Deep Music:
A Selection of
L.D.S. Musical Readings
By
Michael R. Collings
Published by Michael R. Collings at Smashwords
Copyright 2011 Michael R. Collings
Smashwords Edition, License Notes
This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to Smashwords.com and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.
The Gift of Christmas-Tide: A Verse-Cantata
The Faithful Behold the Risen Christ (Easter)
Tidings of Great Joy: A Christmas Verse-Cantata
Two Witnesses for Christ: An Easter Verse-Cantata
Lord of Creation, Child of Hope: A Christmas Reading
Ere You Left Your Room This Morning: A Musical Reading
Praise to the Man: A Musical Reading
Apprenticeship in Love: A Christmas Reading
The Final Gift: A Christmas Reading
I am a Child of God: An Infant Monologue
Three Voices: An Easter Reading
Adagio Cantabile: A Pioneer Memorial, Opus 250
The First Vision: A Musical Reading
Here Stand I, Immoveable as Time
Lift Up Your Voices: A Musical Reading
Who Is Christ: A Musical Reading
But Wild and Deep, The Birth Repeat: A Musical Reading
Voices of Christmas: A Christmas Reading
Christ, the Redeemer of the World:
On the Morning of Christ’s Nativity
While specific musical numbers have been inserted into these programs to suggest original performances, all selections may be deleted or replaced to meet the needs of individual congregations. It would be possible, for example, to perform any of the verse-cantatas with full choral accompaniment; alternatively, choral directors might choose congregational hymns or soloists.
* * * * * * * *
(1970)
For President and Sister Rees,
Germany North Mission
A statue in a village square,
A Christ, our Shepherd,
Standing there
With hands and arms outstretched,
Inviting all to share
Celestial love
And patient Master’s care—
Underneath, the message fair:
“Come unto me.”
Then war...the searing of man’s hate
And greed exchanging for the sacred scene
Destruction desolate.
The Christ-Creator
Now a rubble uncreate;
His offer spurned by human wolves
Who would His Godhead desecrate—
The world had closed the one true Gate:
“Come unto me.”
A statue in a village square;
A Christ, rebuilt from fragments
Found, rejoined with infinite care
By repentant, faithful hearts.
The ancient statue, in glory there,
But with no hands … of them no trace.
It stands, a message for all to share—
Underneath, in letters fair:
“Christ has no hands but ours.”
[“Hands” first appeared in Tales Through Time (Borgo/Wildside, 2010).]
* * * * * * * *
A Verse-Cantata
(1971)
Readers:
The Christ
First Shepherd
Nephi
Innkeeper
Mary
Second Shepherd
Wiseman
Narrator
[ORGAN: “I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day,”
“Angels We Have Heard on High”
CHOIR: “The Birthday of a King” (William Neidlinger)]
The Christ:
I am a Gift,
The Gift of Christmas-time.
Many years have passed since first I trod in flesh
Upon this earth.
I came, so long ago,
Unto a world swathed in utter dark,
Swathed in fear
And death,
And gave it living light—
The Light of Christmas-time.
I came unto a world swathed in dark.
The world knew of me,
Worshipped me,
Eagerly awaited me—
Yes, the world knew of me,
But when I came,
The world knew me not.
I was despised,
Rejected by my own.
I was a king,
Though born in the humility of
A rough-hewn stable,
Sharing my first home
With beasts of burden,
With willing beasts of the fields:
The oxen,
Lowing cattle,
And the lambs.
I was an infant son,
Lying among the lowly of this earth.
I was a King, uncrowned until the end,
Whose life was short
And filled with poverty,
With persecution,
Ending with a painful death
Upon a Cross.
I gave my life that all might live
Eternally
With God.
I am the Gift of Christmas-time.
I am the King, the Christ.
[CHOIR: “Joy to the World”]
First Shepherd:
This night lies warm upon the hills,
These bare Judean hills,
Our pasturage for flocks of fleecy sheep
Now sleeping in the fragile peace of night.
This is a night like any other night,
Perhaps a bit more calm than most.
Look, above us,
God’s great masterpiece, the sky—
His stars,
Those brilliant flecks
Upon a velvet black,
Pulse warmly through the air,
Glow down at us.
They seem alive tonight
As never before.
Even the gentle hillside breezes
Brush my face and whisper
“Peace, peace.”
The other shepherds standing here with me
Feel something special, too,
In such a night as this—
[ORGAN background: “The First Noel”]
A night of peace,
As if all Nature holds her breath
In prelude to some great event.
This night recalls the promise
Taught me at my mother’s knee,
The promise that our world
Someday
Will be as peaceful as this night.
He will come—
That is the promise
And the hope of all humanity.
That is the promise:
He will come,
To bring both life and day
The filling peace of nighttime’s still.
Night....
A night, such as this.
A night, just like any other night?
Perhaps.
Perhaps a very special night.
[CHOIR: “Far, Far Away on Judea’s Plain” (Softly, building gradually)]
Nephi:
Yes, I am he.
Nephi, follower of the Christ.
You ask me to describe that night to you?
I shall try.
But how can one describe the advent
Of a God.
Samuel had warned us all.
Crying from the walls of Zarahemla’s might,
He gave the time in which the sign
Should suddenly appear—
A day,
A night,
Again a day,
But all as if one night.
The black night fleeing,
Fleeing from the living fire
Of one great, wondrous Star—
A blazing Star rising in the East
To symbolize the birth
Of Him who is the Light of Life.
We knew the sign.
Some few of us believed and waited,
Hoped and prayed.
But others, hardened by the sins of life,
Chose not to believe in Samuel’s promises.
They mocked—they scoffed,
They persecuted,
Killed,
To force us from our faith.
We knew the sign
And waited patiently.
Three years. Four years. Nearly five.
The hour was almost come.
Then, with swiftness terrifying,
The faithless struck:
“Believers, you have three days!
If within that time the sign does not appear,
You all shall die!”
We had no hope but one.
I went to Him who was to come.
I knelt to Him in prayer.
I placed my fears into His hands.
I heard His voice.
“Nephi, my son,
Behold, your prayer is heard,
This is the night when I,
Even I,
The Son of God,
Am born into the world.”
[ORGAN: “O Holy Night” (A. Adam) ]
(Softly)
And as He spoke
The evening sun
Slipped softly from the fiery sky.
It was night,
Though such a night
As I had never seen!
The sun went down
And yet it was not dark.
For at that moment,
In living token of Christ’s birth,
A glorious star burst into flame
As Samuel had prophesied.
It was the sign!
It heralded the Light of Life.
The Christ had come!
[SOLOIST: “O Holy Night” (chorus only, Beginning as Nephi’s final word fades into silence)]
Innkeeper:
It’s dark tonight.
What with all these visitors
In Bethlehem for taxing,
One would think the streets
Would be alive with revelers.
