Will Our Children Have Faith?

One of the most vivid memories of my childhood is an experience I had with my Grandpa Henry on the back porch of his and Grandma's large farm house. He was quite weak, because, as I later learned, he was dying of cancer. My mother, father, sister Elaine and I lived in a small house across the highway from  Grandpa's place. As a seven year old it was easy to walk over for a visit.

Grandpa was a very pious German Lutheran farmer. He regularly read his German Bible and would lead his family in prayer during and after meals. And he loved the hymns of the church. That is why he was so concerned about teaching me in those final weeks of his life. The hymn he taught me is one that I shall never forget, a hymn that pulls up images of sitting next to him to recite and sing it together. Of course, it had special meaning to him since these were his final days.

Here are the verses of Abide With Me, a most beloved hymn, based upon Jesus' walk with the two disciples on the their way to Emmaus on the eve if that first glorious Easter Sunday (Luke 24:13-35).

Abide with me; fast falls the eventide;
the darkness deepens; Lord, with me abide.
When other helpers fail and comforts flee,
Help of the helpless, O abide with me.

Swift to its close ebbs out life's little day;
earth's joys grow dim; its glories pass away;
change and decay in all around I see;
O thou who changest not, abide with me.

I need thy presence every passing hour.
What but thy grace can foil the tempter's power?
Who, like thyself, my guide and stay can be?
Through cloud and sunshine, Lord, abide with me.

I fear no foe, with thee at hand to bless;
ills have no weight, and tears not bitterness.
Where is death's sting? Where, grave, thy victory?
I triumph still, if thou abide with me.

Hold thou thy cross before my closing eyes;
shine through the gloom and point me to the skies.
Heaven's morning breaks, and earth's vain shadows flee;
in life, in death, O Lord, abide with me.

I need Thy presence every passing hour.
What but Thy grace can foil the tempter's power?
Who, like Thyself, my guide and stay can be?
Through cloud and sunshine, Lord, abide with me.

I fear no foe, with Thee at hand to bless;
Ills have no weight, and tears no bitterness.
Where is death's sting? Where, grave, thy victory?
I triumph still, if Thou abide with me.

Hold Thou Thy cross before my closing eyes;
Shine through the gloom and point me to the skies.
Heaven's morning breaks, and earth's vain shadows flee;
In life, in death, O Lord, abide with me.

Learning that hymn at my Grandfather's side, together with other childhood experiences of living, praying and worshipping within a pious Christian extended family undoubtedly shaped and formed me. From early childhood I knew that I believed and trusted in Jesus. As the years passed I also came to believe I was being called to serve Him as a pastor and teacher. 

All this causes me to ask about today's children, my children, grandchildren and now my own great-grandson. How are they being shaped and formed? Together with John Westerhoff, a Christian educator of my own generation, I ask, "Will our children have faith?" 

In some of my next posts I want to explore some possible answers to that question. 

Origin Of The Twelve Days Of Christmas

Only a little over a week to Christmas and I still much to do before the Holy Day arrives. The time draws nigh. . . or does it? Christians have long celebrated Christmas for twelve days, from the day marking Christ's birth to the 12th day on which the western branch celebrates Epiphany and the eastern branch celebrates Christ's birth. So, why must I follow the commercial ways of the world?

Speaking of the Twelve Days of Christmas, here's a little piece I wrote a few years back about them. When most people hear this phrase, they think of the song. Do you recall or have you ever heard about its origin. Here's what I found out.



Some folks have mistakenly suggested that the song itself had its origins as a teaching tool to instruct young people in the meaning and content of the Christian faith. From 1558 to 1829, goes this explanation, Roman Catholics in England were supposedly not able to practice their faith openly. So they had to find other ways to pass on their beliefs. To do that they invented "The Twelve Days of Christmas" song as an allegory. Each of the items in the song thus represented something of religious significance. The song became a kind of catechism.
According to that interpretation the song goes:

On the first day of Christmas my true love gave to me..." The "true love" represents God and the "me" who receives these presents is the Christian.

