly performed, the special music presented by instrumentalists or choir should become the veritable voice of the worshipers emotions and prayers. No valid church music is ever made merely to be listened to as a sensuous pleasure! In addition to having an organist, we at Christ Church we are fortunate to have a number of music ministers: several pianists, guitarists, and flautists, a violinist, a cellist, an organist, a youth choir director, bell ringers, adult and youth choir singers. All of these people make a generous offering of their time as well as their talent in order in order to enrich the worship experience here at Christ Church. Playing in the bell choir or singing in one of the vocal choirs requires a regular commitment during the seven month rehearsal season. It is not always easy to come out for rehearsal every Wednesday afternoon or evening during the October-April choir season! I have been asked to include in this presentation a brief description of my work as organist. Although I am the organist, I principally see my job as being advisor to the rector on musical matters, and as being a facilitator to see that the music happens. As you may or may not know, in the Episcopal Church, the clergy are responsible for all music used in worship, but most especially the texts of any sung music. Some clergy happily delegate all music issues to their music directors, while some prefer to dictate all musical matters even down to the music played for preludes and postludes! However, most clergy work jointly with their music directors, a situation which results in a more cohesive and energized worship experience. Here at Christ Church I have had the privilege and great joy of working closely with four different rectors planning music for worship. Offertory As a final thought, I would like for us to think on the topic of Offertory in the context of worship. Every Sunday during the Great Thanksgiving we offer our alms. We offer our bread and wine. During the communion we offer our very souls and bodies to be a holy and living sacrifice to God.

5 We also offer our talents to God. And, because within the church family there may be a wide divergence of talents and gifts, it is natural that some offerings are made on behalf of others. When the choir sings an anthem at the time we call Offertory before the Great Thanksgiving, the choir is applying their special talents to offer through music Thanksgiving to God on behalf of the congregation. When an organist plays a postlude which, by the way, is not part of the actual worship service, he or she is making a Thanksgiving for his or her talents, a thanksgiving for the gift of music, and a thanksgiving for the people who made it possible for the organ to even exist. The postlude should send people out into the world with a joyful sound. I feel it should be of little importance to the player whether people remain in the building to listen to the music. The postlude is an offertory, not music for entertainment. For a moment think of other offertories made at Christ Church, or at any church for that matter. When a worship leader reads evening prayer in an empty or almost empty church, he or she is offering up petitions and thanksgivings in behalf of the congregation. When a fine cathedral choir sings impeccably an Evensong Service within an almost empty building, that choir is making an offering in adoration to God on behalf of the congregation, as well as an offering of thanksgiving for the all of those giving time, talent or funds to make such eloquent music possible. When those talented in the graphic arts create visual art to enhance worship, this is offertory. When people give of their time as well as their talent to keep the financial accounting straight, to serve as Senior or Junior Warden or vestry member, to serve on a committee, or to serve as convener of a committee, to decorate the Parish all for a Christmas or Easter celebration of fellowship, as well as the offering of many other gifts to numerous to mention, all these are acts of offertory. In conclusion, the work of Music Ministers is not to dazzle an audience with a performance of technical mastery and sensuous pleasure. The purpose of Ministry through Music is to enrich worship experience by encouraging performance of music through which the entire congregation can participate with the sounds from their lips, or the meditations of their hearts and be moved, mindless of self, to complete adoration of the living God who gives us everything. Jim Hager - Christ Church Organist and Choir Director