Sunday, November 8
Mark 14:26

And when they had sung the hymn . . . (v. 26a)

For a while now, we have been hearing the Gospel of Mark on Sundays. This week we will be hearing from Mark with a special eye to how the words of Mark relate to hymns that we sing.

The listing called "Scriptural Index of Hymns and Songs" in the back of With One Voice (WOV) has been especially helpful. All of the hymns mentioned this week are fairly new, some appearing in the Lutheran Book of Worship, but all appearing in WOV and now in the cranberry hymnal.

In the Gospel reading above, Jesus and his disciples sing a hymn before they go to the Mount of Olives to wait and watch in the Garden of Gethsemane. It is a momentous life-changing time, and they begin their journey by singing a hymn.

“When in our Music God is Glorified”
(ELW 851, WOV 802) (hymn tune ENGELBERG)

In this hymn, there is a clear idea that making music is a way to praise God. Music can help us remember the words to use when we worship. A hymn can serve as a prayer. Verse 4 specifically refers to Gethsemane: "And did not Jesus sing a psalm that night when utmost evil strove against the light? Then let us sing, for whom he won the fight: Alleluia!"

Let us pray:
May we glorify you, o Lord, in all that we do and say, sing and play. Amen.

Monday, November 9
Mark 1:16-20

As Jesus passed along the Sea of Gallilee,
he saw Simon and his brother Andrew casting a net into the sea -
for they were fishermen. (v. 16)

Jesus is seeking out his disciples in this passage from Mark, finding many of them at the water's edge.

“You Have Come Down to the Lake Shore”
(ELW 817, WOV 784) (hymn tune PESCADOR DE HOMBRES)

This two-language hymn (English and Spanish) reminds us of Jesus calling us to follow him in our daily lives, in our "small boats."

This hymn has special significance in our family, in that it was sung in Spanish at the funeral of my husband's brother's wife in 2005. My husband was there, and this hymn was familiar to him in English. Mary's funeral took place in her home town of Tijuana, Mexico, and the singing of this hymn, in Spanish, happened at the cemetery as family and friends gathered around her grave site. Several songs were sung as the spirit moved the mourners, in final farewell.

Let us pray:
"You know full well what I have, Lord: neither treasure nor weapons for conquest, just these my fish nets and will for working." Be with us, Lord, as we seek to do your will. Amen.

Tuesday, November 10
Mark 4:1-9

Listen! A sower went out to sow. (v. 3)

We all know the story of the sower whose seed fell onto different kinds of ground, much of it poor, but some of it fertile where it would blossom and grow.

“Lord, Let My Heart Be Good Soil”
(ELW 512, WOV 713) (hymn tune GOOD SOIL)

This hymn is one of the first I remember as being a small gem of a song to sing in church. Only one verse, a beautiful melody and accompaniment, words that say so much.

In my job as organist at St Mark's in Marquette, there are often times when I play through a new hymn, thinking, "Here's a keeper!" This hymn is a keeper.

Let us pray:
May our hearts and lives be open to hearing and doing your word, Lord. Help us to be "good soil, where love can grow and peace is understood." Amen.

Wednesday, November 11
Mark 13:24-37

But in those days, after the suffering, the sun will be darkened . . .
Then they will see the Son of Man coming
in clouds with great power and glory . . . (v. 24a, 26)

Mark points out the awesome contrast between a world without Christ, and a world with a Savior.

“My Lord, What a Morning”
(ELW 438, WOV 627) (hymn tune BURLEIGH)

Singing this hymn gives voice to the awesome thought of God's love for us. Our lives can be pretty mundane, often downright dreary. But put God in our midst, and things change immensely.

Parts of this hymn almost need to be sung in a hushed voice of amazement. There are words to be sung boldly, exhorting us to work for the kingdom of God. And there are still other parts where joyful words of thanksgiving can be heard.

Let us pray:
Open our eyes, Lord, to your amazing world and your love for us. Amen.

Thursday, November 12
Mark 9:2-9

And he was transfigured before them,
and his clothes became dazzling white. (v. 2b-3a)

The disciples of Jesus were part of events that covered a whole gamut of emotions and actions, highs and lows, worldly and heavenly. I can picture them thinking back on these events, boldly and faithfully daring to believe that they were really present. The transfiguration of Jesus must have been such an event.

“Shine, Jesus, Shine”
(ELW 671, WOV 651) (hymn tune SHINE, JESUS SHINE)

There are hymns that I associate with certain people, sometimes because that person introduced me to that song. It was a young student at Northern Michigan University who pointed out this hymn to me, a student who has gone on to become ordained in the ELCA (at Gloria Dei in Hancock), and now serves in Illinois with her pastor husband.

The refrain of this hymn is forthright and joyous, to be sung with gusto. The verses are more contemplative, and probably need to be sung in a more thoughtful manner. Those verses speak of the light of love shining "in the midst of our darkness," a light to "set us free by the truth" that Jesus brings to us.

Let us pray:
Let us dare to look for the awesome in our daily lives. Open our eyes, Lord. Amen.

Friday, November 13
Mark 14:17-25

When it was evening, he came with the twelve.
And when they had taken their places and were eating . . . (v. 17-18a)

We are reading about the first Lord's Supper in this passage of Mark, the Holy Communion table around which we now gather at worship on Sundays.

“Eat This Bread”
(ELW 472, WOV 706) (hymn tune BERTHIER)

Sometimes in our churches we sing hymns as we come forward to receive the bread and wine. This is often one of those hymns.

It comes out of the Taizé tradition of the Church, composed by Brother Jacques Berthier. It reminds me of an inspiring evening service at St Peter Cathedral in Marquette some years ago, led by members of the Taizé group. Picture an ecumenical gathering filling St Peter's, the huge sanctuary lit only by candles and lights turned low, and this hymn being intoned over and over again as the people came forward to receive communion. It was an evening to remember.

Let us pray:
In partaking of Holy Communion, we are one with Christians all over the world, as we are one with you, Lord. Thank you. Amen.

Saturday, November 14
Mark 10:13-16

People were bringing little children to him in order that he might touch them . . .
And he took them up in his arms, laid his hands on them, and blessed them. (v. 13, 16)

Jesus blesses the little children, along with all the adults. The children were definitely on his radar screen at a time when many did not consider children at all.

“Go, My Children, with My Blessing”
(ELW 543, WOV 721) (hymn tune AR HYD Y NOS)

I am so glad that, thanks to this hymn, we can now sing the tune of "All through the Night" at other than evening services! The hymn tune name is Welsh for "all through the night." This hymn is often the recessional or "Sending" hymn at our worship services, and rightly so. Its words give comfort and strength to all of God's children, young and old alike.

It is clear, now that we are at the end of this week of devotions, that merely the surface of linking hymns and scripture has been scratched. So much more could be said - about the music and texts of our hymns, their Biblical origins, their composers, the whole idea of hymn tunes, and even about those numbers that appear below the hymn tune at the bottom of the page in the hymnal. Perhaps these are ideas for yet another series of devotions with a hymn theme.

Let us pray:
Bless us, Lord, as we go on our way. Be with us always. Amen.