The hills around the city
Should resound with laughter
From the happy and the drunk.
Perhaps the presence of the Roman soldiers
Keeps these peasants calm.
No mind!
I’ll not complain
If the still night air is silent.
My inn is full,
And likely will be full for many days.
Now that’s a pleasant feeling—
A full inn, even the courtyard full,
And silver coins crowding in my purse.
Ah! that’s pleasant.
And more, I’m happy.
I can’t remember ever being happy,
Truly happy, until this night.
And even stranger—this is a happiness
Quite apart from money,
Inns,
Or other business.
I think this must be how
Those young folks feel.
I’ve never seen a pair so much in love—
Or quite so tired.
They must have searched for hours
To find a room.
A room!
In crowded Bethlehem.
His voice was low and cracked,
Dried by desert heat:
“Please, have you a room?
We have asked in all of Bethlehem,
But all is full.
My wife is tired.
Have you anything?”
I almost told him no.
Almost.
And would have, too,
Had I not seen her face.
If ever I behold an angel,
It will look like her—
Sweet, loving, pure.
And I could tell
Her time was near
To bear a child.
I wish I could have helped them more.
A stable is not much.
Oh, it is clean,
The straw is fresh and sweet.
But still, it’s just a stable.
I wish....
[ORGAN: “Away in a Manger” (Imperceptible, building to a soft background)]
It is a lovely night.
Not a sound.
The stars are out in glory.
Strange....
There’s one I’ve never seen.
It’s a bright one, too,
Silvering the shadows with
Its warm light.
I wonder why I’ve never seen that star before.
It seems as if it were just lit,
A brilliant lantern in the sky
Above my stable roof,
To tell us all of some great deed.
A wondrous star.
A sound....
A newborn baby’s cry.
[ORGAN: “O Little Town of Bethlehem” (through Mary’s meditation)]
Mary:
Hush, my son.
Hush, my little one
Nestled in the hay.
Your infant cries
Disturb the sleeping night.
My little one,
Can you not feel in my caress
The love I bear for you?
You are my first-born son.
Great things will come through you.
Hush, hush.
No tears.
That’s better.
Times for tears will come.
Through you I shall know joy
And sorrow,
Happiness
And pain.
Life
And death.
I, and all the world.
But that is yet to come.
For now,
For this night and for the fleeting days to come,
You are my son,
An infant
Lying swaddled on sweet-smelling straw.
The pain is yet to come.
This night is still.
Bethlehem lies deep in sleep.
Sleep....
Sleep, my little one.
[CHOIR or SOLOISTS: “Silent Night”]
Shepherd:
Come, brothers, come.
Let us now go down
To see the Child.
My ears have heard
An angel’s voice
Announce the coming of our Lord,
The birth of Christ.
[CHOIR: “Angels We Have Heard on High”]
Wiseman:
Our desert journey’s nearly done.
The blazing star we’ve followed
From the East
Has led us here
To Bethlehem.
We hoped for Herod’s aid;
We should have trusted more
Our guide divine,
The star.
[ORGAN: “O Come All Ye Faithful” (beginning softly, building as background)]
But now we’re here.
Our star has brought us
To this stable door.
The Child must lie within.
The Child....
The Child.
The King of Kings.
Come, brothers, come.
Let us go in and bow before our King and God!
[CHOIR: “O Come, All Ye Faithful”
ORGAN: Modulates into “Away in the Manger”]
Shepherd:
There,
Upon the straw.
The Child.
Bow low before the Son of Mighty God.
[CHOIR: “Away in the Manger”]
Narrator:
A humble birth,
The greatest in the history of man.
The Christ, the Son of God,
Born as Man
To bear the sins of all Humanity.
He came for All,
Lived for All,
Died for all,
And lives eternally.
He is the gift of God unto this world,
Unto all nations.
Unto each one of us.
[ORGAN: “I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day”]
He is the Gift of God
Unto a needy world.
And His message
Is of Love.
In the silence of a winter night,
We feel him near.
He is the gift of Christmas-time.
He is the Christ,
The King.
[CHOIR and CONGREGATION: “I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day”]
[“The Gift of Christmas-tide” has most recently been published in All Calm, All Bright: Christmas Offerings. 3rd edition, Revised and Expanded. Borgo Press/Wildside Press, November 2007. “Mary’s Meditation” has appeared as “Night Thoughts.” The New Era Vol. 12 (December 1978): 3.
* * * * * * * * * *
The Faithful Behold the Risen Christ
(1972)
For Lawrence Jeremy Jensen
[Instrumental, Choral, or Congregational music may be incorporated as desired]
I was blind from birth;
A sightless face peering blankly
Into life,
Hoping ever once to see.
With ears
And hands
I sought to ‘see’ my world
And shape its forms within my mind.
As a child,
I heard my father speak of light,
Of sun,
Of moon,
Of stars,
Which I could never see.
He drew their outlines in the dust
And with his roughened hands
Would guide my own
Along the tiny furrows:
“This, with points, a star;
This, the crescent moon
Curving through the sky.”
As he would work the land by day,
I would sit in night
Beside my mother’s voice.
I listened as she spoke
Of sunsets,
Lakes,
And rivers;
And I would feel a fragrant softness
As she showed me through my fingertips
The flowers of our yard.
She told me stories of the past:
Of our fathers’ journeys from the East;
Of wars,
Of trials,
And of the prophecies.
She told me of the Star
That blossomed forth that night
In answer to the prophecies of holy men;
Of how she, when a child, stood awed,
Aware of the greatness of that night.
My years were spent in darkness,
Waiting.
Then came the time of trembling
And of shock within the earth,
And cries,
And tears,
And sounds of desolation.
They say that there was darkness—
I felt a strangeness on my cheeks,
A heaviness of air
That stifled breath.
They say three days of that
Before again the sun broke forth.
Three days, when I could ‘see’
To guide my parents through the ruins
Of our home.
My hands and feet
Could ‘see’ the paths to water, food,
And bring them back to those
Whose sudden blindness
Stilled their limbs
And hopes.
I, and I alone,
Could see—
Could serve instead of being served.
In the darkness, I was whole.
I felt a purpose to my life.
Then rose the sun upon my blindness,
Warmth upon my flesh,
Darkness in my eyes—
But strangely different.
The air was tinged with expectation.
Something had occurred,
Something marvelous.
I remember sounds of mourning
Mingling with sounds of joy;
Hurried words of signs and prophecies,
Of Him whose death
Had caused the earth’s recoil
And darkness’ veil to drop
Upon the land.
Time passed.
They worked to build our homes,
Those whose lives were spared.
My parents had no leisure now
To sit beside their blind-born child
And smooth dark, tumbling hours
With their tales.
