Best of 2015

In 2015, I:

Didn't date anyone

Didn't get engaged

Didn't get married

Didn't have a baby

Wasn't in a wedding

Wasn't a godparent

Didn't get a new job, and

Stayed in the Central Time zone

If you accomplished any of those, you're pretty cool. And I mean that in all honesty.

BUT...I did:

Have a golden birthday

Get a new computer

Get a new phone

Completed 22 academic credits from three institutions

Complete MCM classes (3.70 GPA)

Help lead a Lutheran youth convention

Get my writing published

Train for and run my first half-marathon

Play organ at some new places

Try some new coffeeshops

Run places I've always wanted to go

Make some new friends in hymnody (the best kind of friends!)

Do some hymnological research that none of you know anything about! (But will soon...all in good time!)

In 2016, I will:

Grow stronger in faith in my Savior

Eat

Sleep

Church

Music

Brew coffee

Run every day

Graduate (at least once, God willing)

Give my senior recital

Pass comps and orals

Finish writing a book

Travel

Make new friends

Be surprised by what the Lord sends me!

Happy New Year!

In Jesus' name 
Our work must all be done
If it shall compass our true good and aim,
And not end in shame alone;
For ev'ry deed 
Which in it doth proceed,
Success and blessing gains
Till it the goal attains.
Thus we honor God on high
And ourselves are blessed thereby;
Wherein our true good remains.

- Evangelical Lutheran Hymnary No. 4, v. 1

My children's choir book

Part of the Christian life under the cross in this world deals with the endless trials of the photocopier. For the past two years I directed the 2-4 grade choir at my church's Christian day school, I spent way too much time entering hymn melodies and words into Sibelius, printing off PDFs, and then making 50-60 photocopies for every student, only to toss them after the service was done.  I also relied on week-to-week planning or rehearsals based around the next church-singing date.  Nope.

So, this summer, I had enough.  I did some research at St. James Music Press and our hymnal.  I typed and retyped a lot.  I went out and bought several reams of high-quality paper and this happy spring-green almost-tagboard.  Then, I went to work printing and resizing each page, arranging the text and music before double-siding the photocopies, and then ran 55 sets of each.

After self-collating these (you can tell I was pretty tired!), my wonderful brother helped me make three staplers in the sem library feel very special.  They were replenished on multiple occasions, and ate their fill of wholesome greens.

What's in them, you might ask?  Interspersed with the pieces are short paragraphs explaining rules of choral singing I usually over-repeat.  Because I don't have a whiteboard in the sanctuary - which would make my teaching WAY more effective! - this gives the students something visual to remind them.

The repertoire?  Well, hymns, especially doctrinally-solid hymns, are MUCH too hard for children to learn.  Those old Germans composed plenty of confusing tunes that don't appeal to young people today, and there's no way they could even try learning them.  Being connected to the past is overrated, because youth can certainly fend for themselves.  Let's see, the first song is "Shout to the Lord..."


Just kidding!!  Here are the pieces and choral teaching points covered:

Posture - Breathing
Three Kinds of Voices (chest, face, head)

A Mighty Fortress - Martin Luther, arr. William Roger Price

Kyrie:  Kyrie, God Father In Heaven Above
Gloria:  All Glory Be To God On High
Credo:  We All Believe In One True God
Sanctus:  Holy, Holy Holy, Lord God of Sabaoth - J.S. Bach
Agnus Dei:  Lamb of God, Pure And Holy

Onset (Starts of Words) - Short "I"Turns Into Long "E" - Long "E" is Kissed

As Longs the Deer - Mark Schweizer

How To Chant (i.e. Psalm 118:17, Doxology)

O Rest In The Lord - Felix Mendelssohn
I Pray Thee, Dear Lord Jesus - trad., arr. Alfred Fremder
Savior of the Nations, Come - trad., arr. Carol McClure

Consonant Pairs - Diphthongs - "R" Before A Consonant- Shh!

Grow On Long Notes - Commas and More - Performing and Leading

I'll probably continue to use this template for forthcoming school years; this has bought me so much time otherwise used toward collecting and planning.  If you have any questions about the contents of the choirbook or would like to have one, do let me know - I'd be pleased to help you with any of the resources.

Happy planning for the New Year - and remember, as the AC says, we keep art in our divine services "that the unlearned be taught"!

All My Heart Sings And Rejoices

Joy:  one of my favorite words (and my middle name).

