My Blog

Category: Music

  • Be the light

    At the Great Vigil of Easter, the Paschal candle will lead us with our candles in procession into the dark nave. The pews, altar, pulpit, and font are there in the darkness but we cannot see them until they are illuminated by the lights we bear.  The darkness must surrender to the Light.

    In an encounter with a man who was blind from birth (John 9:1-41), Jesus’ disciples saw someone whose blindness they assumed was punishment either for his sins or the sins of his parents.  Jesus enlightened them by saying they were wrong on both counts.  When Jesus healed the man they understood.

    The blind man was accustomed to a world of darkness.  When Jesus healed him, he could see for the first time.  There was also an inner illumination; He understood that Jesus was the Messiah. 

    Other people didn’t believe it was the same person but someone who looked like him.  Their point of view and frame of reference obscured their vision.

    The criteria of established religion prevented the Pharisees from seeing and believing what was before their eyes. They suffered spiritual blindness. They were supposed to be enlightened, but this incident revealed them as “the blind leading the blind.”  The man born blind had more vision than the Pharisees.

    I remember watching The Christophers television broadcast as a child and a line from their theme song, recorded by Perry Como in 1952,  "If everyone lit just one little candle, what a bright world this would be".  The mission of The Christophers is to encourage people to use their God-given talents to make a positive difference in the world.

    Paschal Candle When our lives are illumined by the Light of Christ, we become lights.  The Light of Christ shining in us disperses the darkness – as a parent saying bedtime prayers with a child, as a host providing Room in the Inn for a person with no home, as an ethical business person, as a friend giving encouragement.

    In the words of St. Paul to the Ephesians, “Once you were darkness, but now in the Lord you are light. Live as children of light– for the fruit of the light is found in all that is good and right and true” (Ephesians 5:8-9).

    Ron

  • Today

    Those of us who are old enough to remember the 1960’s will recall how important a genre of music called “folk music” was in that era.  One of the early folk music groups was The New Christy Minstrels, founded by songwriter/guitarist Randy Sparks in 1961.  One of Sparks’ hit songs, recorded by this group in 1964, is entitled simply Today.  Some of the words of this song came to mind as I reflected on the relationship between the past, present, and future.

    Today, while the blossoms still cling to the vine
    I’ll taste your strawberries, I’ll drink your sweet wine
    A million tomorrows shall all pass away
    ‘Ere I forget all the joy that is mine, Today

    I can’t be contented with yesterday’s glory
    I can’t live on promises winter to spring
    Today is my moment, now is my story
    I’ll laugh and I’ll cry and I’ll sing

    In this bit of poetry set to a lovely tune, Randy Sparks and The New Christy Minstrels reminded us to appreciate the present moment and cherish the joy of now.   I once heard a preacher put it in a less poetic but equally effective way: “Yesterday’s gone.  Tomorrow hasn’t come yet.  Today is all we have.  Use it!”

    During a time of transition between rectors, our church is engaged in a process of reflecting upon the past and discerning the future into which God is calling us.  As we do this, we want to remember that if heritage and hope do not inform the way we live today, we are destined to be prisoners of our past or disciples of our daydreams.  Either way, we are disconnected from the present, which is the scene of the greatest reality.

    A visitor to the Vatican was approached by a sidewalk peddler outside the walls. He was offering a hen, a very special hen, for sale.  “This hen is a direct descendant of the cock that crowed when Peter denied the Lord,” said the peddler.  “Yes,” responded the visitor, “but does it lay eggs?”  Whatever the hen’s past or future, the visitor wanted to know if she was doing what hens do today.

    Jesus joined the past and the future together in a new way.  He is the intersection of the horizontal dimension of time and the vertical dimension of spiritual reality.  He warned the religious leaders that their genealogy did not relieve them of responsibility for their present actions.  Likewise, he warned the rich young man that good intentions, no matter how worthy, could not give him the eternal life he was seeking at the present moment.  Addressing the crowd in the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus said, “You have heard that it was said to those of ancient times…but I say unto you.” He said to the woman at the well, “The time is coming and now is.”   Each step away from the past and into the future is dependent upon the spiritual dimension we refer to as “The Kingdom of God.”

    Let us enter faithfully into this process of discovery and discernment so that this community of faith may be fruitful and vibrant in the here and now.  And may we cherish the opportunity and the joy that are ours today!

    Ron

  • Singing a New Song

    I love congregational singing.  Those who know me well will tell you that I seldom meet a hymn I haven't sung or at least heard. The idea of learning a new hymn always appeals to me and I have irritated folks along the way by suggesting that they should enjoy singing a new song as much as I do.

