With a Song in my Heart – 40 Days of Sacred Songs

Day 30 – Tuesday after 5th Sunday of Lent

 

To Listen:                    I, the Lord of Sea and Sky

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-knxBqIkFl4

I, the Lord of sea and sky, I have heard my people cry.
All who dwell in dark and sin my hand will save.
I who made the stars of night, I will make their darkness bright.
Who will bear my light to them?  Whom shall I send?

Here I am, Lord. Is it I, Lord?
I have heard you calling in the night.
I will go, Lord, if you lead me.
I will hold your people in my heart.

I, the Lord of snow and rain, I have borne my people’s pain.
I have wept for love of them. They turn away.
I will break their hearts of stone, give them hearts for love alone.
I will speak my word to them. Whom shall I send?

I, the Lord of wind and flame, I will tend the poor and lame.
I will set a feast for them. My hand will save.
Finest bread I will provide till their hearts be satisfied.
I will give my life to them. Whom shall I send?

Dan Schutte (b. 1947), based on Isaiah 6

From the Scriptures:

 In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord sitting on a throne, high and lofty; and the hem of his robe filled the temple. ² Seraphs were in attendance above him; each had six wings: with two they covered their faces, and with two they covered their feet, and with two they flew. ³ And one called to another and said:

‘Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts;
the whole earth is full of his glory.’

⁴ The pivots on the thresholds shook at the voices of those who called, and the house filled with smoke. ⁵ And I said: ‘Woe is me! I am lost, for I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips; yet my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts!’

⁶ Then one of the seraphs flew to me, holding a live coal that had been taken from the altar with a pair of tongs. ⁷ The seraph touched my mouth with it and said: ‘Now that this has touched your lips, your guilt has departed and your sin is blotted out.’ ⁸ Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, ‘Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?’ And I said, ‘Here am I; send me!’

(Isaiah 6v1-8)

To Reflect:

I have not yet worked out if ‘Happening’ Youth Weekends are an offspring of Cursillo or Cursillo is the ‘grown-up’ expression of Happening.  In essence, though aimed at different age groups, they have the same aim; to deepen the discipleship of all participants.  Happening does it with Wide Games and very little sleep, Cursillo does it with prayer vigils and an occasional glass of sherry.  Both of them are powered by pure joy aided by a serious sugar rush from sweeties on the tables where group work is done.

Having looked at the music of Happening earlier in Lent, today’s hymns are part of my Cursillo journey.  This explains why ‘Thine be the Glory’ gets a look in before Easter Day as in Cursillo you leave the weekend travelling into the resurrection life.

The genius of Cursillo is that, apart from needing a vicar to do the ‘holy bits’ such as presiding at the Eucharist and hearing an occasional Confession, it is run completely by and for lay people.  Clergy are, however, allowed to attend so that they can see why they should encourage their own congregants to attend.  Cursillo is all about stirring up faith within those on the weekend and encouraging them to turn their belief into deeds and their church attendance into active service.  Cursillo also teaches that for faith to flourish it requires a plan (Rule of Life), regular fellowship, and active service.  Pilgrims are encouraged to encourage each other taking the language of the physical pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela and using it to urge each other on to good deeds for God and God’s people – Ultreya!

For far too many people their journey of growing in faith ended with Confirmation classes, and, if their confirmation was not seen as a ‘church leaving certificate’, church attendance easily becomes all about meeting personal need instead of serving a sick and hurting world as well.

Cursillo and Happening challenge this and are all about taking God’s love for us seriously and go out into the world to live that faith in word and deed.

As Sister Monica Joan says in ‘Call the Midwife’ said;

The hands of the Almighty are so often to be found at the ends of our own arms.

…and as the pilgrims serve they sing and eat far too many sweeties – well at least I do. 🙂

P.S. Next time you are surfing the web and are a little bit bored why not look up Cursillo in your own area and see if a weekend is happening soon?   
Here is the weblink for Cursillo in Suffolk.

 

To Pray:

Send your holy angels
to watch over us, O God,
that on our lips will be found your truth
and in our hearts your love;
so we may ever taste your goodness
in the land of the living;
through Jesus Christ our Lord.

(Psalm 34)

To Do:

1)  Have you got a Rule of Life?  If not why not investigate following one?  Here is a Simple Rule composed by Fr Andrew SDC one of the earliest Anglican Franciscans:

Christ sees me;
I will try never to do anything that I would not like Him to see.

Christ hears me;
I will try never to say anything that I would not like Him to hear.

Christ knows me;
I will try never to harbour in my mind anything that I would not like Him to know was there.

Fr Andrew SDC – Life and Letters

2)  Sing the Hymn or Song that helped you move from being someone who attends church to someone who worshipped the Living God who is enthroned in the Temple.

 

Reprise:                       Thine be the Glory

Yes, I know it’s not Easter yet but sometimes I need to throw off the fidgets of Lenten dirges all sung in minor keys.  This one should help ‘clear the pipes’ ready for Sunday week.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K1pmNczMEk8

Thine be the glory, risen, conqu’ring Son,
endless is the vict’ry thou o’er death hast won;
angels in bright raiment rolled the stone away,
kept the folded grave-clothes where thy body lay.

Thine be the glory,
risen, conqu’ring Son,
endless is the vict’ry
thou o’er death has won. 

Lo! Jesus meets us, risen from the tomb;
lovingly he greets us, scatters fear and gloom.
Let the Church with gladness hymns of triumph sing,
for her Lord now liveth; death has lost its sting.

No more we doubt thee, glorious Prince of Life!
Life is naught without thee: aid us in our strife.
Make us more than conqu’rors through thy deathless love.
Bring us safe through Jordan to thy home above.

A toi la gloire Edmond Louis Budry (1854-1932)

trans. Richard Birch Hoyle (1875-1939)

Please Note:  These reflections are also published on my blog: suffolkvicarhomes.com on Twitter as @SuffolkVicar, and on my public Facebook page Rev Andrew Dotchin
If you would like them as a daily email please send a request to vicar@felixparish.com

  

Acknowledgements:

Prayers are adapted from the Psalm Prayers in the Common Worship Psalter. material from which is included here, is copyright © The Archbishops’ Council 2005
Scripture quotations are copyright © New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicized Edition, copyright 1989, 1995, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
These Reflections, ‘With a Song in my Heart’ are copyright © Andrew Dotchin 2022