They worked with diligence,
But found small tasks that I could do;
And I knew their love for me
Had deepened in the darkness;
I knew that He
Of whom they often spoke
Had wrought a change within our lives
Through His death.
Then came the day.
The morning sweetness lingered long,
Soothing where the sun’s first rays
Fingered warmly on my head
And lid-closed eyes,
Peaceful,
Calm....
A swift, soft step
Up to my parents’ door;
Whispered words...
And we set forth,
I in darkness,
Down the twisted paths
That led us to the temple’s gates.
I heard the voices’ quiet tones
Relating marvels,
Miracles,
And hopes.
I heard the voices
I had heard from birth,
Now softened and subdued.
Then silence—
As a Voice above me spoke,
High above,
Within those Heavens I had never seen.
I could not understand the words,
Yet sensed their gentle love
And breathless strength.
Again the Voice;
The third time,
And I, a child, a small blind child
Who listened to the teachings
Of a mother’s voice
And believed them all;
I, a child, could understand
As God announced
The coming of His Son.
I heard...
But could not see!
What Christ spoke
I did not comprehend.
I only heard His Voice
And knew it was of Love.
I sat within the circle of His voice
And knew not
Blindness,
Loneliness,
Or fear.
I heard him speak,
Then stop.
I felt His gaze upon my soul.
He spoke again:
Behold, my bowels are filled
With compassion toward you.
Have ye any
That are sick among you?
Bring them hither.
Have ye any that are lame,
Or blind,
Or halt,
Or maimed,
Or leprous,
Or that are withered,
Or that are deaf,
Or that are afflicted in any manner?
Bring them hither
And I will heal them
For I have compassion upon you.
My bowels are filled with mercy.
My mother’s trembling hands
Upon my arm,
Guiding me.
Warm tears dropping,
Tiny splashes on my flesh.
I walked to Him.
He touched my eyes,
He searched me with His fingertips,
He whispered:
Look at me.
I raised my head,
My eyes,
And looked into the whiteness of His face.
I was blind from birth;
He touched me,
And I see!
[“The Faithful Behold the Christ” first appeared in A Season of Calm Weather. Salt Lake City UT: Hawkes, 1974; has most recently appeared in Tales Through Time: Selected Poems. Revised and enlarged edition. Borgo Press/Wildside Press, December 2010.]
* * * * * * * *
A Christmas Verse-Cantata
(1973)
[Instrumental, Choral, or Congregational Music may be incorporated as desired]
I. Prologue
This is the hour of Christmas-tide—
A joyous time,
A hopeful time:
A time of peace and silent thoughts
A time of hymn-song floating on crisp air....
Voices break mute wintry still;
Songs of praise
And peals of triumph
Echo in soul-throbbing notes,
Form harmonies unanimous to God.
This is the hour of Christmas-tide:
The time of year
When shadows grow,
Darkness settles on chilled Earth,
And frosted puffs of breath adorn staid skies.
Barren, leafless branches blow
Stark against
Red setting suns:
And somewhere, snowflakes jewel soft night,
Swaddle reborn worlds in velvet light.
This is the hour of Christmas-tide;
Now, men’s minds
Are chained and dark....
But then ... soft lights, while shepherds watched
To keep soft-sleeping flocks upon bare hills;
When wise ones from the East approached
The Star above
The stable straw;
When seraph choruses pronounced
The Gospel light of Christ, their King...our Lord.
This is the hour of Christmas-tide;
Through waiting hearts
He steals apace
And bears away with stealthy might
The burden of men’s sins within His arms.
A child comes in winter’s chill,
And where He walks
Sweet blossoms break
Thick icy chains; they burst in warmth
And flourish in the soil of human souls.
A Child-man comes, the Son of Man,
He whose Advent
Was foretold
From all time’s mute beginnings in
All worlds belonging to the Sphere of God.
II. Prophecies
The first of men, pure Abel’s Sire,
Spouse of Eve—
Mother mild
Of all who share this promised soil—
The fallen man, who fell that man might rise...
To him the visions came as he—
Without the garden,
From God thrust—
With bleeding palms and painful toil
Carved a rock-based altar for the Lamb.
Obedience and Sacrifice—
Foundations of
The new-found world.
Adam, in his native guilt,
Prepared to sacrifice to Gods unseen.
The angel’s words came unto him:
“Thou son of Man,
Why buildest thou here
A stony bed upon this mount
To slay a sacrificial Lamb thereon?”
Our Father’s voice rang through new air
In answer to
The angel’s words:
“I know not, save my Lord commands.
It is not mine to know, but to obey.
“In Eden’s Garden first I knew;
Now I choose
By Faith to see.
To know brought evil, pain, and death;
To trust shall bring an end to suffering’s power.”
“My son, ‘tis good. This shall you know,
That what you do
Is pleasing to
The Shining Ones who rule above,
Through whose sole power all worlds and earths take form.
“This Sacrifice represents
On mortal scale
The Sacrifice
Of immortality, when He
Whose Word lent form unto the Universe,
“When He in Time shall send His Son,
Shall suffer earth
To lie beneath
The fleshy touch of its Creator’s
Feet, shall see His Heir encased in flesh.
“The flesh shall die, pierced by man,
Broken by
The weight of sin,
That man might thereby, as the Spring,
Melt cold deathly snow with living warmth.
“Then think, o Man, and meditate
Upon the love
That shall be shown.
Rejoice! And sing the Birth of God.
Sing! o man, sing praises to His Name!”
Thus an angel to a man
First uttered peace,
Good will to men
(Or peace to good-willed men on earth)
When first great Time was innocent and young,
Before the greed and guilt of man
Stained blesséd sod
With brother’s blood;
Before full Heaven’s clouded eyes
Wept tears enough to drown the Ancient’s sons;
Before the Maker chose His House;
Before strong Abram
Stern patriarch,
Bound by high obedience
Upon Moriah’s sacrificial mount
To slay for truth his son and heir,
Was calmed and soothed
By angel’s tones,
His arm upraised disarmed of blade
Descending to effect the sacrifice.
The messenger stayed Abraham,
Forestalling Isaac’s
Sacrifice:
“Abraham, such offerings
Proclaim the Eternal Offering to come,
“When He in flesh as child must live;
As son of man
Though Son of Man;
Who through his brief mortality
Shall painfully effect true life for all.”
Abraham released his son
From the altar’s
Deathly bonds.
In faith he looked toward the Son
Who would be born to bind cold death and sin.
Abraham and Isaac walked
Hand in hand,
Heart in heart;
Father, son, dual image of
Their Father’s love, His Son’s obedience.
Micah, in clear vision’s light,
Foresaw the day,
Foresaw the place
Where the Child in peace would lie,
Where Earth would breath its welcome to the child!