Growing up, I loved most the hymns that sung of the joy brought to us at Christmas.  “Joy to the World,” the melody my aforementioned Advent tree played, was a favorite from the very beginning, and I decorate the house with those words.  “Now Sing We, Now Rejoice,” the amazing German-Latin carol of the 1300s, manifests the gladness found through the theology of the cross:  the Glory of Heaven lies in a manger, and comes to us because we cannot rise from the stable to Him.  Birgitte Katerine Boye’s famous hymn calls us to “Rejoice, Rejoice This Happy Morn” for God’s salvation and undeserved love. 

Why all of the rejoicing?  Hearing of the Father’s great gift of His Son, we cannot withhold song from rising to Him.  Whenever Scripture tells us “Rejoice, for…” it’s bringing us another promise which must make a faith-filled heart glad.  Through the delightful imagery of his sweet hymn, “All My Heart Sings And Rejoices,” Paul Gerhardt tells all why he is glad on Christmas, and incites others to do the same.  The full translation given here is from the Evangelical Lutheran Hymnary.[1]

All my heart sings and rejoices

As I hear

Far and near

Sweetest angel voices.

“Christ is born!” their choirs and singing

Till the air

Ev’rywhere

Now with joy is ringing.

This doesn’t appear to initiate a battle culminating in Calvary, but according to the theology of the cross, it does.  In order to deliver us, the eternal God took on our very flesh at a point in time, and will forever possess this human nature.

Forth today the Conqu’ror goeth,

Who the foe,

Sin and woe,

Death and hell, o’erthroweth.

God is Man, man to deliver;

His dear Son

Now is one

With our blood forever.

Paul Gerhardt, as the other great apostle of the same name, loves drawing up rhetorical questions.  This digs deep into the stony soil of our false assumptions, upheaving the needless doubt and worry paved there. “What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things?” (Romans 8:31-32).

Shall we still dread God’s displeasure,

Who, to save,

Freely gave

His most cherished Treasure?

To redeem us, He hath given

His own Son

From the throne

Of His might in heaven.

Should He who Himself imparted

Aught withhold

From the fold,

Leave us broken-hearted?

Should the Son of God not love us,

Who, to cheer

Suff’rers here,

Left His throne above us?

He has not left us, and shows His love by His birth.  What has He done that we should “thank and praise, serve and obey Him”?

He becomes the Lamb that taketh

Sin away

And for aye

Full atonement maketh.

For our life His own He tenders,

And our race,

By His grace,

Meet for glory renders.

This promise is brought to us right away, in His incarnation – not only after and on account of His death.  The blessings of Christ’s death and resurrection go backwards and forwards. 

Hark!  a voice from yonder manger,

Soft and sweet,

Doth entreat:

“Flee from woe and danger.

Brethren, from all ills that grieve you

You are freed;

All you need

I will surely give you.”

Gerhardt, as we well know, didn’t always have a white Christmas, chestnuts roasting on the open fire, snow, mistletoe, and presents ‘round the tree – so to speak.  His pastoral ministry happened during the Thirty Years’ War, he was put out from his position several times due to his beliefs, both his wife and son passed away during his lifetime, and because of disease and war he buried many parishioners. The real trouble he faced, though, was the curse of sin, life in the flesh where “nothing good dwells.”  Knowing that the Lord told him, like the leper, “Be of good cheer!  Your sins are forgiven” (Matthew 9:2), he could then go forward in joy, even singing to others -

Come, then, banish all your sadness,

One and all,

Great and small;

Come with songs of gladness.

Love Him who with love is glowing;

Hail the Star

Near and far

Light and joy bestowing.

Ye whose anguish knew no measure,

Weep no more;

See the door

To celestial pleasure.

Cling to Him, for He will guide you

Where no cross,

Pain, or loss

Can again betide you.

Hither come, ye heavy-hearted,

Who for sin,

Deep within,

Long and sore have smarted.

For the poisoned wounds you’re feeling

Help is near,

One is here

Mighty for their healing.

This hymn speaks to Christians dealing with life – all of them.  Life under the cross is burdensome, and especially so at Christmas.  Gerhardt certainly empathizes with the needy family, the lonely single Christian, the couple mourning a child, the worker awaiting a job, and the pastor wondering why the harvesting proves difficult.  Is Christmas joy for them, too?

Hither come, ye poor and wretched;

Know His will

Is to fill

Every hand outstretched.

Here are riches without measure;

Here forget

All regret,

Fill your hearts with treasure.

This replenishing of our store of wealth has nothing to do with our reaching for the gift, how clean our hands are, or how tightly we grasp it.  Christ, through His Holy Spirit, uncurls our fisted fingers and places the gift of Himself and His atonement in our hands – the same priceless value and completeness for all.

Let me in my arms receive Thee;

On Thy breast

Let me rest,

Savior, ne’er to leave Thee.

