Fridays in Lent: Handel Messiah, Part 2

I’ve performed Part 2 of Handel’s Messiah, which is the Passion/Resurrection section, far less frequently than Part 1.

HaendelOne year for Christmas, I gave my sister the score of the entire Messiah, we sang from it so much in high school. Since then I’ve sung much of Part 1, the section associated with Advent/Christmastime, at least a half dozen times. I’ve performed Part 2, which is the Passion/Resurrection section, far less frequently, except, of course, the Hallelujah, which I sing every Easter Sunday.

Read the Wikipedia piece.

LISTEN to the live performance.

The Lenten devotional post, in five minutes or less

The notion that I could churn something out “in 5 minutes” really ticked me off.

Among others, I was requested to make a submission to the FOCUS churches Lenten devotional calendar/booklet. I received the email because “you have either submitted an entry in the past [I had not] or have demonstrated interest in writing for public consumption [maybe THAT’S it]… There are texts assigned for each day and… parameters…for this project.”

After failing to respond, five days later, On January 31, I was asked if I had received the invitation. Eventually, I acceded to do one entry, about 2 paragraphs, based on 1 Corinthians 2:10-16. “It has Paul talking about spiritual vs those who are unspiritual. Those who are spiritual understand that which is spiritual, but those who are unspiritual see the gifts of God’s spirit as foolishness. Why? Because spirit is required to understand these gifts, and they don’t have them. And we [followers of Christ] have the mind of Christ. Below are instructions… about doing this. Can you have it to me by Feb 10? I’m guessing you could create it right now in 5 minutes. Or you can live with it a few days as [the editor] suggests.”

And somehow, the notion that I could churn something out “in 5 minutes” really ticked me off, so much, in fact, that I mentioned it to my wife when I got home. She said that it was a compliment to my skilled writing or some such. (Yes, I know I’m being petty here; sometimes I’m petty.)

Here’s something that has, for a long time, been true of me. I hate long, or even moderately long deadlines. Invariably, one of two things will happen: I will do the thing right away because I don’t want to forget or become too busy at the point of the deadline. If I have an intro to write for ABC Wednesday, it’s usually done at least the week before. When I’m going to contribute to Flashmob Fridays, all but one of the contributions I’ve sent by Monday.

Or, I’ll forget altogether, or in the alternative, just run out of time. February 10 comes, and in my pique, the booklet had TOTALLY left my consciousness, until I get a reminder.

So, I take more than five minutes – indeed my entire lunch hour (or more) – to write 187 words; the maximum was 250. I needed to find the right tactic. And now that I’ve finished ranting about it, here is what I submitted:

“I’ve been a librarian for nearly two decades. One of the things I have noticed over the last several years is that many people seem to think that virtually all the information they will ever need can be found by going on the Internet and Googling for it. In fact, Google and other search engines do not always retrieve what’s known as ‘gray literature’, which is defined as ‘research that is either unpublished or has been published in non-commercial form.’ Often, it is that particular dissertation, government report or policy statement that provides the best answer to a query.

“Likewise, there is human knowledge. Some folks believe that’s all there is, and are skeptical of any other source of data. But others have been blessed by the Spirit to access the ‘gray literature’ of Christ’s spirituality. Best of all, one doesn’t need a computer or other device to access this database, and one can download it at any time, day or night. And the wisdom to answer life’s pressing questions can be found in unexpected clarity.”

I also had to add a sentence prayer.

“May we be transformed by the greater wisdom offered to us graciously by the Spirit of God.”

I have no idea if it’s any good. It’s not something I’ve done before. But it DID make it into the booklet. If I do it again, I’ll definitely budget at least TEN minutes for the project.

Monday Thursday

It’s like splurging on a big wedding, and the groom doesn’t show up.

When I was a child, I never understood the idea of Monday being on a Thursday. I mean, I knew it was a tough week for Jesus, and would only get worse. But why Monday? Oh wait, I have late word that it is actually Maundy Thursday, which may be derived “from the Latin mandatum, the first word of the phrase ‘Mandatum novum do vobis ut diligatis invicem sicut dilexi vos’ (“A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you”), the statement by Jesus in the Gospel of John (13:34) by which Jesus explained to the Apostles the significance of his action of washing their feet.” Or not.

I had commented on someone’s blog recently, and I mentioned a pastor that I used to have in the past decade. My observation about him, indeed his own casting of himself, made him more of a Lenten person than an Easter person. Goodness knows I love good, depressing Lenten music, for instance, as much as anyone. But if someone is stuck there, it’s like — my goodness, I just thought of a probably inappropriate analogy!

OK, it’s like splurging on a big wedding, and the groom doesn’t show up. I was thinking of that because a number of church hymns use this somewhat odd imagery of Christ as the bridegroom and the church as the bride. I get it, but still, find it a bit peculiar, and I’d think it might be off-putting to some.

Musicians and choirs involved with churches often call this “hell week” because of all the extra services. I’m fairly tired myself, so that’ll be it for today.

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