Tacky Hymns 118

We resume with the "Justice, Peace" section of the hymnal supplement All Creation Sings ...

1056 is "Bless to us our bread", in the original Spanish collected from Argentine tradition by Frederico Pagura (†2016) and John L. Bell's (b. 1949) English translation, set to Bell's arrangment of the Argentine traditional tune also collected by Pagura. Besides a concluding repetition of the first line, the remaining lines of the text (in English) call on God to "give bread to all those who are hungry, and hunger for justice to those who are fed." The score doesn't come right out and say it, but it seems (from the belated entry of the accompaniment) that the first line is meant to be sung by a leader and the rest by everyone. For once again forgetting that this is not a Spanish-language hymnal, and for being a little speck of a thing that isn't worth filling a hymn slot in the service, 2 tacks.

1057 is "What does the Lord require of you?" – words and music by Jim Strathlee (b. 1941), apparently excerpted from Micah 6:8. It's a three-part round, with the first part of the Bible verse repeated twice in Part I, the second part stretched throughout Part III, and a Part II that lingers over keywords of Part III. The suggestion of singing it as a round is mentioned in a footnote with the auxiliary verb "can," as if singing the three parts in sequence is actually an option, though the parts are scored as parts and not as consecutive stanzas. Also, there's no accompaniment, suggesting an intention that the piece be sung a capella, but also creating the issue that Grandma Schmeckpepper (the church choir's rehearsal pianist) has to read three staves at one time, and not with the advantage of the third stave being a pedal part. For really being a choir piece, for omitting any notion of accompaniment (even for rehearsal purposes) and for being a little speck, etc., etc., 3 tacks.

1058 is "Let not the needy be forgotten", words and music by Bret Hesla (b. 1957), in an arrangement by Tom Witt (b. 1957). It's literally two lines of text set to two phrases of music, whose tiny duration is only extended by a melisma at the end (i.e., a series of notes sung over one syllable). And it ends on a dominant chord, which is to say, it sounds inconclusive. I'll bite my tongue sooner than kvetch about the parallel perfect fifths in the final cadence, since I've caught myself publishing PP5s often enough that I haven't a leg to stand on. But again it's a tiny speck of a thing; it's not unreasonable to expect more out of a hymn (and I won't be gaslighted again, no matter how often this book attempts it). 3 tacks.

1059 is "Come now, you blessed" by Ruth Duck, whom we know, set to the tune MATTHEW 25 by Emily R. Brink (b. 1940). It's an appropriate tune name for a hymn built on the Matthew 25 parable of the sheep and goats ("When I was hungry, thirsty, and homeless, sick and in prison, you showed me love," etc.). When it comes around to Jesus explaining when we did these things to him, stanza 3 puts details into Jesus' mouth that Matthew 25 doesn't find there, such as talk of war refugees. Stanza 4 concludes the hymn with a sort of prayer that's really an out-of-the-side-of-our-mouths exhortation to ourselves and each other, to see Christ in the faces of the needy and show them love; which is all very well, as far as "third use of the law" application goes, but it also omits the parallel condemnation of those who thought they did all these things but whom Christ judges thus: "I never knew you." Which suggests that there might be more to this parable than exhortation to do thus and so. Like, maybe, the application of an alien righteousness (from Jesus) that is appropriated by faith alone. Some might call that a far-out interpretation, but it definitely has a ring of Lutheranism to it. For being an incomplete account of its subject matter, and for omitting the accompaniment to this novel tune, 2 tacks.

1060 is "Gentle Joseph heard a warning" by Carl P. Daw Jr. (b. 1944), set to PLEADING SAVIOR from Joshua Leavitt's 1830 Christian Lyre – in other words, an early American traditional tune. It omits the accompaniment (the better to fit three hymns onto a two-page spread) but includes a footnote suggesting that it could also be used around Christmas. It dramatizes the Holy Family's flight into Egypt as "targets of a tyrant's army, seeking safety, fleeing strife," etc. Other than a hint (st. 2) that God was with them, and their sense of His presence helped them, the main application (st. 3) seems to be to ask God for courage as we move from place to place, and to be "channels of [His] grace" toward "every stranger," both to welcome them as "refugees from Bethlehem" and to "receive the Christ in them." Might that "every stranger" rubric be perhaps a little over the top? Could we be looking for Christ in people who do not have Him in them? Might this application of Christ's flight into Egypt be a swerve into the moralistic ditch when a pure gospel application is literally right there – with Jesus closing the circle of His ancient people's exodus out of tyranny in Egypt, assuming and thus redeeming even the plight of the most helpless, harassed and oppressed? 3 tacks.

1061 is "Caminemos con Jesús," a bilingual Spanish-English litany for which the leader's notes and the accompaniment have been reserved for the accompaniment edition (coughCHEAPcough). I mean, there aren't even musical cues for the congregation (all/todos) to pick up on. Just notes for a response and a refrain, and then a full page of lyrics printed as a block of text with the leader's part in regular type, the "todos" part in bold and an interlinear translation in italics, which isn't confusing at all. And still this book hasn't shaken off the impression that it's a Spanish-language hymnal, though it clearly isn't. For being a train wreck waiting to happen on so many levels (don't get me started about the footnote's squint-worthy pronunciation guide!), the full 5 tacks.

1062 is "Build a longer table" (not a higher wall) by David Bjorlin (b. 1984), set to the French carol NOËL NOUVELET. Accompaniment omitted, wouldn't you know. You can probably tell where stanza 1 is heading from just the lyrics I've spelled out so far. It concludes, "Christ breaks walls to pieces; false divisions end." I'm torn between interpreting this as a polemic against national border controls or, taking a cue from the line "feasting together," against closed communion. If it's the latter, I think the burden of proof rests with whoever is accusing necssary distinctions of being "false divisions." Stanza 2 branches out into another social issue: "Build a safer refuge, not a larger jail." Stanza 3, "a broader doorway, not a longer fence." Stanza 4 puts the icing on the cake with the argument that we lived as exiles until "Christ became our doorway to the reign of God," so our tables must welcome all; "none can be excluded." Yeah, it's an anthem to open communion, where (as the argument goes, when extended beyond this hymn's tightly crafted phrases) the church can no longer draw a line in the sand, or any type of dirt whatsoever, be it moral, doctrinal or even distinctively Christian. All of which reminds me of the tweet shown here. 5 tacks.

I really was thinking of taking this post further, maybe to the end of ACS. But this was a challenging little bunch of songs, so I'm going to give it a rest at this point. We've added another 23 tacks in just 7 hymns, bringing the running total to 327 tacks in 162 hymns. And that, beloved, comes to about 202 percent. Yes, we've broached the 200 mark. Lord, have mercy.