Since Thou hast Thyself presented

Now to me,

I shall be

Evermore contented.

Guilt no longer can distress me;

Son of God,

Thou my load

Bearest to release me.

Stain in me Thou findest never;

I am clean,

All my sin

Is removed forever.

Because clothed in the glistening robe of His righteousness, the believer can and should say “Yes!  Come into my heart,” but only because the Lord has already let Himself in. 

I am pure, in Thee believing,

From Thy store

Evermore

Righteous robes receiving.

In my heart I will enfold Thee,

Treasure rare,

Let me there,

Loving, ever hold Thee.

Most of all, this gift brings joy because it looks forward to eternity.

Dearest Lord, Thee I will cherish,

Though my breath

Fail in death,

Yet I shall not perish,

But with Thee abide forever

There on high,

In that joy

Which can vanish never. 

---

[1] Worship Committee of the Evangelical Lutheran Synod.  “All My Heart Sings And Rejoices.”  Evangelical Lutheran Hymnary No. 115.  St. Louis:  MorningStar Music Publishers, 1996. 

Chasing dreams

From what I hear, being a parent is really awesome and rewarding, despite the hard work it requires to raise a small human being.  That is great, and I am indeed happy for you.  I'd guess maybe over half of people say that they would like to get married and have children, and in that case, that dream is an easier one to fulfill than others.

Yet, what if that's not what you're cut out to do?  Students especially struggle with this expectancy other adults in the "real world" impose.  In the meantime, or indefinitely, you have to figure out:  in Ephesians 5 and Colossians 3, what category am I in?  If I'm not a wife, does this actually apply to me?  Am I sinning in not doing what everyone else is doing?  Is it wrong because it appears ineffective to the world on a large scale?

If you ask anyone what they wish they could do, including people who have started a family and keep up a very involved life, they tend to present many of the same dreams.

I wish I would have stayed in school and gotten another  degree.  I would love to know more about ___.

I wish I would have taken piano when I was growing up.  Maybe when I have the time, I'll go back to it.

I wonder what it's like to sing in a choir...I'd do that if I didn't have to work so early.

Oh, I used to love running!  Someday I'd like to try a race.  I just don't have the time.

If I had a day to myself, I'd totally drive up there and check it out!  I've heard a lot of great things from people who have been there.

I should have learned that language.  It would have helped me so much now!

I want to read that book someday!  That's on my to-do list.

Sometime I want to know more about (this thing in the Bible).  I just don't know where to look...you'd probably have to take a class about this somewhere.

So, let's just pretend that someone has gone after her dreams, and even done all of these things.  What if learning is in itself a reward?  What if everything she's chasing is a way to say thank-you to God for something that happened a long time ago, that hardly anyone saw?  Maybe He has provided those very things for a reason.  "To whom much is given..."

"For all which I owe it to Him to thank, praise, serve, and obey Him.  This is most certainly true!" -Small Catechism, Explanation to the First Article of the Creed.

Let's make it easier...again.

"We need more arrangements that are easier to play, so people can accompany hymns with less effort."
"Not everyone can sing these hymns."
"Today's listener doesn't understand the language, so we should update the language."
"It needs to be more accessible."
"I'm not a trained musician, but I can understand ___.  Can you make resources that way?"

Church musicians frequently hear or receive these requests from parishioners regarding musical materials.  My response is, are you sure that is really what you need?  The musicians have been trained to look out for those needs and make those kinds of executive decisions.  As these instances occur more and more, they only make the opposite point that that is what they don't need.

So your organist doesn't like isometric Bach settings, or pedal.  He wishes that three-part settings of the hymnal could be available so he could just sit down and play hymns on the fly.  Well, clearly he did have musical training to get to the point where he could sightread - what hinders him from going ahead and learning a four-part setting which supports all vocal parts in their original form?

"I don't have time to practice that.  I have a job during the week."
Hmm.  If this is continually going to take a back seat, your congregation deserves better than that.  Maybe we need more trained church musicians who have that AS their job!

"So, how do you make any money doing that?"
That's a good question...

The thing is, every hymn you think of as easy was once hard for you.  You learned to sing and pick up on a tune or read music when you were little.  Then, by repetition in whatever degree, you memorized its patterns.  What some think of as a "harder" hymn is just a less-coherent hymn, and may involve more repetition to memorize (but again, this may not be the same in all times and places).  If you in a certain musical culture are expecting that a hymn will sound a specific way, you already have started learning it.

