128. Hymn for the 4th Sunday in Advent

The Fourth Sunday in Advent, also known as the last worship service Christmas-and-Easter churchgoers skip before Christmas, is a bit awkward when you're writing a series of hymns for each Sunday of the Church Year - kind of like those Sundays leading up to Pentecost when the Gospel lessons are all subtle variations on the same theme. The problem here is that the Epistle for Advent 4 (Philippians 4:4-7) is mostly a repeat of the Introit for Gaudete (Advent 3), and the Gospel (John 1:19-28) is about John the Baptist again. So the challenge is to avoid being too repetitive. Fortunately there's also the Introit (Isaiah 45:8 and Psalm 19:1) and the Gradual (Psalm 145:18, 21 and Psalm 40:17) to draw upon. The original tune by yours truly is called RORATE.

Drop down, drop down you heavens,
Yea, drop down from on high;
Let righteousness be scattered
As showers from the sky!

Let earth, let earth lie open,
Lie open as a field;
Let it declare God's glory
And our salvation yield!

For there comes One whose sandal
John would not dare untie,
Who bathes us in the Spirit
And flames that purify.

God's Son from heav'n descended,
Took flesh in Mary's womb,
Gave up the ghost to save us
Through fiery trial and tomb.

Washed in His name, yea, buried
In His grave, poor and mean,
We rise with Him united,
Renewed, reborn and clean.

Take cheer therefore in Jesus;
Again I say, take cheer!
Before all men be patient,
Because the Lord is near!

Take cheer, and fret for nothing,
But lean on God in prayer.
He hears your sighs and groaning;
No blessing will He spare.

Now peace that passes knowing
Shall guard your heart and mind,
For in His Son who washed you
A gracious God you find.

Just for historical purposes, the tune that inspired this hymn was O CHRISTE MORGENSTERNE, from a Leipzig hymnal of 1585. I changed my mind about it because my friend Thomas thought the first phrase or two should have a descending melodic shape to tone-paint the text. In dispensing with the tune below, I realized two things. The first was that there was no reason to repeat the last line of each stanza as when I originally wrote it. The other was that I knew of no tune in the 7.6.7.6. meter that had a descending first phrase, so I would have to write one for the purpose. And so it goes.

127. Gaudete Hymn

Gaudete is the mass for the third Sunday in Advent, famously one of the two Sundays of the church year when the liturgical color is "rose," which is to say, let's face it, pink. It takes its Latin name from the beginning of the Introit, "Rejoice in the Lord always..." The historic texts for the day are the Introit from Philippians 4:4-6 and Psalm 85:1, the Epistle from 1 Corinthians 4:1-5 and the Gospel from Matthew 11:2-10. My working tune for this hymn is ES JAMMRE by Jakob Hintze, 1679, taken from a Hirschberg (Silesian) hymnal of 1747 where it was set to the text "Es jammre, wer nicht glaubt, ich will mich stillen."

Lord, we rejoice and sing with jubilation,
For You showed favor to Your captive nation,
Sending the Baptist as herald appointed,
Readying men to receive Your Anointed.

Not in soft words, even less kingly raiment,
John preached repentance and noted the payment
God's Lamb would give, us from sin to deliver,
Pouring forth pardon from out Jordan's river.

Christ is our Passover, John was proclaiming,
In his "Behold the Lamb" our ransom naming.
In John's hard penance and discipline taxing
Waned the old leaven as new bread was waxing.

May we so honor both John and our Savior
That we repent of our sinful behavior,
Finding in Christ all forgiveness and healing
Till He returns, every secret revealing.

126. Baptismal Birthday Song

Continuing my fit of hymn-writing (also known as a "vacation"), here's another paltry effort to correct the poverty of spiritually rich children's hymns. I wrote an original tune for it titled YEAR OF GRACE, which I don't mind admitting is loosely based on "Happy Birthday to You."

This day, child of God,
We treasure the flood
Of blessings since you were
Washed in His Son’s blood.

Still more you are prized,
Dear (brother/sister) in Christ,
With each year that passes
Since you were baptized.

We share the embrace
Of God’s cleansing grace;
We love you as members
Of one holy race.

Forgiven as one,
We worship the Son
Who life and salvation
For all of us won.

This coming year too,
May both we and you
Hold fast to our Savior
Who made us anew!

