"Savior of the World" [Big Sky Savior]

Just in time for Epiphany, A.D. 2025. Pastors, please share with your membership and outreach committee. Link to it in your newsletters. 

"Writing Case" [Born to Free] — Post 1

New Christmas songs are not born every minute, nor every day, nor even every year; mostly we just hear the old ones rehashed again and again, some beautifully, some less so. The point is: once upon a time, "Joy to the World" (1719), "Hark! The Herald Angels Sing" (1739), "Silent Night" (1816-18), and "O Little Town of Bethlehem" (1868) were brand new. The same is true, of course, of all the secular songs we have come to think of as seasonal staples, of which there is a seemingly endless stream of dumb covers.

This Christmas song, "Writing Case [Born to Free]," is new this year, A.D. 2024. It was written in less than a day, with the guitar setting coming on the evening of December 18, and the lyric in the early hours of the morning of December 19, 2024. A couple of stanzas from Rossetti's reading of Revelation got me started on the lyric, but only one or two of her (p.d.) turns of phrase made it through unaltered; no, by God's grace, it's my lyric. 

The guitar part is quite simple and was recorded in one take on December 19 (though this single take was shortened, since I repeated it more times than necessary). The vocals were recorded later that day, but I revised a few words, so I did a couple of quick retakes on Friday morning, December 20, with video running, as I awaited for the arrival of a contractor. (One does what one can in the comings and goings of life to "make the most of the time.") After another appointment, the guitar videos were done in the late morning and afternoon (but the afternoon shots were unusable for being too dark and badly framed), video edits in the evening, with a few early morning edits on December 21. The track was released on the morning of December 21. Start to finish, from chords to lyrics and melody to recording to editing to mixing to video to track release, less than 72 hours. All this is simply to say that, when the Holy Spirit has something to say, we do well to just go along and enjoy the ride. 

So, Merry Christmas, everyone. Happy birthday, Jesus. And welcome to the world, little song. May you, "Writing Case [Born to Free]," soon find yourself well-known and happily numbered in the beloved repertoire of sacred Christmas music. 

NOTE (likely to be repeated): Although this track is available on most major streaming services, I actually use very few social media platforms; so, when it says, "Please share with those you love," I would be grateful if you would funnel this musical "Jesus prayer" to your loved ones by way of (copy and paste links to) any social platforms that you happen to use. Thank you for doing so. Thank you, as well, for going the extra mile to support indie authors and musicians by, not just liking, but sharing, purchasing downloads, spreading the word, etc. God bless you. God bless us, everyone.

What is a Christian to do in a time of runaway inflation?

Lower prices on Christian resources, of course!

No time to list them all. But check out my Amazon author page and you will see. 

Note the several Advent and Christmas selections, from the sublime ...

• Johannes Oecolampadius, Sermons on the First Epistle of John (A Handbook for the Christian Life), a groundbreaking Advent sermon series that turns 500 years old next year.
• Waste Not the Fragments: A Commentary for Year D (Advent)
• Waste Not the Fragments: A Commentary for Year D (Christmas) — BRAND NEW
• Greater Attention: Liturgical Elements for Reformed Worship (Year D)
• Lightning from the East: Liturgical Elements for Reformed Worship (Year A)

... to the childlike:

• A Phenomenal Llama: A Tall Christmas Tale for Children of All Ages
• A Coal Train Bound for Christmas — BRAND NEW

Lots more to explore and enrich your faith in the coming year. 

A Coal Train Bound for Christmas

This short story came to mind the other day, on Labor Day, when I found myself stopped at a crossing with a coal train passing by. It was inspired by a similar moment 24 years ago, which gave rise to what would become my Christmas Eve message in 1998. So, after cobbling a few images together, here it is after all these years: a reverie masquerading as a narrative sermon, inspired by a coal train. 

(Available in paperback and Kindle, both priced as low as possible, in light of the times.)

The Word in the Wind (2001)

UPDATE: Here is an excerpt from an older post I thought I would rerun, since the songs on this CD are based on the lectionary texts and themes of Advent, Christmas, and Epiphany. Some additional info that may be of interest: I am not the first to set Thomas Hardy's poem, The Oxen, to music. Ralph Vaughan Williams did so before me, but my guitar-based arrangement (DADGAD) is obviously quite different from his choral anthem. Other tuning info, for anyone so inclined: Your Desert Snow (DADGAD), Strange Bedfellows and Living Bread (both standard tuning, Capo 2), Grace Upon Grace (standard, Capo 4).