“Thou, o Bethlehem Ephrata,
Thou least among
Broad Judah’s hopes;
Thou least of thousands, not the least,
For out of thee shall rise the Prince of Peace.
“A ruler strong in Israel,
With legal right
To David’s throne,
He shall rule with Justice and
Great mercy, from beginnings to the End.
“O thou, Bethlehem Ephrata,
Thou least among
Broad Judah’s hopes:
Rise up! Rejoice! For out of thee
Shall rise the Lord, the God of Israel!”
The son of Amoz next, Isaiah,
Fifty years
A prophet true
For erring, fallen Israel.
He saw the living Lord upon His Throne.
The prophet’s words cascade
Through centuries
With swelling glow:
A Child shall be born on whom
The crushing burdens of this world may fall:
“For unto us a child is born,
Unto us
A son is given;
And the government shall rest
Upon his head until all worlds shall die.
“And he shall be, who shall us save,
Wonderful,
Councilor,
The Everlasting Father, God
Of Might and Hope, unending Prince of Peace;
“Who shall unto this earth bring rest
And life and love
Eternally!
Blesséd be His Name! Rejoice!
Rejoice! O Israel! Thy God descends!
“An infant to a virgin wife
Is born, a branch
Of David’s tree.
Emmanuel, the blossoming branch;
Emmanuel! God with us in flesh!”
Another man, across the sea,
In lands unknown
But promised,
Carried forth the Vision’s thread
And wrote his message for the future years.
Nephi, Lehi’s son, younger
Brother to
Rebellious ones—
Laman, Lemuel, they
Who sought to nullify the Words of God;
Nephi, in the wilderness
Arabian
Recorded for
His aging sire a Vision of
The Lord. But later, writing for himself,
Not as scribe seated at
His father’s feet,
Nephi saw—
While dwelling in the Promised Land—
The Promised Son descend and fill his mind.
A virgin mother, Mary, and
A babe in arms
On Christmas-day;
Christmas-tide, at the first
Celebrated by the low, the true.
The Son’s full life was manifest
To Nephi’s pen;
But of the death
And suffering of the upraised Man
I shall not speak, but pass by them with tears.
Of death and dire suffering
Nephi’s words
Abounding wail;
Yet not of His alone, the King’s—
The fate of them who disbelieve their God.
Through generations slow of men,
The word withdrew,
And spread again,
Retreating as the sea-wave’s swell,
To crush against the stubborn, stony cliffs:
Inexorable waves, they sprayed
Their frothy tears,
Their salty tears,
Upon deep moss-filled clefts, and poured
In anguish back into dark, god-breathed seas.
Their whitened, blood-tipped fingers clawed,
Removed a stone,
Wore a grain,
Until the soaring, rocky mass
With crashing groan subsided into sand.
And still the waves assaulted shores,
Bastions of
Solid stone,
Wearing with persistent play
Barriers once thought impervious.
Thus stormed the sons of Nephi’s sons
Chilled rocks of sin
And ignorance,
Oft repulsed, yet flowing back
To preach more manfully the coming Joy.
With echoing voice they cried their words,
With teary eye
They mourned the loss
Of faith and hope with passing years,
As finally the seat of righteousness,
The branch of messianic truth
New-engrafted
On new stock
Blossomed forth in dusky red.
Samuel accused his white-skinned kin.
From Zarahemla’s mighty wall,
Thick engraved
With pagan scrawls—
Emblems of apostasy—
Samuel proclaimed the looming light.
As sunset’s gold-fire glow anointed
Copper flesh,
His eyes of coal
Caught the spark of nature’s sun,
Exploded in flame, engulfed vast multitudes.
Once rejected, in despair,
He had trained
His mournful steps
Toward his native hearth and fire,
Until the Voice commanded him, “Return!”
The second time the city’s gates,
The gilded pride
Of haughty folk,
Were barred to him—ingress failed.
Upon the walls he leapt with vatic cry:
“Behold, the Lord commissions me
To warn this folk,
To threat of dire
Catastrophe. Within the span
Of four short centuries your land shall die!
“Great Nephites! Puffed with pride of place!
Four hundred years
Shall see you fall
In bitterness of vile dispute.
Your wars shall lead to internecine death!”
As if to figure Samuel’s scene,
A thousand tongues
Of vicious steel
Hailed about his head and feet
And pierced his robes—arrows sped by fear.
Their fatal breath he noted not.
With flame increased
He burned above.
Arrows withered as they flew,
And he completed with forced calm his task.
“Unto some few of you I turn:
To those who glow
In darkening shade,
Nor fear for life, nor fear for death:
To those who sanctify His Name I speak.
“Your numbers are not great; you fight
The power of lies,
The Prince of Dark.
You fear the words have gone awry
That Lehi spake concerning His descent.
“Behold! I speak as one who knows!
Prepare yourselves.
Purify,
That you in worthiness behold
The signs that shall attend His mortal birth.
“The King of Light must surely come!
Five year’s span
Shall dully pass;
Then comes the night of eager still,
For as the sun shall die, yet Light shall grow.
“Beacon-like, a star shall burst
With flaming might
To pierce the night
And signify the Prince of Light!
Prepare, believers, His nativity!”
More than this did Samuel speak
Atop the wall,
Much more than this....
But hold. No more. To speak of death,
Of Crucifixion’s torments, were too sad.
The hour of Christmas-tide draws near.
With its approach,
My pen can touch
But things of joy and happiness.
When He draws near, all fears and anguish flee.
Return we then to Israel,
Spare the pain
Of evil’s sway
Among the light and darkened ones.
In Judah’s ancient land, the Dawning breaks.
Gabriel, the Trump of God,
In light appeared
To frighted maid,
All-hailed her blest in Israel,
Most blessed of the daughters pure of Eve.
The child-bride sat in stonied still.
Noonday dust
And withering heat
Played upon her staring eyes.
She scarce believed the words the man-form spoke:
“Mary, child, blessed of them
Who share with Eve
Sweet motherhood,
Of all His chosen House, the Lord
Has chosen thee to bear His Only Son.
“Mary, mild, this blessing great
Through purity
Has come to thee.
The Christ, the Lord of Heaven and Earth,
Shall lie within thy womb ‘til Christmas-hour.”
“Behold the handmaid of the Lord.”
Humility
And love shone forth
As Mary looked unto her God.
The time long prophesied in joy had come.
As the maid awaited for
Her days to be
Accomplished,
Evil’s focus scorched the earth.
Five years among the Nephites drawing close.
To counteract the Prince of Light,
The Prince of Dark
Exerted powers
Beyond all limits felt by man
Since Death’s defeat before the birth of flesh.
The darkened unembodied one,
With knowledge high
But falling faith,
Designed to thrust man upright down
And garner souls within his fatal realm.
His pressure on the Nephite stem
Bore rank fruit.
Apostasy!