"But this is too hard for the modern-day church member."  Why?  People must have done it for years now, and survived.  Standard changes of practice (like "you" for "thee," or musical notation) are allowed at the basic level, but if alterations are made with an outlook of accessibility, it begins to assume that people are not willing to learn.  I know there's the 8.2-second average attention span to get past, but can't pastors and musicians teach people to learn, too?

I've done some reading about tone-deafness. Very few cases out there are lack of musical ear in a biological form.  Most of a learning disability to do with music is 1. lack of musical exposure, and 2. not wanting to listen to others when they speak.  Interesting.  Being in an environment in which people make music (like a church) and learning to carry on a balanced conversation effects the difference.

Consider carefully if your congregation wants you to adjust anything for the sake of ease.  Is it really a rare, necessary update?  Or do you need to address the root of the problem instead?

Maybe so.

Insert popular song title here...

Dear (your first name) (my future last name),

I'm writing you this list because I feel like it might be hard to get to know me, and I want to help you out.  If I've already been your friend for a while, or you already read the stuff I write, you might have a better idea what I'm really like.  Otherwise, if you've just met me and we're in the awkward stage of trying really hard to be sociable so everything works out - well, that's the hard part.

- You must be Lutheran, and of a synod that's very similar to mine.  I'm not saying that people can't serendipitously find a mate across synodical lines.  My dad and mom are an example - they turned out okay and made two exceptional children (just kidding...)  Still, traditions in the case of music, the pastor's tone, how the church is run, etc. are central to worship life, and it's more beneficial to us both if they are shared.  Typically the compromise with church attendance ends up in the husband's favor, and that's the hard truth.

- I tend to be the one that drags people to church.  I want you to drag me to church!  My favorite place to be is God's house, hearing His Word and partake of Holy Communion regularly with those I love.  If you don't respect that, I must remember His day and keep it holy.

- My greatest fear is marrying a Christian who later falls away from the faith.  While I understand each of us is responsible for the upkeep of our own faith (by the Holy Spirit's help), if one of us slips the other does as well.  The burden is that of two people's eternal salvation, not just one.

- You have to be a musician - either know how to sing or play an instrument, and appreciate being around music.  It's part of my lifestyle for good, and it's often challenging not having a family who understands.  Then, I can share the closest part of my life with you.

- In my mind, there are usually ten different thoughts happening.  Do I say this, or do I say the other thing?  My awkwardness is the sound of them all trying to come out at once. (Writing usually solves it.)

- In groups, I have a difficult time acting like myself, because it's like a fight for conversational precedence.  I never come up with anything cool to say that everyone else also wants to discuss.  One-on-one time is how to find out what I'm really like.

- Food?  Okay, I love food.  I don't like eating too much, ever, but if my small size is an issue to people I will gladly eat a piece of chocolate cake and prove them wrong!

- Even though I may not have a lot to say, it doesn't mean I don't want to be around people.  I almost always do - it feels better knowing that someone else is in the same room, if only to read a book.  Not having others around scares me.

- Small talk is hard.  When I have a casual conversation, I want to come away having learned something new.  Sometimes it's confusing figuring out who actually cares and who doesn't.

- I'm sensitive, but always working hard to try not to show it.  I only cry around those I trust.

- Adventures and things are the best.  Seeing a random concert in a random city, going anywhere in a downpour, trying to make sushi, leaving surprise inside jokes at friends' houses, drive-in movies, nerf guns - oh wait, someone took the other nerf gun.  Wonder who?

- Scrabble?  You had better know what that is, my love, or you will soon.  Also drinking coffee while playing Scrabble.  Then again, you might have already approved of an espresso-bar wedding reception complete with Scrabble tiles and lots of class.

- I'm imperfect.  Though there are lots of things I have yet to find out, I do know you have a sinful nature like I do.  I will forgive you for it, because my sins are even greater in the Lord's eyes.  I hope you will forgive me, too, and that we can absolve one another whenever it's needed.  Christian comfort from God spoken by another is the greatest thing a marriage can offer.

That's all for now.  I love you!

Me

Image from here.

Independence Day thoughts: what about children?

I hope you all have been enjoying the Independence Day weekend!  Let's talk about a freedom that in recent years seems to be diminishing; one that people unwittingly overlook:  that of children.

Every person from conception has the natural right to the committed nurturing of a mother and a father.

If any part of the above is changed, the child is no longer protected, and the parents are acting on their own interest - not that of the child's.

If a man and woman conceive a child, not intending to do so but understanding that it was possible, they still have a responsibility to nurture that child.  In some cases, that might mean carrying the child until it is born and placing him or her in the arms of a mother or father who can.  It is the least they can do.

