One More Hymn for Maundy Thursday

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I was SERIOUSLY jazzed to find my favorite Communion hymn on YouTube.

The words:

Now we join in celebration
At the Savior’s invitation,
Dressed no more in spirit somber,
Clothed instead in joy and wonder;
For the Lord of all existence,
Putting off divine transcendence,
Stoops again in love to meet us,
With his very life to feed us.

Lord, as round this feat we gather,
Fill our hearts with holy rapture!
For this bread and cup of blessing
Are for us the sure posessing
Of your loving deed on Calv’ry,
Of your living self, our vict’ry,
Pledge of your unfailing presence,
Foretaste here of heav’nly gladness.

Lord, we share in this communion
As one fam’ly of God’s children,
Reconciled through you, our brother,
One in you with God our Father.
Give us grace to live for others,
Serving all, both friends and strangers,
Seeking justice, love, and mercy
Till you come in final glory.
–LBW 203

The music:

Maundy Thursday Music

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For those wondering, I managed to get through my phone call to Social Security without swearing at them… at least over the phone. I was not having charitable thoughts. I’ll take this up the next time I do confession.

Today is Maundy Thursday (at least that’s what the Anglicans and Lutherans call it) with Maundy coming from the Latin word “mandatum”. If you read the story in John 12-14, you see Jesus commanding his apostles to wash each other’s feet, eating the bread and drinking the wine in His memory, and to love each other.

I could probably attempt to write a treatise on the Eucharist and how it’s an example of anamnesis but I don’t feel called to do that. I have the theological knowledge and the Greek knowledge but it’s late and forced recall is not a strong suit when I’m tired. Instead, I’m posting two YouTube videos.

First Youtube video: “How Beautiful” by Twila Paris with scenes from “The Passion of the Christ”. I first heard this song 10 years ago when the church I was attending based their midweek Lent sermons around it. It’s beautiful and somewhat ironic that it’s used for weddings and for Holy Week.

The second video is of the song “The Summons” which came out of the Iona community. I sang it 15 years ago and it embedded itself in my brain. The reason I include it is the repetition of “will you _______ and never be the same?” I know for me that my life has never been the same since I came to faith and if it was the same, I would wonder what was going wrong. Living out our faith changes us and I fully believe that it prevents us from ever being the same as we were before knowing Jesus.

Lenten Worship Music (VII)

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During the two months that we were commuting to Great Falls in order to be with Daniel almost three years ago(!), I managed to patch into a KLOVE signal bouncing off one of the buttes and “God of This City” by the Northern Ireland band Bluetree was one of the songs that was popular during that time. It gets its name from the mission trip the band took to Pattaya, Thailand and the deplorable conditions they found there. They launched a charity called Stand Out International in 2009 to rescue kids out of the sex industry, probably based on what they saw there.

When I was driving home from PT with Daniel yesterday, this song was playing on KLOVE and I decided to feature it. Here are the lyrics:

You’re God of this city, You’re the King of these people
You’re the Lord of this nation, You are
You’re the light in this darkness, You’re the hope to the hopeless
You’re the peace to the restless, You are

For there is no one like our God
There is no one like You God

Greater things have yet to come
And greater things are still to be done in this city
Greater things have yet to come
And greater things are still to be done here

You’re the Lord of creation, the creator of all things
You’re the King above all kings, You are
You’re the strength in the weakness, You are love to the broken
You’re the joy in the sadness, You are

For there is no one like our God
There is no one like You God

Greater things have yet to come
And greater things are still to be done in this city
Where glory shines from hearts alive
With praise for You and love for You in this city

Greater things have yet to come
And greater things are still to be done in this city
Greater things have yet to come
And greater things are still to be done here

There is no one like our God
There is no one like our God
Yes, there is no one like You God
There is no one like You God

Greater things have yet to come
And greater things are still to be done in this city
Where glory shines from hearts alive
With praise for You and love for You in this city

Greater things have yet to come
And greater things are still to be done in this city
Greater things have yet to come
And greater things are still to be done here
Still to be done here, still to be done here
Still to be done here
(HT: SongLyrics.Com)

I love it because it’s hopeful and if it was inspired by the squalor of that city in Thailand, there’s a definite need for hope. I can also so see it being used for various “city clean-up” ministry things in the States with no knowledge of why it was written. The irony of that is that the band is based in Belfast and there is a definite need for hope in that city, especially in the ghetto areas where the paramilitary action can be prevalent.