Clusters of decay conjoined
To thwart the righteous hopes of red and white.
“Believing fools! It cannot be
As you suppose
And claim as Truth!
That Lamanite who leapt our walls
Has led you into empty fantasies.
“To dream that such a God could live
As Samuel
Portrayed to you—
Who should exchange Heaven’s joys for death!—
Is to await true oppositions fused.
“Be wise, you fools, and disbelieve.
But if you choose
To persevere
In foolishness and hope perverse,
In that which never could or will be true,
“Within a week the time grows full.
Five years have passed,
And still no god!
Eight days you have to live
If he comes not within the given time.”
Nephi heard the edict’s words.
In his heart
He wept for those
Whose hearts grown stone resisted still
The Lord’s desire to engrave His Will thereon.
Six days of fasting and of prayer;
Nephi felt
His spirit soar
And seek communion with his God.
The seventh day dawned lowering, grey, and chill.
Upon the misty, sandy shores
Nephi knelt
In earnest speech,
His clothing dampened by morning wet
As banked-up clouds sprinkled thirst soil.
“Father, hear me in my faith!
The faithless rule
That we must die
For our belief in Thy loved Son.
Father, let deliverance be sent to us!”
The daylight waned. Long hours passed,
Until the sun
Beneath the clouds
Gleamed golden on the sparkling sand.
Low across the West, a light rolled forth.
“Nephi, son of man, take heed.
Behold, I come.
Jesus Christ.
Thy prayers are heard, thy prayers fulfilled.
And in the East, this night God’s Son is born.
“Blessed be thee and thine, my soul,
Who in faith
Believe in me.
Look steadfast to the western sky,
For as the sun descends the Son shall also rise.”
Nephi knelt beside the sea
With weeping eyes
And throbbing blood.
And as the sun’s beams slowly died,
In the East, a blazing star shone out.
III. Nativity
From above, the hills seem peaceful.
Deep twilight
Shadows fall
Purple on the blue of dusk,
Upon young shadows watching sleeping flocks.
One, then two—the stars wink on,
Until black sky
Reflects their bursts;
Brilliant points glow through the night,
Drawing eyes away from pastoral mounts.
There, beyond the shadowed rise,
The ghost-white walls
Of Bethlehem
Invite the watchful eyes’ approach.
The city beckons, and the shepherds come.
One golden star, above the rest,
Bathes a roof
With airy light,
A stable roof, against the hills,
Set apart from David’s city’s rush.
One tiny window breathes the warmth
Of candlelight
Into the night.
A whispered word ... and then one more
Escapes to fade upon the stilly air.
Soft sounds of murmured lullaby.
A mother’s song.
A child’s cry.
The tableau is complete. It is done.
And over hills the angel-chorus rings.
This is the hour of Christmas-tide;
A time of joy,
A time of hope.
In Israel’s dark, a Light has come.
The sleeping Earth breathes with His living breath.
[Tidings of Great Joy has most recently appeared in in All Calm, All Bright: Christmas Offerings. 3rd edition, Revised and Expanded. Borgo Press/Wildside Press, November 2007.]
* * * * * * * * *
An Easter Verse-Cantata
(1973, 1979)
Jerusalem :
I speak for Jerusalem the fair,
For the Prophets of the past
Who foresaw the coming of the Christ,
Foretold Messiah’s mortal life:
His painful death,
His hasty burial in a borrowed tomb,
His resurrection from the dead
To glory and to immortality....
Zarahemla :
And I for Zarahemla in the Land of Bountiful,
For Lehi’s sons and daughters—
Nephite, Lamanite—
Impelled to evil or to righteousness.
We, too, knew of the coming Christ:
Nephi,
Alma,
Helaman,
Mosiah and his sons,
And others unnamed to history
Spoke of Christ,
Prophesied,
Hoped.
Jerusalem :
Two nations waited, hoped—
We, of Jerusalem the fair....
Zarahemla:
And we of Zarahemla....
Jerusalem:
Some there were among us in the Holy Land
Who knew the prophecies
But failed to understand their truths,
Who waited One
A King of Kings
A Monarch of the Earth
To rule as Caesar ruled—
To wrest Jerusalem from pagan powers
And build again a nation unto God.
In sorrow did they wait,
In sorrow did they watch their heart-dreams die
As vines in barren, rocky soil set.
*For He who was to come,
Though Lord of Lords
And King of Kings
Would rule internally,
Within the hearts of humankind.
[*Introduction to “The Mount of Olives” from Olivet to Calvary (John Henry Maunder)]
Zarahemla
[spoken during the interlude between “The Mount of Olives” and “‘Twas Night on Lonely Olivet”]:
Many spoke of sorrow,
Loneliness,
And of the suffering of the Christ
On Olivet.
[Choir: “‘Twas Night on Lonely Olivet,” from Olivet to Calvary]
Zarahemla :
The Faithful in Zarahemla had seen the signs
Of Christ’s sure birth:
A day,
A night,
A day—
And all as if one day;
For at the going down of the sun
There was no darkness at all.
A day,
A night,
A day—
And one great, glorious new Star.
The righteous in Zarahemla knew of his birth;
And now, with ashen hearts,
They waited for the signs accompanying his death.
Jerusalem :
O Jerusalem the Fair!
He came to thee,
Was born of thee in Bethlehem,
And lived within thee, boy and man.
Yet thou wert blinded in thine own pride
And knew him not.
He preached great truths upon thy streets,
Within thy synagogues,
Within thy gold-draped Temple;
But thou rejected him
And gavest Him unto a foreign power
Thou gavest Him unto the Romans
To be crucified!
[Choir: “And Pilate Said Unto Them,” from Resurrection Morning (B. Cecil Gates)]
Jerusalem :
And Pilate answered
According to the wishes of the people.
[“Take Ye Him,” from Olivet to Calvary ;
“The March to Calvary,” from Olivet to Calvary ]
Jerusalem :
And he, bearing his cross,
Went forth unto the Place of the Skull—
Unto Golgotha—
To be crucified,
Embracing painful death
That all might life eternally.
Zarahemla :
And in the thirty-fourth year
After the signs of Christ’s birth,
In the first month,
On the fourth day,
Great billowing clouds
Tumbled from the East,
Encompassing Zarahemla’s soaring towers—
A great storm rose,
Such a one as never had before been known
In all the Land.
Jerusalem :
And Pilate wrote a title
And caused it to be nailed to the Cross,
And the writing said:
“Jesus of Nazareth,
The King of the Jews.”
Westward from the Temple’s pinnacles,
Beyond foreshortening shadows of the day,
Golgotha swells in isolated gloom.
Three figures crucified—
About the central form
The Romans cluster,
Casting lots for his Galilean robe,
Foreseen fulfillment of a prophecy:
“They parted my raiment among them,
And for my vesture they did cast lots.”