The "partridge in a pear tree" was Jesus Christ who died on a tree as a gift from God.

The "two turtle doves" were the Old and New Testaments - another gift from God. 

The "three French hens" were faith hope and love - the three gifts of the Spirit that abide (I Corinthians 13).

The "four calling birds" were the four Gospels which sing the song of salvation through Jesus Christ.

The "five golden rings" were the first five books of the Bible also called the "Books of Moses."

The "six geese a-laying" were the six days of creation.

The "seven swans a swimming" were "seven gifts of the Holy Spirit."(I Corinthians 12:8-11, Romans 12:1-10, Ephesians 4:1-16, 1 Peter 4:10-11)

The "eight maids a milking" were the eight beatitudes.

The "nine ladies dancing" were nine fruits of the Holy Spirit. (Galatians 5:22-23)

The "ten lords a-leaping" were the Ten Commandments.

The "eleven pipers piping" were the eleven faithful disciples.

The "twelve drummers drumming" were the twelve points of the Apostles' Creed. 

The Twelve Days of Christmas is in fact a children's rhyme first published in a book called Mirth without Mischief in London around 1780. Originally a memory and forfeit game, a circle of players gathered to play and each person took turns to say the first line of the rhyme. When it was the first player's turn again he said the second line of the verse and so on until someone missed his or her verse and had to pay some kind of forfeit or penalty.

100 years later the game and rhyme were adopted by Lady Gomme as a rhyme that "the whole family could have fun singing every twelfth night before Christmas before eating mince pies and twelfth cake."

Many other theories have been put forward to explain the strange collection of gifts catalogued in this carol, and various attempts have been made to explain them as symbolic of something or other. It has been suggested, for instance, that 'pear tree' is a corruption of perdrix (pronounced 'pair-dree'), French for partridge. What is a calling bird? Not, as some people think, a bird calling or singing, but rather colly bird, an old popular name for a blackbird - colly being a dialect word for coal dust. Five golden rings refers not to five pieces of jewelry, but to five ring-necked birds (such as pheasants). When these errors are corrected, the pattern of the first seven gifts becomes types of birds: partridge, turtle doves, French hens, pheasants, geese and swans.

There are many other explanations for this most familiar song. Few seem to agree. Even though I've studied the explanations I've not mastered the words and have to peek.

On the nth day of Christmas my true love sent to me: 

Twelve lords a-leaping, 

Eleven ladies dancing, 

Ten pipers piping, 

Nine drummers drumming, 

Eight maids a-milking, 

Seven swans a-swimming, 

Six geese a-laying, 

Five gold rings, 

Four colly birds, 

Three French hens, 

Two turtle doves, and 

A partridge in a pear tree.

Christmas is a time for singing, sharing gifts and remembering with joy the Father's precious gift to us all. Perhaps the best thing for all of us is to forget about all the explanations and simply enjoy singing during these upcoming twelve days. We have many songs and hymns to enjoy. "God rest ye merry," one and all.

My Song In The Night

What are your favorite folk hymns? I was delighted that the new Lutheran Service Book includes several. Notable are the following examples:

• 456 - Were You There - author unknown
• 543 - What Wondrous Love Is this - author unknown
• 686 - Come, Thou Fount of Every Blessing by Robert Robinson
• 711 - Savior, like a Shepherd Lead Us - author unknown
• 728 - How Firm a Foundation - author unknown
• 744 - Amazing Grace by John Newton

There are others we love, I'm sure, that are not in LSB, that you love and sing to yourself. When leading worship I've always tried to chose hymns  based upon three principles:

1. Does the hymn reflect correct Biblical teaching? 
2. Can we sing it? 
3. And can we remember it?

So many times we've been in worship services where the tune is unfamiliar and the words strange. Many of us cannot read music and are not trained musicians, but we love to sing. Put us in that position and we sit there with a blank stare or even close the book. "What's the use?" we mutter.

