Laetare brings "Jesus, Priceless Treasure" as the hymn of the day. It is a text that I can never get enough of. And I never sing it without remembering...
I was a Junior at Concordia Bronxville, and the choir was touring southward. We had a concert at a Lutheran Church in Miami. We spent part of the day at the beach. Maybe that explains it? President Ralph Schultz flew in for the concert that evening. We sang Bach's motet: "Jesus, Priceless Treasure." We'd sung it many times. We had it memorized. No problem. Understand, it is 20 minutes worth of unaccompanied music. The unthinkable happened: we started to slide. It reached a point where the second basses could no longer hit the notes (not even Steve Sill - our LOWEST second bass). Gracious! And there was nothing to do but plough on. The look on Gerry Coleman's face (our conductor) was one of despair - no way to fix it. It was the worst concert we ever gave, I believe...
Still I love the hymn and wish that folks would sing it the way Bach wrote it with those sharp addresses to Satan, Sin, Death, and Fear!
Here's the final stanza:
Hence, all fear and sadness!
For the Lord of gladness,
Jesus, enters in.
Those who love the Father,
Though the storms may gather,
Still have peace within.
Yea, whate'er
I here must bear,
Thou art still my purest pleasure,
Jesus, priceless treasure!
9 comments:
Sin, Satan, Death, and the Fear of it all....those are powerful forces. What in the world gives you the chutzpah to rebuke those things, Fr. Weedon? Please tell us. You are singing as if they have no hold on you whatsoever. That's a bit brassy--even presumptuous, don't you think?
By all means, keep it up! :-)
Rev. Tom Fast
PS---BTW my favorite line to sing is Gerhardts: "Misfortune now is play, and night is bright as day." That's crazy talk, ain't it?
Bill,
And to think that I used to consider it a challenge to purposefully drive a choir sharp in high school and college...
Letting a choir go flat is too easy!
Your former vicar
P.S. I still like "Lord, Thee I Love with All My Heart" better.
Hey--Jesus is our choice!
Paul,
Yes, he is our choice in connection with the third article of the Creed in the Small Catechism which explains that the Holy Spirit creates faith and the ability for Jesus to be our choice. ;-)
Benjamin Pollock
I know Ben. Still, everytime I sing that hymn, I can't help but think: "Decision theology!! Decision Theology!!" Also, I could be wrong but doesn't this hymn's title rest on an interpretation of the Parable of the Treasure hidden in the field which holds that Jesus is the treasure that we find? I like the interpretation that the treasure is us/Church and Christ is the one who finds it, and sells everything he has (atonement) for it.
Well, if I'm not mistaken, the stanza which contains the English word "choice" reads (auf Deutsch):
Weg mit allen Schätzen!
Du bist mein Ergötzen,
Jesu, meine Lust!
Weg ihr eitlen Ehren,
Ich mag euch nicht hören,
Bleibt mir unbewusst!
Elend, Not, Kreuz, Schmach und Tod
Soll mich, ob ich viel muss leiden,
Nicht von Jesu scheiden.
Both the words "Ergötzen" and "Lust" seem to carry a different, more passionate connotation than "choice" ... perhaps our translators have once again left something to be desired ...
Thanks, David. I was going to suggest you hear it as Ferris said it:
"Choice. Very choice."
:)
I forgot all about that concert! Yes, "slide" we did....
I was just listening to Consortium Musicum singing this Motet yesterday on my iPod, before I read your post.
I love hymns that rebuke the unholy trinity! "God's Own Child..." has become a new favorite of mine for that very reason.
Me too, John.
Tom,
We rebuke them in the joy of faith - living from within the Son of God where they have lost all power to harm us.
Mark,
I do love that one too. Probably, like you, even more so than Jesu Meine Freude.
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