Here’s the song:

Getting By With Help

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One of the jobs that is tough with having a special needs child is dealing with the Social Security Administration regarding your child’s SSI. My local one is incompetent at best and in March, they messed up Daniel’s SSI amount because the person reviewing the file decided to skip a page of what makes him eligible. When I called them and told them to FIX IT, they told me to return the check and they’d send out a corrected one. I complied and got a letter from them yesterday saying that Daniel’s SSI was suspended until I called my local office because his March check had been returned to the US Treasury… by the local office. Ready to punch a wall yet? Making things “better”, I got the letter 15 minutes after the office closed which means that I get to deal with it today. Oh flipping joy.

Knowing the incredible temptation to use four-lettered words and the creative curses that could spring out of my mouth, I tweeted and Facebook-messaged a few friends to pray for my mouth tomorrow that in my anger I wouldn’t sin. I’m not saying that I won’t have had angry thoughts about the SSA but I’ll be less likely to use language that will rub off on Daniel in bad ways.

It was a lesson in the fact that I’m not alone on my “journey home” and that we aren’t meant to try and get through the world ourselves. We have the Holy Spirit and we also have each other. Without the help of Rich and Kate, I’d probably be in VERY deep trouble right now in terms of the state of my soul… or at least more trouble than I normally am as a broken person.

God Bless Tim Hawkins

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I have writer’s block yet again. Yes, this probably has something to do with the fact that I missed church this morning to sleep. Yeah, I’m the pastor’s wife and I missed PALM SUNDAY!!!!! It’s not like I have a sinus infection, sore joints, and serious sleep deprivation as an excuse. Daniel did not get to march around the sanctuary waving a palm frond — just call CPS now, OK?

I also have a black cat who has decided that my chest is the perfect place to sleep. This of course makes it difficult to see the screen of my laptop but I think it’s her fiendish master plan. She’s upset that I haven’t updated her blog as often as I should. Bad mommy! No Easter candy!

To give you some spiritual content during Holy Week, here are some Tim Hawkins clips. I know.. we’re crucifying Christ on Friday and I’m putting Christian comedy on my website. Bad Jen! No latté!

Because Satan’s weakness is landscaping.

I almost fell off my chair laughing at this one because I *KNOW* all these people and have seen all these during my evangelical days. (I pray with my hands in “hold my baby” pose.)

“Shout to the Lord” needs some Led Zeppelin in it sometimes.

Some reasonable worship requests

Why yes… I am addicted to hand sanitizer. Stop judging!

11 Things

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Ann of House of Estrogen tagged me in this meme going around the Internet. Whee!

Rules
1.) The first rule is to post these rules.
2.) Post a photo of yourself then write 11 things about you/your life.
3.) Answer the questions for you set in the original post.
4.) Create 11 new questions and tag people to answer them.
5.) Go to their blog/twitter to tell them you have tagged them.

OK… so let me find a picture I like.

Me after a haircut

OK… 11 things about me.

01.) I’m a night owl. I get most of my blogging done after 9 p.m.
02.) I’m 5’1 on a bad hair day. People tell me that I seem taller online.
03.) I’m incredibly shy and very introverted. I’d prefer to people-watch rather than socialize.
04.) I have a weird accent that makes me sound like a valley girl Canadian. It makes it really hilarious when I switch into academic mode and I’m using polysyllabic words while sounding like I should be on a beach in southern California tanning myself.
05.) I graduated from college in 3 years. I’m not smart — just strategic. The fact that I was sick of being in a long-distance relationship also didn’t hurt.
06.) I read murder mysteries for fun. I’m currently reading Buried in Buttercream by G.A. McKevitt.
07.) I have part of a Masters in Theological Studies. I’m incredibly good at it but theology in general bores me. I’m more of a historian and linguist.
08.) I’ve been singing Handel’s Messiah since I was 15. It was a holiday tradition for my mom and I throughout high school and college to do the You-Sing-It-Messiah with the San Jose Symphonic Choir.
09.) I love t-shirts with interesting messages. I love my We Will Not Be Silent shirt and am heartbroken that I’m having to replace it.
10.) My promise not to blog on the Republican candidates is grating on me. There’s SOOOOOOOO much snark I want to post!!!!!!
11.) I’m a princess darnit!

OK… my questions to answer!

1.) What is your favorite movie? It varies. I like the classic Disney cartoons like “The Aristocats” and “The Sword and the Stone” as well as “Forrest Gump”, “The Birdcage”, “The Spitfire Grill”, “Whale Rider”, and “Saved”.