    Of all the hymns I love to sing, those written by Charles Wesley are my favorites. In the course of his career, Charles Wesley published the words to more than 6,000 hymns.  He also wrote the words to another 2,000 that were not published.  I am grateful that the 1982 Hymnal of the Episcopal Church includes 24 of his hymns.

    At Church of the Good Shepherd in Lexington, Kentucky, where I am serving as Interim Rector, the Organist-Choirmaster normally selects the hymns for our services.  Yesterday, the opening hymn he selected was a Charles Wesley hymn that I don't recall ever singing.  O Thou Who Camest From Above is traditionally sung to the tune Hereford, which was coomposed by Samuel Sebastian Wesley, Charles Wesley's grandson.  Both the words and the music were a very pleasant surprise for me and I would like to share them with you.

    O Thou Who camest from above,
    The pure celestial fire to impart,
    Kindle a flame of sacred love
    Upon the mean altar of my heart.

    There let it for Thy glory burn
    With inextinguishable blaze,
    And trembling to its source return,
    In humble prayer and fervent praise.

    Jesus, confirm my heart’s desire
    To work and speak and think for Thee;
    Still let me guard the holy fire,
    And still stir up Thy gift in me.

    Ready for all Thy perfect will,
    My acts of faith and love repeat,
    Till death Thy endless mercies seal,
    And make my sacrifice complete.

    Here is a recording of the Choir of Rochester Cathedral singing the hymn.

     

     I hope this hymn makes your heart glad today.

      Ron Short Signature

     

     

     

    P.S. This year we celebrate the 200th anniversary of Samuel S. Wesley's birth.

  • Follow Him, Seek Him, Love Him

    The chorus from W.H. Auden's Christmas Oratorio is on my mind today as I reflect upon my life and ministry and the people and places I have known:

    He is the Way.
    Follow Him through the Land of Unlikeness;
    You will see rare beasts, and have unique adventures.

    He is the Truth.
    Seek Him in the Kingdom of Anxiety;
    You will come to a great city that has expected your return for years.

    He is the Life.
    Love Him in the World of the Flesh;
    And at your marriage all its occasions shall dance for joy.

    (W H Auden – 1907-1973)

    This poem is set to two different tunes in The Hymnal 1982 of The Episcopal Church.  Here's a beautiful choral setting:  The Way, The Truth, The Life   (Royal Holloway Choir, University of London, Samuel Rathbone & Rupert Gough)

    Ron




  • Confirm Thy Soul in Self Control

    As we approach this Independence Day, my thoughts are on the internal threats to our nation and the need to restore unity.  Whatever problems we face, "we the people" are much stronger than a mob of individuals pointing fingers, insisting on our own way, and fighting over ideologies.  We also know better than that and we've always been more effective in solving our problems by pulling together than by pulling apart!

    So, for those of us who believe we are called to pray for our nation – for one another – now would be a very good time!  There are many fine prayers for such an occasion, but the one that has been on my mind this week is best known as the hymn, America the Beautiful.  Every word is packed with the kind of spirit we need to restore our unity of purpose.  But the words that are ringing in my ears are these:

    America!  America! God mend thine every flaw,
    Confirm thy soul in self-control, thy liberty in law.

    In order to face one another and to work effectively with those with whom we differ, we need the humility to admit that none of us has yet achieved the perfection we seek.  Whether or not we ever actually achieve it, we'll come closer if we pursue it in the company of our fellow Americans.  Let us humbly ask God to mend our flaws.

    We also need divine help in gaining self-control so that our impulses and anxieties will not drive us apart.  Many of our problems are truly frightening.  No wonder we are so anxious and so prone to knee jerk reactions.  We can't listen to one another or really seek understanding in that condition.  Let us ask God to calm us down.

    And, we need to respect the boundaries that make it possible to live and work together.  Some of those boundaries must be imposed from without, but the most important ones must be established within us. Jesus taught us that all the Law is summed up in one commandment, "love your neighbor as yourself."  When that law is at work, we are most inclined to do the right thing in relation to our brothers and sisters at home and abroad.  So, let us ask God to write that law in our hearts so that we all might be truly free.

    It will come as no surprise to some of you that I am a longtime Judy Collins fan.  In 1993, she and the Harlem Boys Choir led a host of people on the National Mall in singing America the Beautiful.  It is one of the most moving performances of this prayer/hymn I know.  Maybe you'll enjoy watching the video and singing along.

    Have a safe and happy Fourth of July!

    RDP Short Sig

  • The Prodigal God

    This year's Fourth Sunday in Lent readings from Joshua 5 and Luke 15 echo the words of Psalm 32: "Happy are those whose transgressions are forgiven" (Ps. 32:1).

