Interfaith Trialogue Sunday
God of Many Names
This week Dr. Brown will lead our annual Thanksgiving Interfaith Trialogue service, in which we welcome to the Marble pulpit Rabbi Peter Rubinstein, Imam Shamsi Ali, and Sister Carol Perry.
And so it was in the spirit of the week that I read the following “Train of Thought” quote on my beloved F train from Brooklyn on Monday morning: “Every man takes the limits of his own field of vision to be the limits of the world.” A quick search provided the name of 19th-century German philosopher Arthur Schopenhauer as the author. It wasn't long before my mind was substituting ‘God' for ‘world,' thinking about how easily we confine God to the limits of our own field of vision and faith experience.
A day or two after the 9/11 attacks I attended an intimate lecture and discussion with Bishop Rowan Williams in a beautiful library across the avenue at Church of the Transfiguration. A small gathering though it was, the air hung heavy in what felt like a portentous occasion, both in light of what had just happened and, we now know, what was soon to happen – the United States would go to war and Rowan Williams would become the Archbishop of Canterbury.
I hung on his every wise, poetic word, and at the first chance I asked him a question that I thought seemed timely: the Gospel of John quotes Jesus as saying, “I am the Way, the Truth and the Life; no one comes to the Father except through me.” In what way, I wanted to know, does such a narrow view of the path to God differ from the religious extremism that appeared to have inspired such terrible violence? His answer was disarmingly simple. He said the world spends way too much time thinking about what the Way is not, and not enough time thinking about what the Way is.
Perhaps it is our yearning for absolute truth that makes the second half of Jesus statement so alluring. If we can convince ourselves that there is no truth beyond that which we currently know, then truly the limits of our field of understanding have become the limits of the world, and in that world our view always rules.
Soon after 9/11 I decided to write a little prayer response for the choir, which we will sing this Sunday, entitled O God of Many Names. [LISTEN] I created what I imagined to be a Middle Eastern chant at the opening, and with Muslims around the world being vilified I particularly resonated to George Appleton's text addressing God as the Lover of all nations.
A friend of mine was incredulous: “How can you write music saying God had many names? He has one name, and that name is Jesus.” Years later, I still turn his remark over and over in my mind. The truth is, I agree with him about God's name being Jesus. This is my truth. However, I suppose I've become more of a relativist in my midlife. I now recognize that the limits of my understanding are not God's limits, and that my field of vision cannot define and must not dishonor others' relationship with God, no matter what name they use to pray to God.
There Goes Autumn
Prelude: Comes Autumn Time by Leo Sowerby (1895-1968) Born in Grand Rapids, Michigan, Leo Sowerby studied organ performance and theory in Chicago and went on to complete his studies in Italy, where he was the first American to win the Prix de Rome for composition. He returned to the United States and taught composition at the American Conservatory in Chicago from 1925 to 1962, while serving as organist at St. James Episcopal Cathedral for over forty years. Though he is chiefly remembered for his liturgical works, his secular compositions, including five symphonies, were regularly programmed by the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. His exquisite lyricism and evolved harmonic palate display elements of both American jazz and European impressionism.
Comes Autumn Time [LISTEN] employs many of the beautiful solo stops on the organ, including different flutes, oboe, and English horn. Sowerby was a master colorist, and he calls for very unusual combinations of stops – a 4-foot flute coupled with a 16-foot gambe (or viola) in one place, or a flugal horn (which the Marble organ does not have) coupled with a bassoon in another. It is in keeping with the season, when trees step out of their roles as forest members in order to become soloists for a couple of weeks, revealing all the beauty they can muster. Paralleling the changeability and impermanence of autumn, this piece has flashes of thunderous sound which quickly recede into quiet serenity – everything is in a constant state of metamorphosis, and nothing lasts for long.
American Holiday, American Music
Prelude: The Saint's Delight, arr. Dale Wood and Pisgah, arr. Louie White Thanksgiving always feels like the right time to revel in the rich treasury of American folk hymns. There is a simplicity, directness, and sense of looking back to a less complicated era which connects to the holiday. [LISTEN] Here I play the folk tunes unadorned on the piano, and on Sunday I'll play them in arrangements for the organ. The tune Saint's Delight was composed in 1835 and appeared in Walker's Southern Harmony collection of Shape-note songs; it is often sung to the text, “When I Can Read My Title Clear.” Pisgah was a very popular tune which appeared in 31 different collections, beginning with the Kentucky Harmony in 1817. In Hebrew “Pisgah” means high place, and it is the name for Mount Nebo, from which Moses viewed the Promised Land.
Anthem: Al Shlosha D'Varim by Allan Naplan For the first time since I've been at Marble we welcome our older children's choir, In Harmony, to the choir loft to sing a beautiful anthem in Hebrew with the Sanctuary Choir. The text comes from the Pirkei Avot, a compilation of the ethical teachings and maxims of the Rabbis of the Mishnah period, approximately 200 AD. The message sums up the special themes of this Sunday's service: “The world is sustained by three things: by truth, by justice, and by peace.”
The children will be appearing for the first time under their extraordinary new director, Fred Meads. Fred has had extensive experience working with children and youth choirs in academic, ecclesiastical, and community settings, including his recent post as Artistic Director of the Fort Wayne Children's Choir. He currently serves as Director of Vocal Studies at the American Boychoir School in Princeton, arguably the pre-eminent program of its kind in the country. We are extremely fortunate to have someone of his skill, passion, and heart for ministry working with our young people!
A Thanksgiving Message
As a post-script to Dr. Brown's inspiring message on maintaining an attitude of gratitude I thought I'd share this church sign from an enterprising Presbyterian Church in Austin, Texas.
In yesterday's Seniors' Thanksgiving service Dr. Bill Lutz shared how he was grumbling about the hateful job of raking leaves around his house this week. They had seemingly all come down at once in the storm over the weekend, and he had grudgingly filled 25 bags – no small task – when he looked up and saw his neighbor smile and wave at him from his window. Al, the neighbor with rapidly advancing ALS, aka Lou Gehrig's Disease. The neighbor who would have given anything in the world to be the one out raking those leaves, filling those 25 bags.
It was as poignant a reminder as one ever needs that we must live with humble gratitude for all we have been given, and all we have been spared.