2.) If you could go back and give your 16 year old self one piece of advice, what would it be? Stop worrying about what people will think and join a church. (I’m a convert to Christianity.)

3.) Why do you blog? So many reasons. Generally, I do it because it’s cheaper than therapy and I’ve made so many friends doing it. It also was my way of accessing the outside world when I lived in remote areas of the US.

4.) What did you want to be when you grew up? Are you doing that? I wanted to be a lawyer until I was 15 when I started wanting to be a doctor. I’m not doing either though I’m discerning doing training as a respiratory therapist because they’ve been the coolest health professionals that I’ve encountered in my own adventures and with Daniel.

5.) M&M’s – plain or peanut? Coconut.

6.) What was your first car? 1984 Volvo 240 GL.

7.) What is your favorite Halloween costume you’ve ever worn? The cat costume my mom made us when we were 3.

8.) What are your favorite blogs to read? I have at least 30-40 in my feed reader. They range from Canadian pastors to young Catholic women to Mormon housewives. Most blogs these day happen to be mommy blogs because all my bloggy friends have kids.

9.) If you were to have a boy and a girl tomorrow, what would you name them? Aidan Michael and Hannah Grace.

10.) What was your favorite class in college? Women’s Chorale, my advisor’s history classes, Religion and Social Change, Science and Human Values, the Making of the Modern Middle East, my Organic Chemistry labs, and my college’s Core course.

11.) What celebrity do you think it would be fun to be friends with? Definitely Pauley Perette (Abby on NCIS). She’s very much in person like she is on TV and she’s also incredibly socially conscious. I also love anyone who can pull off the goth look over the age of 30. (She’s in her 40’s.)

OK… now my questions!

01.) What food would you never eat even if you were paid to eat it?
02.) What is your favorite Bible verse or quote?
03.) Should jello at church be in the proper liturgical color?
04.) What was your high school or college mascot?
05.) What do you wish you could do?
06.) What book should everyone read?
07.) What is the weirdest thing you’ve eaten?
08.) Pretend I magically arrived on your doorstep. How would we spend your ideal day?
09.) Manicure or pedicure?
10.) What is the best type of ethnic food (i.e. Italian, Japanese, Indonesian)?
11.) Grey or orange tabby cats?

Now for the tagging!

Beth @ The Catholic Couponer

Nikkiana @ Authentic Experience

Kate @ ImperfectKate

Kathleen @ So Much to Say…

The Preoteasa @ Fear Not Little Flock

Dawn @ ladydusk

I know all of you have lives and such. Please find a way to mold this meme to your blog. If you can’t post a picture of yourself, post one of your kids or something that represents you.

Hymns that Speak to Me Right Now (V)

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I’m having serious writer’s block when it comes to anything faith-related so y’all are getting more hymns.

“All Glory, Laud, and Honor” is the standard processional for Palm Sunday. Written at the time of Charlemagne by Theodulph of Orleans (ca. 750-821), it is set to a 17th century tune named for him. It’s one of my favorite “once a year” hymns and we sing it as we’re filing into the sanctuary after the Liturgy of the Palms and the kids sword-fighting with their palm fronds.

All glory, laud, and honor
to thee, Redeemer, King!
to whom the lips of children
made sweet hosannas ring.

Thou art the King of Israel,
thou David’s royal Son,
who in the Lord’s Name comest,
the King and Blessed One.

All glory, laud, and honor
to thee, Redeemer, King!
to whom the lips of children
made sweet hosannas ring.

The company of angels
are praising thee on high;
and mortal men and all things
created make reply.

All glory, laud, and honor
to thee, Redeemer, King!
to whom the lips of children
made sweet hosannas ring.

The people of the Hebrews
with palms before thee went;
our praise and prayer and anthems
before thee we present.

All glory, laud, and honor
to thee, Redeemer, King!
to whom the lips of children
made sweet hosannas ring.

To thee before thy passion
they sang their hymns of praise;
to thee, now high exalted,
our melody we raise.

All glory, laud, and honor
to thee, Redeemer, King!
to whom the lips of children
made sweet hosannas ring.

Thou didst accept their praises;
accept the prayers we bring,
who in all good delightest,
thou good and gracious King.

All glory, laud, and honor
to thee, Redeemer, King!
to whom the lips of children
made sweet hosannas ring.

(HT: Oremus)

Live from Grace Episcopal Cathedral in Topeka, Kansas!