This Sunday’s readings remind us that God’s love covers all of creation and will continue in God’s promised heaven. The Gospel reading ends with the Great Commandment: Love one another as I have loved you. That Mandatum gives Maundy Thursday its name, and prompted me to reprise Maurice Duruflé’s setting of the “Ubi Caritas” chant – one of the most exquisitely crafted motets in Christendom – written to be sung at the Footwashing on Holy Thursday.
While shuffling through the many boxes of music in our downstairs Choir Room Office, I found a stack of music donated to Grace by another Church, and among them was 30 copies of Gordon Young’s “Immortal Love, Forever Full”. I have long loved this text, but did not know the Anthem by Gordon Young. It is a hymn-like setting of the lofty text by John Greenleaf Whittier, and our amazing Chancel Choir has enjoyed learning brief but profound work. Immortal love, forever full, forever flowing free, Forever shared, forever whole, a never ebbing sea! We may not climb the heavenly steeps to bring the Lord Christ down; In vain we search the lowest deeps, for Him no depths can drown. O Lord and Master of us all, whate’er our name or sign, We own Thy sway, we hear Thy call, we test our lives by Thine.
At Communion we will sing Ralph Vaughan Williams’ setting of the well-known George Herbert poem “The Call”. Vaughan Williams called himself a “disappointed theist” due to his disillusionment with organized religion. He still held devout belief in God but had no use for so much of what “religion” stands for. George Herbert’s text“Come, My Way, My Truth, My Life” begins each verse with three nouns describing Christ, then each noun receives its own exposition: Such a Way….Such a Truth…Such a Life. The lyricism of the poem is matched by a lilting tune by Vaughan Williams, who included the setting in his collection “Five Mystical Songs” to texts by the great English metaphysical/mystical poets.
My Organ Voluntary this week is an arrangement of Alessandro Marcello’s timeless “Adagio” from his Oboe Concerto in d Minor. I fell in love with this ravishing music in college when I accompanied an oboe student for his solo recital. The work is so admired that it has been transcribed for almost every solo instrument imaginable, but the organ has the capability to provide the orchestral accompaniment in the pedal and left hand while the right hand carries the achingly beautiful oboe melody. The linked recording is my favorite interpretation by the late great oboist Ray Still.
I pray that the words we sing and the inspired music we bring help to strengthen each of us to love all of God’s creation just as God has loved us. By this the world will know we are followers of our Risen Savior!