125. Hymn for the 2nd Sunday in Advent

Continuing to work ahead on my "hymn for every Sunday of the church year" project... The historic texts for the second Sunday in Advent include the Epistle, Romans 15:4-13; the Gospel, Luke 21:25-36; and the Introit, excerpts from Isaiah 62:11, 30:30 and 30:29 (in that order) and Psalm 80:1, and possibly additional verses of Psalm 80 as needed. I don't always pay attention to the Gradual and Hallelujah Verse, but in this case it's interesting to note they cite parts of Psalm 50:2, 3 and 5 and Luke 21:26-27. My working tune for this hymn is SEI GEGRÜSSET, JESU GÜTIG, sometimes attributed to Melchior Vulpius, from a 1682 Leipzig hymnal where it was paired with a 1666 hymn by Christian Keimann.

Little ones, when signs awaken
Filling men with woe and terror,
Earth perplexed and heaven shaken,
Nations torn by strife and error:
Lift your heads and stand your station!
Christ comes swiftly with salvation.

Lo, the fig tree's leaves unfolding
Signify the summer's nearness;
Even so, these signs beholding,
Recognize the time with clearness!
Heav'n and earth are swiftly passing;
Jesus' word is everlasting.

Be on guard, lest care and pleasure
Weigh you down, your heart entrapping;
Lest you lack the one true treasure
When the sudden day comes snapping!
Watch with Christ, who will stand by you
And all needful strength supply you!

To this end God's word was written,
That with hope and perseverance
You, when all the world is smitten,
May rejoice in Christ's appearance
And, with hearts from every nation,
Overflow with exultation.

God in Christ was reconciling
Fallen man to His pure glory,
On both Jew and Gentile smiling.
Knowing thus His servant story,
Let all nations join to praise Him
And a royal anthem raise Him!

Praise the Lord, whose voice victorious
Carries over every border,
And whose message glad and glorious
Reaches all in God's good order:
Who despite the foe's wild raving
Comes with haste, His children saving.

124. Hymn for the 1st Sunday in Advent

I know the season of Advent is a good way off, but I'm thinking my collection of original hymns could use one for each Sunday of the church year and Advent seems like a good place to start. (Mind you, I've already done hymns for all the Sundays in Lent and the Easter season.) Advent's an easy season to get through (only four Sundays) and if I write them now, they'll be ready in plenty of time for my friends in hymnody to test-drive them in church later this year.

Wake, Zion! Recognize
Your time is come! Arise,
Your Savior greeting!
Night-time is almost past;
His Day draws near at last;
This age is fleeting.

Wake, children of the light!
Put off the deeds of night,
Strife and debauching!
Leave fleshly lust for dead,
Putting on Christ instead,
Urgently watching!

Thus armored, Lord, we cry;
We lift our souls on high,
Your grace believing.
Let none who seek Your face
Be cast into disgrace;
Comfort our grieving!

Savior of Zion, rise!
Heal our sin-darkened eyes
With light forgiving!
Let us soon hear the voice
Of them who now rejoice,
In Your courts living!

Show us Your way till then,
That we may say Amen,
Your burden taking!
So help us bear Your name
That we may bless the same,
In glory waking!

Hosannah to the Lord,
To the incarnate Word
And to the Spirit!
O Blessed One who came
In God's almighty name,
Save all who fear it!

The Bible texts referenced in this hymn are from the historic propers for the day: Introit, Psalm 25:1-4; Epistle, Romans 13:11-14; and Gospel, Matthew 21:1-9. The tune I have in mind for this hymn is MEIN JESU, DER DU MICH, which traces back to a 1698 Darmstadt hymn-book that paired it with a 1692 text by Joh. Chr. Lange.

The Martian

The Martian
by Andy Weir
Recommended Ages: 15+ [Adult Content Advisory]

Ares 3, the third in a series of manned missions to Mars, is supposed to last 31 days. On the sixth day the astronauts are forced by a sandstorm to abort, blasting off for an early return to earth. Thanks to a freak combination of events, botanist and engineer Mark Watney is left behind, presumed dead by his crewmates but actually quite alive. Now all he has to do is stay that way in a lifeless, airless desert with supplies to last six crewmen a month and no way to call home even to tell the world he's alive. Best case scenario, a rescue mission starting right away would take more than a year to reach him. Everything is against his survival except his own ingenuity, his will to live and a few million dollars worth of abandoned NASA equipment.

What would you do in Watney's situation? A lot of us would probably give up and wait for death, or maybe even hurry it along. Some of us would be paralyzed with fear. Watney copes with his hopeless situation, the loneliness of his harsh environment and the whisker-thin membrane between life and death with cussed (and frequently cussing) stubbornness, inventiveness and brilliance, lightened by endearingly goofy humor.

