March 24, 2013: Palm/Passion Sunday

Mar 24 2013 Palm Sunday

Hymn: All Glory, Laud, and Honor

The original text of this hymn comes from a long poem by Theodulph, Bishop of Orleans (760-821). He became Charlemagne’s leading theologian, all the while honing his gift of poetry. The hymn references four different Biblical texts: Psalm 24:7-10, Psalm 118:25-26, Matthew 21:1-17, and Luke 19:37-38.

Hymn: Rejoice, Ye Pure in Heart!

Edward Hayes Plumptre wrote this hymn for the Peterborough Choral Festival of 1865. The full text contained ten stanzas that were condensed and edited over the years. Written as a processional hymn, we should keep that in mind as we close worship and go out into the world with this hymn: “Then on, ye pure in heart! Rejoice, give thanks, and sing!”

Hymn: Hosanna, Loud Hosanna

From The Psalter Hymnal Handbook: “Like ‘All Glory, Laud, and Honor,’ this text is based on Christ’s triumphal entry on Palm Sunday. However, ‘Hosanna, Loud Hosanna’ focuses more on the children’s role in that event. The text was written by Jeannette Threlfall in an ‘idle moment’ (as she says she wrote all of her hymns, all others of which have been forgotten). Undoubtedly, Threlfall had Mark 11 in mind when she wrote this text, but she also alludes to Jesus’ welcoming of the children in Mark 10:13-16. Stanzas 1 and 2 tell how the children shared in the songs during Christ’s procession into Jerusalem. Stanza 3 is our cue to participate in praising our Redeemer.”

Anthem: When I Survey the Wondrous Cross

Gilbert Martin arranged Isaac Watts’ famous hymn as a present to the graduating class of 1968 at Westminster Choir College. Based on the tune by Lowell Mason, the anthem effectively conveys the shifts in mood of Watts’ hymn through dynamic and key changes. “When I Survey” was titled “Crucifixion to the World by the Cross of Christ. Galatians 6:14.” The scripture referenced reads, “May I never boast of anything except the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world.” As is Watts’ trademark, the hymn is full of scripture references, including Philippians 3:7, and Galatians 2:20.

Anthem: My Song Is Love Unknown

George Herbert has a connection to this anthem; a poem he wrote called “Love Unknown” seems to have influenced Samuel Crossman’s own writing. For example, in Herbert’s poem, Jesus speaks in stanzas; after each stanza comes the refrain “Was ever grief like mine?” Whether or not Herbert’s writing inspired Crossman, the text is a fitting conclusion to Lent as we move toward Holy Week and the Passion. Gracia Grindal writes that a “befuddled balladeer” tells a story with this “contradiction and paradox: ‘Love to the loveless shown / that they might lovely be.’ …Few hymns tell the story so well and so powerfully. And few tell us so much about ourselves.”