Zarahemla:
The storm clouds glower
Threateningly,
Savagely,
Sweeping down on Zarahemla,
Destroying peace as they descend.
Jerusalem:
From the sixth hour until the ninth,
Darkness settled on Jerusalem the Fair,
Hulling her beauties in dimming light
As the Light of Life withdrew.
And at the ninth hour, Christ cried out:
“My God! My God!
Why hast thou forsaken me?”
Zarahemla:
And in token of the Savior’s death,
Destruction wept upon the Land of Zarahemla:
Tempests,
Flames,
Earthquakes,
Ocean waves burying proud Nephite cities—
And over all,
A cloak of darkness,
A shroud
Black wrappings of the grave.
[“Deep Peals of Thunder,” from Resurrection Morning]
Jerusalem:
Jesus was laid in a borrowed sepulcher.
And a great stone was placed before the tomb,
Guarded by Roman soldiery.
Zarahemla :
While among the Nephites
Darkness continued unabated....
One day,
Two,
Three....
And there was Light
Neither of Sun
Nor of Moon,
Neither of Star,
Nor of kindled flame,
For the Light of the World had been extinguished
On Golgotha.
The people waited in darkness.
[ “On the Morning of the Third Day,” from Resurrection Morning;
“Sing Glory,” from Resurrection Morning, ]
Zarahemla :
And the word was spread
That all should meet
At the great Temple
In the Land of Bountiful.
[“Open the Gates of the Temple” (F. Crosby and Mrs. J. F. Knapp)]
Zarahemla :
And as the people were assembled,
Behold,
They heard a voice
Speaking to them from the Heavens;
But they understood it not.
And they waited,
Patiently,
In the full measure of their Faith.
[“And the Voice Came Yet to the Multitude,” from Resurrection Morning;
“Sing Glory,” from Resurrection Morning]
* * * * * * * *
Lord of Creation, Child of Hope:
A Christmas Reading
(1974)
[Instrumental, Choral, or Congregational Music may be incorporated as desired]
It was dark, very dark and still.
Lonely silences pervaded black-bowelled space,
Until—quite soft at first—the Voices rose:
“The Time is come. Our Children cannot grow
Beyond their present stature. Let us then
Bring together elements of life,
Create a world within this emptiness.”
It was dark, very dark, and still.
And from the silence spoke a gentle Voice:
“Let Light appear.” And through the darkness burned
A point of light, faint and far away,
That grew and grew until the darkness split
And prism-like the light fanned into waves
Of scarlet, azure, gold...and vanquished night.
And the Voice was pleased.
The light rolled round throughout the silences,
A subtle play of color against the night;
And then the Voice was heard: “Let all divide.
Let Earth and Firmament divide, be two.”
And Earth was formed, a wheeling sphere below
The waters of the Firmament, below
The vaulted blue of Heaven’s dome.
And the Voice was pleased.
Then Earth revolved, a barren, lifeless globe;
No blades of joyous green, no springtime’s burst
Of blossoming—and then the Voice spoke forth:
“Let waters fall in cascades on the Earth.”
And so it was—the waters came and brought
To life the grasses on wide, rolling plains,
Sweet herbs, and reaching pines upon high peaks.
And the Voice was pleased.
Yet still the light was shapeless, without form,
A veil of shifting hues and clouds; and from
Their midst, the Voice spoke soft commands, and lo!
The light was formed into a golden ball
Of vaporous fire—the Sun; A lesser sphere
Of silver radiance—the Moon; And countless
Fragile tear-drop stars to dispel night.
And the Voice was pleased.
Then in the air above the virgin Earth
Were heard sweet songs and the whirring brush of wings,
As fowl took flight into the rising breeze;
And in the salt-washed seas great beasts appeared,
And schools of flashing fingerlets in flight
On fluid pathways surging through the seas;
And seas and air became deep wells of life.
And the Voice was pleased.
But still the land was silent, save the moan
Of lonesome soughings through new-greening leaves—
But at one breath of hushed command made animate
With beasts, each seeking his own kind. There were
Great predators—the tawny lion, sable
Panther gliding silently—and small,
Soft, furry creatures skitting through damp grass;
Nor was that all, for once again a Voice
Spoke through the cloudless blue: “And thus is Earth
Prepared to house God’s progeny!” And as
The sun began to rise, the Lord himself
Stepped down upon the Earth, to bring to Earth,
His perfect Earth, the living Soul of Man.
And the Voice rejoiced.
For all was done—the elements enmeshed
Within firm bonds of organized control;
The land and sea and air grew rich with life,
As each creation sought to rise, fulfill
The measure meted it buy God; and man
Was formed to love and tent the Earth until
The Voice, the Word, should come as flesh, as Man.
And the Voices sang His praise
Forevermore.
And all creation praises Him
Forevermore....
Thus has one man,
A poet,
Visualized the making of this Earth.
And yet as beautiful as the poem is
It does not—cannot—truly answer
Questions that we have
Concerning that Great God that is our God,
Our Creator.
For that knowledge we must look beyond,
Beyond the thoughts,
Ideas,
Words of men,
And listen to the words
Of them that knew:
“Where wast thou when I laid the foundations of the earth? Declare, if thou hast understanding. Who hath laid the measure thereof, or who hath stretched the line upon it? Whereupon are the foundations thereof fastened? Or who laid the cornerstone thereof, when the morning stars sang together, and all the sons of God shouted for joy?”
We, as individuals,
As intelligences,
Are eternal; and yet
we seek to know ourselves,
we seek to understand our lives,
we seek to comprehend eternity,
we strive to learn....
But still, through all,
We feel impelled to our Creator,
To our elder brother,
Jesus Christ.
Our souls are drawn into
The Child of Christmastime.
And as we strive to understand the Christ,
The voices of the Prophets come to us:
“In the Beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. All things were made by him, and without him was not anything made. In him was life; and the life was the light of men. That was the true light, which lighteth every man that cometh into the world.”
“In the Beginning,”
Before Earth was,
Or men flesh....
The Christ stood foreordained, set apart
To promised greatness.
And we knew of,
Participated in
His greatness:
“I, Abraham, talked with the Lord, face to face, as one man talketh to another. Now the Lord had shown me the intelligences that were organized before the world was. And there stood one among them that was like unto God, and he said unto those who were with him: We will go down, for there is space there. And we will take of these materials, and we will make an Earth whereon these may dwell, and we will prove them herewith, to see if they will do all things whatsoever the Lord their God shall command them; and they who keep their first estate shall be added upon; and they who keep their second estate shall have glory added upon their heads forever and ever.”
One third followed the lesser plan
And were cast out.