Soon enough folks back on Earth are racing to save him. His Ares 3 crewmates, still en route home, are ready to risk everything. The space agencies of more than one country commit enormous resources to his rescue. But ultimately Mark's rescue depends on his own heroic effort and a journey across the surface of Mars, where every moment seems to bring another brush with death.

This book first came to my attention on a list of must-read science fiction novels. I bought it as a gift for my dad, who is much more into sci-fi than I am, and he expressed his enjoyment of it so strongly that I read it after him. According to the author's note at the end of it, the book started out as a serial published on his wesbite and was later packaged as a 99-cent e-book on Amazon. From there to best-seller, soon to be a motion picture starring Matt Damon, is a journey almost as amazing as that of its main character.

This might turn out to be a historically important book, lending insights to the development of manned Mars exploration. But for now it's notable enough for what it is: a smart, exciting piece of entertainment that touches the heart and transports the mind to a strange but real world. It makes us feel just how close and how far away Mars is. And it leaves us with a warm thought about the human family.

The Rithmatist

The Rithmatist
by Brandon Sanderson
Recommended Ages: 12+

If you are a Harry Potter fan, drop everything right now and read this book. End of book review.

Wait, one more thing. Don't wiki this book. Wikipedia quotes exactly one review of it which is not only unflattering, it's downright untrue.

OK, a few more things. The Rithmatist takes place in a worldscape that its author calls "gearpunk." In an alternate-reality America where there's an archipelago instead of a continent, the United Isles of America in the year 1908 has carriages, lamps, and even trains powered not by electricity or steam but by wind-up springs. Even the dollar coins have clockwork in them. Europe has been conquered by the Korean empire. America is, or at least was in fairly recent times, a monarchy. A Christian sect called the Monarchist Church is known for practicing a rite called inception in which some devotees - say, one in a thousand - develops a kind of magical ability called Rithmatics, which allows them to draw chalk lines and figures that come to life and move about in two dimensions.

Eight schools throughout the country teach Rithmatics to children age eight and up. They're sort of like Hogwarts, only these schools teach ordinary students as well. The Rithmatists stay to themselves most of the time, except during spectacular displays of dueling such as the yearly Melees. In exchange for a life pension and special career opportunities, Rithmatists have to spend ten years in an island at the center of the country called Nebrask, where Rithmatic forces fight to contain horrors most people know nothing about. Among them are the wild chalklings, silent two-dimensional creatures that attack and harm not only other chalk figures but human beings as well.

Joel Saxon, age 16, attends the Armedius academy on a scholarship. His mother works at the academy as a cleaning lady, and his late father was a maker of specialty chalks favored by the Rithmatists. Neither of them had Rithmatic powers, and neither does Joel - but all he wants in life is to be a Rithmatist. While his other studies suffer, he obsessively studies every detail of chalk-line defenses and dueling. He is even willing to risk being thrown out of school to learn more, but it is rare for Rithmatists to allow unpowered people to study their secrets.

Joel's chance finally comes when the brilliant but weak-nerved Professor Fitch is forced to take summer tutoring duties. Fitch accepts Joel's help as a research assistant while tutoring a hopelessly inept Rithmatics student named Melody Muns. Somehow, between doing boring research for Fitch and putting up with Melody's annoying personality, Joel finds himself in the thick of an exciting investigation into the disappearances, and possible murders, of a series of young Rithmatists.

That's enough synopsis. If you haven't found the thread by now, go find the book and look for it there. I promise you, as implausible as it sounds - and at the beginning, I found it downright goofy - it quickly becomes a fully convincing, immersive world-building experience. I don't know if it's the characters who feel real and deliver natural sounding dialogue, or if it's the sketches of Rithmatic defenses sandwiched between the chapters, or just the grip of fear and mystery and accelerating action that closes in around you, but by the end of the book you'll know you've found your way into something truly excellent. I can't wait until the promised sequel comes out.

This is the second Brandon Sanderson novel I have come across, following the marvelous Elantris. I want more, but I either have to wait until the local library acts on my buying suggestions or buy them myself. Some of his titles that I am even more excited to open after this include Steelheart and Alcatraz Versus the Evil Librarians. Plus, if I ever get around to reading Robert Jordan's "Wheel of Time" series, I'll be reading more Sanderson titles by the end of it since it was he who wrapped up that fantasy masterpiece after its creator's death. I have a lot of homework to do. But mostly, I want the sequel to this book to come out already!