Whom Shall I Send?

The Readings for the Fourth Sunday after the Epiphany were:
Deuteronomy 18:15-20
1 Corinthians 8:1b-13
Mark 1:21-28
Psalm 111
Our introit hymn was Silence, Frenzied Unclean Spirit by Thomas H. Troeger. The hymn tune is Authority by Carol Doran.
"Silence! Frenzied, unclean spirit,"
cried God's healing Holy One.
"Cease your ranting! Flesh can't bear it.
Flee as night before the sun."
At Christ's voice the demon trembled,
from its victim madly rushed,
while the crowd that was assembled
stood in wonder, stunned and hushed.

Lord, the demons still are thriving
in the gray cells of the mind:
tyrant voices, shrill and driving,
twisted thoughts that grip and bind,
doubts that stir the heart to panic,
fears distorting reason's sight,guilt that makes our loving frantic,
dreams that cloud the soul with fright.

Silence, Lord, the unclean spirit
In our mind and in our heart
Speak your word that when we hear it,
All our demons shall depart.
Clear out thought and calm our feeling;
Still the fractured, warring soul.
By the power of your healing,
Make us faithful, true, and whole

The first hymn was All Creatures of Our God and King, a paraphrase of Canticle of the Sun by St. Francis of Assisi. The hymn tune is Lasst Uns Erfreuen, a 17th century German hymn tune, harmonized in 1906 by Ralph Vaughan Williams.

All creatures of our God and King, lift up your voices, let us sing:
Alleluia, alleluia!
Thou burning sun with golden beams, thou silver moon that gently gleams,
Refrain:
O praise him, O praise him, Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia!

Thou rushing wind that art so strong, ye clouds that sail in heaven along,
O praise him, Alleluia!
Thou rising morn, in praise rejoice, ye lights of evening, find a voice, (R)

Thou flowing water, pure and clear,make music for thy Lord to hear,
Alleluia, alleluia!
Thou fire so masterful and bright, that givest man both warmth and light, (R)

Dear mother earth, who day by day unfoldest blessings on our way,
O praise him, Alleluia!
The flowers and fruits that in thee grow, let them his glory also show: (R)

And all ye men of tender heart, forgiving others, take your part,
O sing ye Alleluia!
Ye who long pain and sorrow bear, praise God and on him cast your care: (R)

And thou, most kind and gentle death, waiting to hush our latest breath,
O praise him, Alleluia!
Thou leadest home the child of God, and Christ our Lord the way hath trod: (R)

Let all things their Creator bless, and worship him in humbleness,
O praise him, Alleluia!
Praise, praise the Father, praise the Son, and praise the Spirit, Three in One: (R)

Our second was The Gift of Love, by Hal Hopson, set to the English folk tune that I know as “The Water Is Wide”, but many know as “O Wally, Wally”. Hal Hopson has written many of the anthems our choir sings and the hand bell anthems we ring. He was one of my daughter’s professors at Scarritt Graduate School.

Though I may speak with bravest fire,
And have the gift to all inspire,
And have not love, my words are vain,
As sounding brass, and hopeless gain.

Though I may give all I possess,
And striving so my love profess,
But not be given by love within,
The profit soon turns strangely thin.

Come, Spirit, come, our hearts control,
Our spirits long to be made whole.
Let inward love guide every deed;
By this we worship, and are freed.

For our third hymn we sang Lord, You Give the Great Commission , which we sang only two weeks ago, but it was sung as the congregation came forward with their pledge cards and time and talent cards for volunteer work. I guess it made sense, but I don’t like repeating hymns so often.

Our anthem was a Shaker tune Ye Followers of the Lamb. (This link is to a sample page at Amazon.com. You have to click on the song you want to hear.) Our anthem was arranged by Phillip Dietterich. We worked hard on this piece and performed it very well, but I don’t think the congregation liked it that much. Shaker music is very distinct.

O brethren ain’t you happy, O brethren ain’t you happy, O brethren ain’t you happy
ye followers of the Lamb.
Sing on, dance on, followers of Emmanuel, Sing on, dance on, followers of the Lamb.

O sisters ain’t ye happy, O sisters ain’t ye happy, O sisters ain’t ye happy,
ye followers of the Lamb.
Sing on, dance on, followers of Emmanuel, Sing on, dance on, followers of the Lamb.

O I’m glad I am a Christian, O I’m glad I am a Christian, O I’m glad I am a Christian,
ye followers of the Lamb.
Sing on, dance on, followers of Emmanuel, Sing on, dance on, followers of the Lamb.

O, I mean to be obedient, O, I mean to be obedient, O, I mean to be obedient,
ye followers of the Lamb.
Sing on, dance on, followers of Emmanuel, Sing on, dance on, followers of the Lamb.

The final hymn was Whom Shall I Send? by Fred Pratt Green. The hymn tune is Deus Turum Militum from the Grenoble Antiphoner of 1753, adapted by Ralph Vaughan Williams, and harmonized by Basil Harwood. Many of our “modern” hymns were written by Fred Pratt Green. He was born in Roby, near Liverpool, England, on September 2, 1903. He was ordained as a Methodist minister in 1928 and served circuits in the north and south of England until 1969. During his career as a minister he wrote numerous plays and poems hymns, but it was not until he retired that he began writing prolifically. Green wrote over 300 hymns and Christian songs as well as commissioned texts for special occasions. Green died in 2000.

Whom shall I send? our Maker cries:
And many, when they hear this voice,
Are sure where their vocation lies:
But many shrink from such a choice.

For who can serve a God so pure,
Or claim to speak in such a Name,
While doubt makes every step unsure,
And self confuses every aim?

And yet, believing God who calls
Knows what we are and still may be,
Our past defeats, our future falls,
We dare to answer: God, send me!

Those whom God calls are purified,
God daily gives us strength to bend
Our thoughts, our skills, our energies,
And life itself to this one end.