Two thirds remained loyal
To the greater,
To the plan of Christ,
Revealed to Abraham the Patriarch
In the required sacrifice of his son,
Isaac, Child of Promise,
Type and shadow of the Christ to come,
Image of the promised Son of God
Who be born on Christmas Eve
And die a sacrifice for men.
And in the name of the Christ who was to come,
Moses overcame the Tempter’s power,
Received great visions and bright knowledge from the Lord:
In the name
Of the Only Begotten,
Depart from me!
And the man,
Moses,
Lifted up his eyes unto the lord
And praised;
And the glory of the Lord fell upon him
Overshadowing him;’
And he heard again the Voice of the Lord,
Bearing peace,
Love,
Hope.
And the Visions began.
Others—later—knew of Christ,
And prophesied His Advent unto Earth
As son of man and Son of God:
“For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulders, and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counselor, the Mighty God, the Everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace. Of the increase of his government and peace there shall be no end, upon the throne of David, and upon his kingdom, from henceforth even forever.”
“The Lord himself shall give you a sign: Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel. Butter and honey shall he eat, that he may know to refuse the evil, and choose the good.”
“And behold, Samuel said unto them: Behold, I give unto you a sign; for five years more cometh, and then cometh the Son of God to redeem all those who shall believe on His name. And this will I give unto you for a sign at the time of his coming; for behold, there shall be great lights in the heavens, insomuch that in the night before he cometh there shall be no darkness. It shall appear unto man as if it were day. Therefore, there shall be one day and a night and a day, as if it were one day and there were no night; and this shall be unto you for a sign. And behold, there shall a new star arise, such an one as ye never have beheld; and this also shall be a sign unto you, that ye might know of the coming of Jesus Christ, the Son of God, the Father of Heaven and of Earth, the Creator of all things from the beginning.”
“And in the sixth month, the angel Gabriel was sent from God unto a city of Galilee, named Nazareth, unto a virgin espoused to a man named Joseph. And the virgin’s name was Mary. And the angel said unto her: Fear not, Mary; for thou hast found favor with God. And behold, thou shalt conceive and bring forth a son, and shalt call his name JESUS. He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Highest, and the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of his father David.”
“And it came to pass in those days, that there went out a decree from Caesar Augustus, that all the world should be taxed. And all went to be taxed, everyone unto his own city. And Joseph went up from Galilee to be taxed with Mary, his espoused wife, being great with child.”
Frail night! the world is swathed in purest snow,
Soft breezes blow,
Blue sky-seas flow:
While one great Star the depths of darkness slays,
Lends its rays
To earthly ways,
And through the stable doors
Its streams of gold-light pours.
Upon a Baby’s face the star-fires shine,
Imprint the sign
Of birth divine;
A dim and lonely Earth receives its sight—
In depths of night
The Prince of Light
Repays cold darkness’ fee,
That we life’s Light may see.
Blessed Child! On this, Thy night of birth,
Let flow Thy worth
Throughout the Earth;
Help us not remain just as we are
But seek Thy Star
Pulsing afar;
That all, through Heaven’s Light,
Regain Thy Kingdom bright.
“Now it came to pass that there was a day set apart by the unbelievers, that all those who believed should be put to death except the sign should come to pass. And Nephi went out and bowed himself down upon the ground and prayed mightily unto his God. And behold, the voice of the Lord came to him saying: Lift up your head and be of good cheer; for the time is at hand, and on this night shall the sign be given, and on the morrow come I into the world, to show the world that I will fulfill all that which I have caused to be spoken by the mouth of my holy prophets. The time is at hand, and this night shall the sign be given.”
“And lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them, and they were sore afraid. And the angel said unto them: Fear not, for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, which is Christ the Lord. And it came to pass, as the angels were gone away from them into Heaven, the shepherds said one to another:”
Come, brothers, come,
Let us go down
And see the Child.
My ears have heard
And angel’s voice
Announce the coming of our Lord;
We must see this little child,
To worship Him.
Come, brothers, come;
Let us go down to see the Child.
So it was—
the Christ was born into a world,
long ago,
prepared for him by prophecies,
and angel-messengers.
He came, and all was changed.
But no more—
Ears that should listen are deaf
to the songs that the bright angels sing;
Eyes that should look are now blind,
refusing the visions they bring;
Hearts that should love are now cold,
turned away from the Christ-Child, their King.
Not all, but many refuse
to listen, to look, and to love;
Not all, but many deny
the message of light from above;
Not all, but many are weary,
entrapped in the darkness they weave;
Not all, for some are still listening
for the whispering songs of the Dove.
They listen to words to them spoken
by Prophets who know of the light;
They listen to words fraught with truth
from Prophets who break through the night;
They listen to words, modern words,
that fill them with wondrous delight;
They listen to scriptures new-wrought
that fill them with sacred delight.
And while we meditated upon these things,
The Lord touched
The eyes of our understandings,
And they were opened,
And the Glory of the Lord shone round about.
And we beheld the glory of the Son,
On the right hand of the Father,
And received of his fullness;
And we saw the Holy Angels
And them who are sanctified
Before His Throne,
Worshipping God
And the Lamb.
And now,
After the many testimonies
Which have been given of him,
This is the testimony,
Last of all,
Which we give of him:
THAT HE LIVES!
For we saw him
Even on the right hand of God;
And we heard the voice bearing record
That He
Is the Only Begotten of the Father—
That by Him
And through Him
And of Him,
The worlds are and were created,
And the inhabitants thereof
Are begotten sons and daughters
Unto God.
In winter, the Faithful have gathered,
in winter, when billows blow wild;
In winter the faithful Hearts hearken,
in winter, when bare skies are chilled;
In winter, the Faithful raise voices,
in winter, to honor the Child;
In winter, the Faithful sing praises,
in winter, to Christ-King, the Child.
* * * * * * * *
Ere You Left Your Room This Morning:
A Musical Reading
(1975)
[Organ as background: “Ere You Left Your Room This Morning,” verse only, omit chorus]
“Ere you left your room this morning,
Did you think to pray?
In the name of Christ, our Savior,
Did you sue for loving favor
As a shield today?
“When your soul was filled with anger,
Did you think to pray?
Did you pray for light, my brother,
That you might thus lead another
Upward, into day?”
[Organ: “Come Follow Me,” repeat to end of poem]
I am Enos, righteous Jacob’s son,
Keeper of the Sacred Plates of Nephi.
Behold, as I reveal to you, as one
Who knows, God’s love for all that to Him cry.
It was morn—the fragrances and damps of night
Yet lingered on. I hunted, pondered, saw
My sinful state and need of Knowledge, Light,
And Trust in Heaven’s mercies and God’s law.
I prayed—the sun passed over, darkened, sank;
I prayed—the moon and stars bear witness of
My zeal! Yea, prayed, and in the dark and dank
Recesses of my soul flamed God’s pure love.
