This Sunday we will read the classic and unforgettable verse from John 6:35, Jesus said, “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never be hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty.” And even though our Psalm for this Sunday comes from out of the depths of our discontent (Psalm 130:4 I wait for the Lord; my soul waits for him; in his word is my hope.); we will begin our service with an uplifting hymn of praise, When morning gilds the skies. Several of the Psalms begin and end with fervent declarations of praise. Likewise, from the opening lines of early morning praise to the final couplet about eternal praise before the throne of God in heaven, this hymn has the constant refrain, “May Jesus Christ be praised.” The tune was written by Joseph Barnby. He wrote 246 hymn tunes, but Laudes Domini is one of only a handful still in use, and is without doubt his most popular tune. It was written for this text and was published with it in the 1868 Appendix to Hymns Ancient and Modern. The tune name is Latin and means “praise the Lord,” which refers to the refrain “May Jesus Christ be praised.” (Hymnary.org)
Our Sequence hymn will be All who hunger, gather gladly written by Sylvia G Dunstan in 1991. Sylvia was ordained in the United Church of Canada and served as duty chaplain for a maximum security prison in Ontario. She has written over 57 hymns; this one takes images from the Exodus (holy manna), Paul’s letters about the making of God’s People from no people (here in joy we keep the feast), and John’s Gospel (Jesus as the living bread). It is found in our Wonder, Love and Praise hymnal supplement. (John L Hooker, 1997 Church Publishing Inc.)
The Offertory will be one recorded by Olivia Limbaugh for Kay Fletcher’s funeral that was held yesterday: Amazing Grace arranged for solo by Jay Althouse. If America had a national folk hymn, this would probably be it. This well-loved and oft-sung hymn, written by John Newton in the late eighteenth century, is a powerful assurance and declaration of the grace of God working in all our lives. When Newton was just eleven, he joined his father at sea and began a tumultuous life in the Navy, eventually becoming captain of a slave ship. In a period of four years, however, his life was drastically turned around: he nearly drowned, he married a very pious Mary Catlett, and he read through Thomas à Kempis’ Imitation of Christ. In 1754 he gave up the slave trade and joined forces with the great abolitionist, William Wilberforce. A number of years later, he was ordained for ministry, and soon after wrote this great text, declaring that we are saved only the grace of God. Newton wrote, “I can see no reason why the Lord singled me out for mercy…unless it was to show, by one astonishing instance, that with him 'nothing is impossible'” (Newton, The Life of John Newton). As Olivia sings the familiar words of this hymn, how powerful it is to think of ourselves as an “astonishing instance” of God’s grace and mercy. Olivia would have loved to sing this song in person, but she’s preparing for her senior year at Ole’ Miss! (Hymnary.org)
Our final hymn will be the spiritual, Lord, I want to be a Christian. Miles Mark Fisher, in Negro Slave Songs in the United States, writes that this African American spiritual could have been written in Virginia in the 1750s based on a story from Hanover, Virginia, 1756: “A black slave asked Presbyterian preacher William Davies, ‘I come to you, sir, that you may tell me some good things concerning Jesus Christ and my duty to God, for I am resolved not to live any more as I have done…Lord [Sir], I want to be a Christian’” (PHH). This simple song reflects our willingness to follow Paul’s teaching in Ephesians 4: Put away from you all bitterness and wrath and anger…and be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ has forgiven you. Therefore be imitators of God…and live in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us. (Hymnary.org)