EXCERPT: The Word in the Wind consists of mostly guitar-based songs and a few instrumental tracks (fourteen tracks in all), written in seminary and during my first pastorate, and recorded about ten years ago (2001). Several of the poems recently published in The Just, Quiet Wind are set to music here (see, e.g., Psalm 1, Living Bread, There is a Reason); the songs are inspired by texts from the Advent/Christmas/Epiphany cycle of the liturgical year, while their sequence reflects the progress from prophetic (Isaianic) expectation (Your Desert Snow, Strange Bedfellows) through the nativity (Grace Upon Grace, The Oxen, Christmas Joy, Innocents' Day) to the call to discipleship (Baptism at Nuweiba, The Response, There is a Reason, Deep Blue Heart, Believers Leap). Like its precursor, A Soundtrack for the Close of the Age (1991), The Word in the Wind may be only loosely described as a concept album, but here the concept, if it is discernible at all, will be most apparent to those who are accustomed to reading, telling, living, and rejoicing in the gospel of salvation according to the Christian year; in the case of instrumental tracks, however, even listeners who have this leg up will have little more than a title, a mode, and a mood, to go on. ...

University of Dubuque's Christmas at Heritage (2016): Salvation Unto Us Has Come

It has been my honor and privilege to contribute the narrative for this lovely event for the last three years. Last night I also had the opportunity of reading as well. Thanks to President Jeffrey Bullock and his lovely wife Dana, and the good people of the Fine and Performing Arts Department and the Heritage Center for including me. The program begins at 18:00. Enjoy!

UPDATE: Here is a list of the narrative interludes between the musical numbers. 

I. DAVID'S PLEA: "Restore to me the joy of your salvation!"
II. JACOB'S SIGH: "I wait for your salvation, Lord." 

III. HABAKKUK'S ASSURANCE: "I will exult in the God of my salvation!"

IV. ISAIAH'S PROMISE: "With joy you will draw water from the wells of salvation."

V. MOSES' TESTIMONY: "The Lord is my strength and my song, and he has become my salvation."

VI. JEREMIAH'S COMFORT: "Truly in the Lord is our salvation."

VII. SIMEON'S DOXOLOGY: "Mine eyes have seen your salvation!"

VIII. A Hymn on the Nativity of My Saviour (Ben Jonson, 1572—1637)

Christmas with A Phenomenal Llama

It has been observed that a lot of stuff tends to lie downstream of culture. Well, here is one way to improve the culture of Christmas, and hopefully mitigate the legacy of one Clement Clarke Moore. If you are looking for a fresh angle on the Christmas story or for new pageant ideas, this is a sweet, delightful, imaginative story that is fun to read aloud. 

Ideas:

1. Check out the good reviews, and order copies early for your Sunday school teachers, educators, pageant planners. Here, under "From the Author," is a bit of background.

2. Order two readers' copies to break it into voices for a dramatic reading at Christmas.

3. Design costumes for one pastor (narrator), a lead llama (Gregory), St. Francis, Noah, a camel, reindeer, a donkey, cows, sheep, any number of other animals (lions, peacocks, monkeys), ... and of course, plenty of extra llamas.

4. Make sure to get a copy of the e-book so you can project the lovely illustrations for the congregation.

5. Schedule a fireside reading at home with the family or for a fellowship night.

6. Consider sending a copy to your families with children, or letting a copy serve as your Christmas card to the congregation. 

7. Visit A Phenomenal Llama on FB, give it a Like, or better yet: "Share."

8. Post a review on Amazon or your favorite online bookstore or book review site.

9. Spread the word to neighboring churches, pastors, parents, and friends.

10. Ask for your local bookstore to carry it.

Time to get a jump on Christmas. I hope you, you family, and your families of faith enjoy A Phenomenal Llama.

The lectionary and the liturgical year can lend shape to all kinds of things

With Year B fast approaching, allow me to reiterate, yea, demonstrate, that I have long found the Revised Common Lectionary a very helpful, valuable, and inspiring tool, not just for preaching, liturgy, and prayer.

But I encourage you to compare the Table of Contents and the titles here with the Sunday lections in Year B:

... and the track list here to the Sundays of the Christmas cycle (Advent through Transfiguration).

A Phenomenal Llama

OK, this has nothing to do with Year D, but it does — in the end — have something to do with worship. No, the fantastical elements in this story will not be found in Year D, or even in the biblical canon, but if you can bear with a bit of absurdity in the spirit of Christmas, perhaps you will enjoy my new book, beautifully illustrated by artist Danielle Baudouin.

