The Parish Magazine October 2024

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34 The Parish Magazine - October 2024 THE ARTS — 1 Did Jesus use a modem at the Sermon on the Mount ? Did Jesus use a modem at the Sermon on the Mount? Did he ever use a broadcast fax to get his message out? Did the disciples carry bleepers as they went out and about Did Jesus use a modem at the Sermon on the Mount? Did the Apostle use a laptop with lots of RAM and ROM? Did he use an email alias such as Paul@Romr.com? Did the man from Macedonia post an email stating 'Com'? Did Moses use a joystick at the parting of the sea? And a Satellite Guidance Tracking system to show him where to be? Did he write the law on tablets, or are they really on CD? Did Moses use a joystick at the parting of the sea? Did Jesus really die for us that Friday on the tree? Or was it just a hologram — some high-tech wizardry? Can you download the video clip to play on your PC? If in your life the voice of God is sometimes hard to hear, With other voices calling, his doesn’t touch you ear, Then set aside laptop and modem, unplug the fancy gear Open up that dusty Bible and talk to him in prayer! The above is from an early ‘Internet for Christians' newsletter so I got out my dustiest old Bible for the illustration — Editor! Hopeful Harvest By Steven Rolling Based on: Psalm 65:9-13; Tune: Golden Sheaves: ‘To thee, O Lord, our hearts we raise’ Image: Buccaneer, dreamstime.com The last verse is adapted with the permission of another poet. 1. The Lord visits the earth, ensures It receives plenty waters And greatly He does enrich it And satisfied it each whit From the river of God it flows It be full, no shortage knows And He make produce for to frow Blessings on His land below 2. He provides grain us to sustain His harvest graces seen plain And waters hill and vale and field They each prosperity yield If heavy rain or showers light Or sunshine bright to the sight He crowns the year with His goodness With His favour does us bless 3. The waters fall on the pastures And too on the wilderness The little hills rejoice, they know Refreshment from the Lord so The pastures, they with flocks are clothed And valleys also bestowed With grain, they shout for joy and sing Abundance here, everything As 313 October 2024.indd 34 12/09/2024 09:39:57
The Parish Magazine - October 2024 35 Into thy hands, O Lord John Henry Newman was a great Victorian churchman, an inspired Anglican preacher and teacher who became a Roman Catholic in 1845. Newman was also a poet and wrote hymns that have remained perennial favourites such as, ‘Lead, kindly Light' and ‘Praise to the Holiest.’ The first hymn was written when, as an Anglican, Newman was ill in Sicily and his servant thought he might die. But he recovered and, anxious to return home, he wrote these words, knowing that God had important work for him to do. The light that he prayed for in Sicily was to shine out, resplendent and glorious, in that later hymn which expresses the vision of the heavenly courts in the longer poem, ‘The Dream of Gerontius.’ Newman wrote the poem in 1865 after the death of a 41-year-old fellow Oratorian, Fr John Joseph Gordon, who had said to him as he lay dying, “I do not say that I do not fear to die: for death must always be a fearful thing. God’s justice is very terrible; but then, in the crucifixion, God’s mercy appears so very great.” 4. The verdant rolling lands about Boundaries of man’s construct The mills and manufactories Furnaces and potteries As the steel, stone, and brick degrade Sediment and soot invade Buccaneer, Dreamstime.com The verdant rolling lands about Boundaries of man’s construct By Rev Michael Burgess ‘The Dream of Gerontius’ is about death and judgement, but it is the judgement of a loving God. Newman presented Dvorak with a copy of this poem when the composer visited Birmingham, and he was invited to compose a setting for the city’s 1888 Festival. Although Dvorak felt inspired by the words, the timescale was too demanding. The poem was presented to Elgar on his wedding day a year later, again with the suggestion that he set it to music. The words simmered and stirred in Elgar’s imagination to produce one of the great oratorios of all time in 1900, when it was given its first performance in Birmingham. Elgar inscribed the score ADMG (To the greater glory of God) and wrote on the last page of the manuscript, ‘This is the best of me.’ The light of God’s glory and grace that inspired Newman shines through the music as it shone through Elgar’s own life. His funeral card of 1934 contained words from the poem, and on his own score of ‘The Dream’ he wrote these words of Virgil, ‘Whence doth so dear desire of Light on wretches grow?’ ANGELIC ECHOES It is now difficult to separate the poem from Elgar’s setting. The composer, like the poet, leads the listener from the prayer of faith, ‘Firmly I believe and truly’ – a prayer sustained by the words of the priest, ‘Go forth upon thy journey, Christian soul’ – to the judgement throne where the angels praise God in the heights. One of the angels then leads the soul away with a beautiful setting of ‘Softly and gently,’ not to the fire of judgement, but to the cleansing, sustaining water of eternal life. The work ends with echoes of that angelic hymn, praising God who is our refuge in every generation. Newman wrote, “I always sleep better after music.” He compared music to an electric current that passes through the body and then into the mind and heart. Elgar’s wonderful setting can do exactly that, creating a vision of that new world of eternal glory that Gerontius expresses in the words, 'Into thy hands, O Lord, into thy hands.’ Book Reviews Lion Atlas of Bible History (2nd Edition) By Paul Lawrence, Lion Books, £39.99 This book spans the 3,000 years of Biblical history, explaining the many ways in which and archaeology confirm and complement the biblical narrative, and adds depth and colour to understanding the key people and events. It traces the unfolding of the major events in the Old and New Testaments, from Abraham's wanderings in Canaan and Egypt through to Paul's missions and founding of new churches. Special features about the people and languages of the Bible help to deepen the reader's understanding of geography, landscape, climate, culture and religion. There are 97 maps and over 150 colour photographs, seven panoramic illustrations and 17 site plans, plus a range of battle plans and small artworks. Daily Bible Meditations for Everyone - 365 Reflections and Prayers, from Genesis to Revelation By John Goldingay and Tom Wright, SPCK, £19.99 The book journeys through the whole Bible in one year. With wisdom, clarity and depth, Goldingay and Wright provide a rich blend of theological insight and practical application in 365 concise reflections and prayers. For anyone seeking spiritual growth, a deeper connection with the Scriptures, or simply a daily source of inspiration, it could enrich your appreciation of the whole Bible and offers a clear path to understanding and applying God's Word in your daily life. In the Fullness of Time - A Story From the Past and Future of the Church By Paul Bradbury, Canterbury Press, £14.99 Here’s a book about the present and future of the church in our own challenging context: a secular age, decline, stretched resources, complex and TURN TO PAGE 37 313 October 2024.indd 35 12/09/2024 09:39:58
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