HYMN FOR FIFTH SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST Beautiful Savior
- Gracia Grindal
- 2 days ago
- 3 min read
Text: Anonymous Tune: Schönster Herr Jesus, Silensian folk
1. Beautiful Savior, King of creation,
Son of God and Son of Man!
Truly I'd love Thee, truly I'd serve thee,
Light of my soul, my Joy, my Crown.
2. Fair are the meadows, Fair are the woodlands,
Robed in flow'rs of blooming spring;
Jesus is fairer, Jesus is purer;
He makes our sorr'wing spirit sing.
3. Fair is the sunshine, Fair is the moonlight,
Bright the sparkling stars on high;
Jesus shines brighter, Jesus shines purer
Than all the angels in the sky.
4. Beautiful Savior, Lord of the nations,
Son of God and Son of Man!
Glory and honor, Praise, adoration,
Now and forevermore be Thine!
Tr. Joseph Seiss (1823-1904)
REFLECTION
Jesus’ Semon on Mission, given before he sends out his disciples, is filled with instructions and warnings that are not for the faint of heart. It seems to go against many of the conventional thoughts we have about Jesus and Christianity. Isn't he all about peace and reconiliation? It is shocking to hear Jesus say he has come to bring a sword which will cause division even in the most sacred of relationships—between parents and children—although he doesn’t mention between husband and wife. How does that work? Children of missionaries hear this with understanding, especially in the past when their parents would travel out in the bush leaving them at the mission school alone for months on end. It often engendered bitterness and sorrow for many.
But Jesus is telling the truth here. While I don’t want to be one who tries to soften Jesus’ saying and explain the hard words away, maybe it can be compared with the story of Isaac. God had to know whom Abraham loved more—Isaac or him. It is a terrifying story, but it has a truth we all know deep down: for things to be right in our relationship with God AND our family, loving God first puts all other loves in their proper place. Nothing is worse for a child than to be worshiped by his or her parents. It is idolatry and Scripture rails against idolatry. Right worship vs. idolatry is the story of the entire Bible.
Furthermore, while this account is worse than the Isaac story—there is no angel or ram in the thicket nearby—Jesus doesn’t come bearing a sword like a warrior. He is in his own person the sword, the one who in his very being separates us from unbelievers. To hear his word and follow him is to go his way and leave behind anything that demands our false worship. As our hymn makes clear, nothing in all of creation is more lovely, pure or shining than Jesus. When we know that and follow him, everything is put right, ultimately.
That does not mean there is no suffering, nor sorrow. While he promises that we are more precious than many sparrows, he also promises us that when we follow him, we will be hated by the world. When we do take up our crosses to follow him, however, we will have found life and can believe that all will be well. Even during our suffering, he “makes our sorrowing spirit sing.”
HYMN INFO
The author of the German text is unknown. Joseph Seiss is the translator. Most Americans know it from the St. Olaf choral tradition—it is the signature anthem of several Norwegian American Lutheran college choirs. Bernhard Severin Ingemann (!789-1862), one of Denmark’s greater poets, was given a copy of the German hymn, “Schönster Herr Jesu,” and wrote "Deilig er Jorden" to it. Originally a funeral hymn, it became a Christmas hymn because its last stanza refers to Christmas night. The tune is very likely from Silesia. Mozart used it, as did Swedish troubadour Carl Michael Bellman (1740-1795). Many Norwegians say "Deilig er Jorden," is "Fairest Lord Jesus" when they want a translation, but it is not that either. Same tune, three different texts! Here you can hear the Christiansen arrangement and "Deilig er Jorden" in Norwegian and Danish.
LINKS
Kenneth Jennnings Conductor emeritus conducts a mass choir; notice Anthon Armstrong, his successor, singing with the choir
St. Olaf Choir with Anton Armstrong, current conductor of the choir
Deilig er Jorden/Oslo Gospel Choir
Deilig er Jorden/Danish Radio and audience
Deilig er Jorden/St. Michaelis in Hamburg
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For your daily devotions
"With these 366 sonnets, remarkable in artistry and number, Gracia Grindal has made literary history. The scriptural and theological knowledge that supports these poems is vast, but it is the imagination infused with the holy in poem after poem that reveals the poet's grace and skill and the astonishing work of the Spirit." --Jill Baumgartner, Poetry Editor, Christian Century, and professor of English emerita, Wheaton College
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