Available at CreateSpace:

A Phenomenal Llama: A Tall Christmas Tale for Children of All Ages

On Amazon:

and Kindle:

 

And make sure to visit, "like," and "share" Gregory's FB page. (It's time to put this reindeer thing to rest, isn't it?)

OK, so what would Year E look like?

I'm glad you asked. In the Introduction to Year D, I suggest the ideal of a seven-year lectionary (see Deut 31:10-11), and offer a few criteria for Years E through G.

As you may know, Year D does not really address the problem of Acts or Revelation, each of which are treated by the RCL as an epistle, even occasionally using Acts in lieu of the Old Testament, a decision that suggests certain undertones of Marcionism. I would suggest, by contrast, treating Acts as the Gospel for Year E and Revelation as the Epistle. This pattern would carry through the entire year, more or less continually, and without any obligatory sense of a need to tie them together, although the juxtaposition may well (and often does) prove very interesting.

To address the problem of the Psalms which are pretty thoroughly represented once Year D is added, I've suggested working with other poetic material from the prophetic oracles and the wisdom literature.

Meanwhile, since the untreated Old Testament material is so vast, I've suggested two parallel tracks for Year E — yes, a choice would have to be made — which I label OTE1 and OTE2. Furthermore, each track would have to be developed as "episodic," taking into account the fact that an event or episode may span several chapters, in which case the preacher would likely need to select the verses to be read much more narrowly, and devote a significant portion of the sermon to placing things in context.

By the way, take a moment to read through the lections from Ruth (First through Third Advent) as is, with all the RCL verses omitted (skipping even the bits in parentheses, which are provided for context, but are also bracketed so as to denote their prior representation in RCL). I find this obverse reading quite interesting, in that, anyone who is at all familiar with the story (esp. by way of hearing it read via the RCL) will find the whole well represented by this partial reading. The impression one gets is of a tapestry that reveals the same pattern on the back as on the front, even if the reverse is the less finished or formally presentable side.

Here is a sample you may wish to consider for this coming Advent and Christmas.

The Advent-Christmas-Epiphany Cycle

The First Sunday of Advent

OTE1: Genesis 12:10-20; 15:13-16 (18-19) 20-21

OTE2: Ruth 1:19-2:23

Song of Solomon 1:1-8

Acts 1:1-5

Revelation 1:1-3

The Second Sunday of Advent

OTE1: Exodus 1:1-7; 2:1-25 OR 6:14-27

OTE2: Ruth 3:6-4:12 (13-17) 18-22

Song of Solomon 1:9-2:7

Acts 1:6-11

Revelation 1:4-6

The Third Sunday of Advent

OTE1: Exodus 3: (13-15) 16-22; 4:18-31

OTE2: 1Samuel 1:1-3 (19-20) 21-28; 2:11, 18-21, 26; 3: (19-20) 21-4:1a

Song of Solomon 2: (8-13) 14-17

Acts 1:12-14

Revelation 1:7-8

The Fourth Sunday of Advent

OTE1: Exodus 5:1-23 AND/OR 6:1-13, 28-30; 7:1-13 OR Numbers 24:15-19

OTE2: 1Samuel 2:12-17, 22-25, 27-36 AND/OR 4:1b-22

Song of Solomon 3:1-5

Acts 1:15-26 AND/OR 9:10-19

Revelation 1:9-16

Christmas Eve

OTE1: Exodus 10:21-11:10; 12: (1-2) 15-31

OTE2: 1Samuel 5:1-12; 6:1-22; 7:1-2

Song of Solomon 3:6-11

Acts 1:9-11 OR 2:1-21 [AND/OR Matthew 1:18-25; 2:1-12]

Revelation 1:17-20 OR 12:1-9 (10-12) 13-17 OR 21:1-8

Christmas Morning

OTE1: Exodus 10:21-11:10; 12: (1-2) 15-32

OTE2: 1Samuel 5:1-12; 6:1-22; 7:1-2

Song of Solomon 3:6-11

Acts 1:1-21 OR 2:22-36

Revelation 1:17-20 OR 12:1-9 (10-12) 13-17 OR 21:1-8

Christmas Day

OTE1: Exodus 10:21-11:10; 12: (1-2) 15-32

OTE2: 1Samuel 5:1-12; 6:1-22; 7:1-2

Song of Solomon 3:6-11

Acts 2:22-36 AND/OR 2:36-47

Revelation 1:17-20 OR 12:1-9 (10-12) 13-17 OR 21:1-8

More to come as time allows ...