    Both Joshua 5 and Luke 15 deal with wandering. The nation wanders in the wilderness due to disobedience. The youngest son wanders in a different kind of wilderness, lost in disgrace. In both stories, the wanderers make their way back home out of the wilderness, but neither the nation nor the youngest son finds relief from the disgrace that has resulted from disobedience and wandering. It is only the absolution by the "other" (God in Joshua 5; the father in Luke 15) that redeems their past. "Today I have rolled away from you the disgrace of Egypt." "This son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found!" Each absolution is followed by a feast. In both cases, the feast symbolizes that the shame of wandering has been replaced with the promise of a new life.

    This is the story of God's love affair with us, isn't it?  God gives us the world / we'd rather have another one / it turns out to be a pathetic substitute / we find ourselves lost, alone, ashamed / we try to find our way back into God's embrace / God finds us groping around in the darkness, welcomes us home, and throws a banquet.

    Notice that the story of our redemption is not simply that we are saved, forgiven, absolved from something.  We are saved, forgiven, absolved for something.  Our liturgy conveys that message in many ways, but none so well as in the words of Absolution, "Almighty God have mercy on you, forgive you all your sins through our Lord Jesus Christ, strengthen you in all goodness, and by the power of the Holy Spirit keep you in eternal life."

    After we receive the assurance of God's pardon, we are promised that God will also strengthen us in goodness and keep us in eternal life.  Our life has a purpose and that purpose is clarified for us when we are in communion with God.  That's because, as the collect for last Sunday puts it, "we have no power in ourselves to help ourselves."

    To be "kept in eternal life" is to live in the kingdom of God, the realm where God is in charge and where a life giving feast is always waiting.

    Prone to wander, Lord, I feel it,
    Prone to leave the God I love;
    Here’s my heart, O take and seal it,
    Seal it for Thy courts above.

    The word "prodigal" means "spendthrift."  In both stories of wandering
    from Joshua and from Luke, it is God who is the true prodigal.

    Ron

  • Judy Collins

    Portrait

    For forty years I have been blessed by the voice of Judy Collins.  Saturday evening, Gay and I finally attended a live performance at Galveston ’s 1894 Grand Opera House.  I had hoped to hear some familiar songs and was not disappointed.  However, the most memorable song of the evening was one I’d never heard before.  It is a composition of Judy Collins' that is a prayer to the One who gave her a voice and to whom she offers a petition to teach her to sing. 

    Before the performance, at Rudy and Paco’s Restaurant down the street from the Opera House, Maureen Patton, Executive Director, invited us to meet Ms. Collins at intermission.  What a delight!  I had an opportunity to tell her that God had indeed blessed her with a wonderful voice, taught her to sing, and that she in turn had blessed all of us with her music.  She humbly bowed her head, folded her hands, and said, “Thank you.” 

    Here are the lyrics of that wonderful prayer of Judy Collins:

    Singing Lessons
    Words and Music by Judy Collins
    Universal Music Corp. (ASCAP)/ The Wildflowers Company (ASCAP)

    (Administered by Universal Music Corp.)

    God of the rivers and the waterfalls
    God of thunder and lightening          
    God of plains and the mountains
    Of rainbows and prairies
    God of birth and death
    Of love and hope

    God of sun and moon
    God of ocean tides
    You who drive the stars
    You of perfect light
    Teach me how to sing

    And it came to pass on a cloudy night
    That I found myself lost in the dark
    And the wind blew cold and I was afraid
    And if love were lost how would I live

    You were like some mist in the fading light
    And my broken dreams wept in the night
    Where was all the love we had known before
    In this sea of tears would I reach the shore

    God of sun and moon
    God of oceans tides
    You who drive the stars
    You of perfect light
    Teach me how to sing

    I was on my knees, I was at the end
    There was nothing left, I would never mend
    When I heard a song in the waves that tossed
    Death is not the end, there is nothing lost

    God of sun and moon
    God of ocean tides
    You who drive the stars
    You of perfect light
    Teach me how to sing

    Music of the spheres through eternity
    Saying that through your tears you will always see
    Saying the more you lose that the more you own
    And the more you love the more you own
    Saying the pain you feel opens up your heart

    Where the swallows flew there was once a cloud
    Now the sun was bright and the river smiled
    And I heard you say death is just a dream
    Make your songs again you must always sing

    God of sun and moon
    God of ocean tides
    You who drive the sun
    You of perfect light
    Teach me how to sing

    God of everything
    Teach me how to sing
    God of everything
    Teach me how to sing

    WWW.JUDYCOLLINS.COM