How sad.

In reflecting upon Asaph's Psalm 77 today I came across his troubled plea, "Let me remember my song in the night" (Psalm 77:6). As he wrote, Asaph's life seemed to be nothing but night, gloom and trouble. God seemed deaf to his cries. His hand was weary, his soul discomforted. Unable to sleep he finally pleaded, "Let me remember my song in the night."

In that sense, I realize how critical it is to be able to remember and sing to yourself the strong and comforting hymns of corporate worship. Their message and the music that carries them are so important in those dark, dark nights in our lives. Asaph's prayer is not unfamiliar to many of us.

I went searching for a folk song, based upon Asaph's cry in the night. Here's one I found. Perhaps you will want to add it to your repertoire of songs to remember when those dark nights come. Listen to the link, a choral version. It speaks of affliction, deserts and night. Yet in the midst of those dark nights I can call to Jesus, my soul's delight and be comforted. Jesus is my Savior, my song in the night.    

MY SONG IN THE NIGHT
Southern Folk Hymn

O Jesus my Savior, my song in the night,
Come to us with Thy tender love,
my soul’s delight.
Unto Thee, O Lord, in affliction I call,
My comfort by day, and my song in the night.

O why should I wander, an alien from Thee,
Or cry in the desert Thy face to see?
My comfort and joy, my soul’s delight,
O Jesus my Savior, my song in the night.

My song in the night, my song in the night,
in the night, in the night, in the night.

O Jesus my Savior, my song in the night.
Come to us with Thy tender love,
my soul’s delight.
My comfort and joy, my soul’s delight,
O Jesus my Savior, my song in the night.

My song my song in the night,
in the night, my song
My comfort and joy, my soul’s delight.
O Jesus my savior, my song in the night,
in the night. My song in the night.

Formal and Informal Worship Music

My Lenten meditations upon the psalms today led me to Psalm 61 and King David's prayer, "Lead me to the rock that is higher than I" (Psalm 61:2). Blue Letter Bible has a link in its commentary on that Psalm to Erastus Johnson's 19th century hymn by that name. They indicate their links come from the Cyber Hymnal website. In exploring that website I came upon the familiar contemporary hymn writer, John Ylvisaker and his comments about the two streams of congregational music. 

Ylvisaker's comments upon the tensions in congregations about music are quite instructive. Here are a few snippets. I commend the entire article to your study. He distinguishes between the rather formal worship of the Temple in Jerusalem and the more informal, rhythmic, popular style of singing in the local synagogues. In the synagogues they used tambourines and guitar-like instruments. At the temple they used trumpets, large harps and "loud clashing cymbals," which would suggest a more classical performance oriented music.

When the Roman emperor Constantine was converted and Christianity became the religion of the known world, Christians began to experience the luxury of Temple worship again, Ylvisaker writes. "But unfortunately, the pendulum swung too far to that end and got stuck there. For over one thousand years (until Luther) worship music was the exclusive domain of monastic choirs, cantors and priests. To compensate for this, the Christians would create parallel feasts and celebrations with accompanying music of a more popular nature. This is the root of the carols, ballads, biblical songs and mystery plays. It gave the people a chance to participate even though they were excluded from the official worship of the church."

He continues, "It's only recently that we've been forced to decide between formal and informal, between orthodox and pietist, between contemporary and traditional. I don't think its ever been a legitimate demand on the worshiper. I, for one, can be nurtured by both streams. I need to have my mind stimulated by the performance tradition and I need to have my heart touched by full participation in the song tradition of the church."

After listing side by side summary outlines of both traditions, Ylvisaker concludes, "What one sees above is evidence of strongly contrasting styles of worship. But the most fascinating thing about it is that the same people are moving gracefully back and forth between them. The horrible decision of trying to determine which you are just isn't there. If you swing too far to the formal side, you end up in rationalism; if you swing too far to the informal side, you end up in emotionalism. Please note that Martin Luther was very critical of both of these extremes."