A voice, my name—and then the words upon my heart impressed:
“This night, thy sins are thee forgiven, and thou, my son, are blessed.”
[Organ: “Ere You Left Your Room This Morning,” One verse only, omit chorus]
“When sore trials came upon you,
Did you think to pray?
When your soul was filled with sorrow,
Balm of Gilead did you borrow,
To support your way?
When your soul was bruised and weakened,
Did you think to pray?
Humbly, kneeling to the Father,
Weep for sins—yours, not another’s,
At the gates of day?”
[Organ: “More Holiness Give Me”]
Once, oppressed and worn, I woke
before the far-off stars were faded
from the sky—
gusting bursts of icy breath
shook rigid needles in the pines
and roughly blew sleep from my eyes.
I was alone—
Alone within myself and with the depths of night.
I pondered those bright goals,
once clear and sharp,
now hazy, blurred by negligence,
offense, and sin.
I wrestled with awareness of great faults,
indulged in face of better knowledge, truth.
I wept at unrepented words
hurled thoughtlessly at brothers,
at my God.
I pondered, wrestled, wept—
until the stormy darkness crushed me,
pressed me to my knees
with burdened shoulders,
tear-stained eyes cast to the ground
haphazard-strewn with dry, dead needles and grey moss,
rough beneath my knees.
I closed my eyes,
remembering the teachings of my youth,
trusting them, for all else proved untrue.
I closed my eyes,
and prayed,
acknowledging my weaknesses,
my flaws, my sins;
pleading for new strengths,
new wisdom,
sturdy righteousness.
And as I spake in private with my God,
I lost myself,
Felt the burdens easing as I knelt,
and knew the gracious peace that prayer alone can bring.
I was alone,
yet not alone;
and the darkness mellowed into brightest dawn.
[Organ: “Ere You Left Your Room This Morning,” One verse only, omit chorus; reader pauses for two measures before beginning]
“O, how praying rests the weary.
Prayer will change the night to day;
So, when life gets dark and dreary,
Don’t forget to pray;
Don’t forget to pray.”
[Organ: “Ere You Left Your Room This Morning,”Chorus only]
* * * * * * * *
A Musical Reading
(1975)
[No musical background]
Late in the afternoon,
through the subtle gleams of waning day,
a softly stirring voice
sang Joseph’s favorite hymn,
“A Poor, Wayfaring Man of Grief.”
Brother Taylor ceased
and breathlessly a waiting silence reigned.
Moments later, cries rang out,
strident cries of fear and hate...
gunfire shattered the fragile peace...
and Joseph Smith was dead.
[Organ: “Praise to the Man,” softly, verse only, transposed to the same key as “A Poor Wayfaring Man of Grief”]
Slowly, through the night
the whispers spread among the Saints:
“Joseph Smith is dead.”
[Organ: “A Poor Wayfaring Man of Grief,”ritard final phrase of “Praise to the Man,” modulate into “Poor Wayfaring Man,” and
play two verses while the reader completes the next four stanzas]
A fountain clear of living water,
Oracle more fine and pure
Than any graced by sylvan goddess,
Guarded by the vengeful gods of old.
The fount, from which pours forth
In rich profusion,
Truth,
The Word of God restored.
Then Carthage....
And a parching thirst.
A light ordained to blaze the way
To God, to that one path
By mankind long obscured.
A lesser light—
Not He, the Source
Of all Eternal Light and Truth;
But rather he, the messenger,
The Chosen of the Lord.
Then Carthage....
And a darkness palpable.
A field of knowledge, nurtured,
Tended by the same who husbands all.
A field not fully ripe for harvest,
Fruits of mind and spirit yet
To pluck,
To taste,
And be by all enjoyed.
But vandals...
Wantons.
Then Carthage....
And consuming dearth.
A breath of life, warm and soothing,
Bringing wisdom, comfort, warning;
Yet like a mighty, raging storm:
‘Thus saith the Lord!’
For while in flesh saw he his God,
Heard the Voice,
Received his Call,
A Prophet for all time.
Then Carthage....
And silence.
[Reader waits until Organist completes final phrase of “Poor Wayfaring Man of Grief,” then continues without accompaniment]
The fountain quenched,
The light obscured,
Barren earth,
And ungodly, deathly still.
Carthage....
And the end.
[Organist begins—faintly—the verse of “Praise to the Man,” building in force as the Reader concludes.]
The End! nay, rather a Beginning,
As Phoenix-like, Eternal Truth
Arose, and from the smoldering ruin,
His earthly pyre, took wing
And spread, as if a mighty wave,
The world o’er.
Elemental Truth,
Revealed by God,
Restored, confirmed, and testified
By Prophet’s life
And blood.
[As the Reader finishes, the Organist completes the verse of “Praise to the Man”; then with full triumphant organ, plays the Chorus as vigorously as possible, repeating the final phrase of the anthem.]
[A portion of “Praise to the Man” first appeared as “Joseph” in A Season of Calm Weather (Hawkes, 1974).]
* * * * * * * *
A Christmas Reading
(1975)
[Instrumental, Choral, or Congregational Music may be incorporated as desired]
“Grandma, tonight may I stay up and help?
You said last year I could
when I was older,
and now I’m nearly nine.
Please, may I?”
“I’ll have to think about that, my dear.
You run on
and help your brothers to bed.
When they’ve said their prayers
Grandpa will be up to tell a bedtime tale.
Perhaps this Christmas Eve
he’ll tell them once again
of that first Christmas,
of the angels
and the shepherds
tending fluffy lambs upon warm hilltops,
and the Baby
lying in a manger scented
with perfumes of new-mown hay.
You may listen, if you wish.
But afterwards, when all is dark and quiet,
when your brothers lie asleep,
if you will come downstairs,
then you may help.”
“Back so soon?
I thought it would take longer—especially tonight,
with all the excitement and anticipation
of tomorrow running through their minds—
to get two little boys in bed
and fast asleep.”
“Oh no,
Grandpa told them about the Baby Jesus
and the Wise Men
and the Shepherds
coming to worship him
as he slept,
while the animals softly sang sweet lullabies.
Then he asked the boys to lay back
on their pillows,
close their eyes,
and try to see the Baby in the Manger.
In just a moment, they were asleep,
so I came down.”
“That’s wonderful.
Let’s go into the living room,
where Grandpa is putting up the tree.
Since you are old enough
to help prepare for Christmas Day,
you and I will decorate the tree.
That is how it was
when I was but a girl,
and I stayed up with my parents
on Christmas Eve.
My mother and I worked together,
and as we did,
she taught me of this Happy Time.
And when your mother was a little girl,
just your age,
I told her all the things my mother
had taught me.
So listen carefully:
When you are a mother
you can tell your children
what I will say tonight.
Come, let’s go.”
“Grandmother, the tree is beautiful,
standing there,