September 1, 2014: Monday, 22nd week, Ordinary Time / Labor Day
- Crucifix: "I resolved to know only Jesus Christ and him crucified." (1st reading)
- 'Owl' tie pin: "My message demonstrated God's spirit and power... so your faith might not rest on human wisdom..." (1st reading)
- Feet and hands on stick figures: "From every evil way I withhold my feet, that I may keep your words" (psalm); "prosper the work of our hands" (Labor Day, song)
- 'Working people' tie: Labor Day
- 'Eyeball' tie pin: "God anointed me to proclaim recovery of sight to the blind" (gospel)
Music
- For the fruit of all creation/ Green, with Ar hyd y nos/All through the night tune) lyrics+ ("In the just reward of labor, God's will is done.")
- Prosper the work of our hands/ Jansen, Booth, Tomaszek (sample sheet music)
- His Santa Marta homilies are back! Paul says, 'I came to show you not words of wisdom but the Spirit and His power.' The Word of God isn't a word of wisdom or philosophy or science; it's something else and comes in a different way. God speaks to us in the Son; the Word of God is Jesus himself, a source of scandal. The Cross scandalizes. How do I receive the Word of God? It's important to read the Gospel every day, because Jesus is right there. You should receive it like you receive Jesus, with an open, humble heart. Jesus came to us in humility, in poverty, anointed by the Spirit. To hear and receive the Word, pray and ask the Spirit for this anointing, the anointing of the Beatitudes. Do I receive the Word of God as something that interests me, or because it's the living Jesus, his Word?...
- 1 Cor 2:1-5 I didn't proclaim the mystery of God with sublime words or wisdom I resolved to know nothing except Jesus Christ and him crucified. I came in weakness, fear, and trembling, but my message demonstrated spirit and power, so your faith might rest not on human wisdom but on God's power.
- Ps 119:97-102 "Lord, I love your commands." I meditate on them; they've made me wise. From every evil way I withhold my feet...
- Lk 4:16-30 At the Nazareth synagogue Jesus stood and read from Isaiah: The Spirit of the Lord is upon me; he has anointed me to bring glad tidings to the poor, proclaim liberty, healing, and freedom. “Today this Scripture passage is fulfilled in your hearing.” All were amazed, but they asked “Isn't this Joseph's son?” / “No prophet is accepted in his native place. Elijah was sent to a widow in Zarephath, not Israel, and a Syrian leper was cleansed instead of the many of Israel.” Filled with fury, they drove him out and were going to hurl him down the hill, but he passed through them.
I'll focus on music ministry. I post to affirm the good and learn from what could be improved; here's more.
+ Director, 2 acoustic guitars, choir (6 men, 2 women): clear voices, good harmony
– Entrance song wasn't in the hymnal, wasn't practiced with the assembly, and wasn't easy enough for us to sing, IMHO disappointing not only because we should join in the opening song but also because it sets the tone for later
+ Good sound reinforcement: I heard everything fine. Often I find the music ministry is too loud.
– Priest was silent for the "Lord, have mercy"; I'd rather he recite it than have the choir lead a sung version without him.
– Director led the music ministry but didn't animate the assembly. He stood with the choir on the side, moving only for the responsorial psalm, and then not to the ambo (as for a scripture proclamation) but to the podium (because it was closer?), where he sang all three verses tentatively
+ Mass of St. Ann/ Bolduc (sample sheet music) was singable, and we sang it, though most got lost in the Gloria, likely because Ed's through-composed version was used (vs. repeating the 23-word refrain, taking more time, a tough tradeoff)
+ Psalm 63: My soul is thirsting/ Angrisano, a setting I like, though it's hard for the assembly to sing the antiphon without flattening the syncopation
– Missed signal during Alleluia between director and ensemble (about whether to repeat). We all miss signals, but this one was distracting to both vision and hearing.
'Wordle' of Labor Day readings
– Change our hearts/ Cooney (sample sheet music): I like the words and tune, but not "one foot in paradise, one in the waste" (v.1). There's legitimate 'waste' imagery in scripture (e.g., σκύβαλον in Phil 3:8), but that line distracts me from our creation in God's image. (Cf: If the justified would attribute glory to God, they would not be dung but ornaments.... Our righteousness is dung in God's sight, but God can choose to adorn dung, paraphrased from Luther's Disputation Concerning Justification)
+ Behold the lamb/ Willett, good at Communion
– Closing song (All the ends of the earth/ Dufford) was in the hymnal but wasn't announced, but fortunately the refrain is easy and familiar The other two hymns were in the hymnal, but the numbers announced didn't match the hymnals in the pews. Looking them up is distracting, and by the time did and got to the right pages, we were almost into the first verse.
– (not music) There was a beautiful Risen Christ behind the priest, but no crucifix; I found it ironic because of the day's readings about taking up one's cross.
Reflections
- Creighton: Before today's gospel where Jesus announces his power and authority, Jesus had been baptized and tempted by the devil and had taken up his public ministry. The other readings are also about God's power and authority: Paul teaches to demonstrate God’s power, and keeping God's commands gives wisdom. The people of Nazareth were naturally jealous and unbelieving. We can’t explain how Jesus passed through them to continue his ministry.
- Passionist: Paul understood Jesus died as a sign of love for us. The cross was transformed from a sign of capital punishment to a paradoxical sign of self-sacrificing love. Jesus' reading of Isaiah 61:1-2 previewed Jesus' ministry. God's love, especially for the suffering, is unfathomable; it impels us to live attuned to that love and so show mercy and compassion in all our relationships.
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