If a man and woman conceive a child out of wedlock, intending or not intending to do so, they have still acted on their own interests.  Some are concerned about a "biological clock."  There is no reason, then, for a wedding not to take place first, for that is the only solid foundation on which a child can be raised.  Others may figure they are "promised" to each other, will most likely get married, but jump the gun anyway.  Nothing is definite until the wedding, and they are publicly recognized as husband and wife.

If a married couple conceives and raises children together, but then breaks the bond of marriage for a self-motivated reason, they have also acted against the protection of their children, especially of well-being.  A child needs his or her parents to nurture him or her throughout growth, and this can only happen when the mother and father are already committed to each other and understand the duties included with that.

If two people of the same gender leave the very biological principle of conceiving and raising children behind and adopt a child to be theirs, that child has still been taken away from his or her right to the committed nurturing of a mother AND father, both of whom are needed in the equation of nurture.  If an individual is in a heterosexual relationship, bears children, and leaves his or her spouse to join another of the same gender, that also constitutes the same selfish attitude seen above.  They are without a mother AND father, the commitment is not intact, and the nurturing is not the same balance.

If an individual in a relationship acts contrary to biology and wishes to take on the appearance of the other gender, the person's children have also lost their right to at least one nurturing mother or a nurturing father.  Typically, some part of commitment falls aside here, also.

Every point I have made above can be inferred from basic natural law (and common sense).  Even aside from religious viewpoints, in the "temporal kingdom," it can be shown that children are in danger of losing this natural right.

I am a Christian, and believe that the other acts mentioned above are indeed sins.  However, I can't argue anyone into believing that myself, by the points I have just made.  Only God's Word can show you the true nature of these issues - turning from which will set you free.

Genesis 2:24
Exodus 22:16
Leviticus 18:22
Jeremiah 1:5
Romans 1:26-27; 13:10
1 Corinthians 6:9-10, 18-20; 7:1-5, 8-9
2 Corinthians 5:8
Galatians 5:14
Colossians 3:5
Hebrews 13:4
Jude 7
1 Thessalonians 4:3-5

Then, read these:
Psalm 32:5
Proverbs 28:13
Luke 7:36-50
John 5:24
Romans 4:5; 5:1; 6:23
1 Corinthians 10:13
1 John 1:9

Many people have been celebrating independence from British rule, as well as continued freedom.  I believe we also need a day of national confession and absolution.  Recognizing what
we are doing against God's truth that will actually hurt in the end will fully set us free.  I love my country and care about the future of its citizens - including the forthcoming adults who are being impacted by the examples adults show today.

Syllables are golden.

Today during my church music class, discussing how almost every hymn in Lutheran Service Book (and any good, standard hymnal) points to the eternal, my professor brought up "Jerusalem the Golden" (LSB No. 672).  Sliced from a lengthy original version called "The World Is Very Evil" (available in the Evangelical Lutheran Hymnary, No. 534), John Mason Neale's poem paraphrases Bernard of Cluny's verses starting with "Hora novissima."  Its exclusive tune EWING matches of the English rendering so well, but I unearthed another uncanny (or perhaps canny?) feature today.

In its sixth phrase, where the tune leaps to the high E (I hope all versions are in C Major!) a key word rests on it for accent.  Disjunct melodic tones create the effect of an accent, and this specific one heightens the sixth line just as Neale crafted it:  "And NOW we live in hope;" "And LIFE in fullest glow;" "What JOYS await us there;" and "Have CONQUERED in the fight."  For.  Every. Verse.

See for yourself:  http://www.hymnary.org/hymn/ELH1996/534

Composers of hymn tunes, chew on this with your bedtime snack (milk and honey grahams would be an apt choice).

Memory levels saved.

Hi!  It's little me again at graduate school.  Pardon my tiredness as every morning this week has been an issue for me (no, really; I had Issues in Church Music at 8:30 a.m. each day!).  Just got the not-so-daunting "midterm" test via email, but haven't done it yet, and brewed another pot of coffee as I do when extremely bored (which seems to mean alone and unmotivated, rather than lacking assignments).

Just a little panorama with a picnic lunch.

Unconventional and unprecedented points that stuck in my mind over the first five days:

Worship is like bacon (it takes a while to make - there's no way to rush the process and have it turn out the same)

Bahama Mamas (coconut rum, Kahlua, something banana-flavored, orange and pineapple juices, and grenadine) are really delicious!

Congratulations!  You have a life.  Pick one of the three:  A.  have a full-time job; B. stay at home and raise a family; C. be awesome at your instrument.  I guess bonus points if A. and C. are the same.

The invocation is sacramental.  We cannot invite God the Holy Spirit down, but recognize that "as two or three are gathered," He has promised to be with us.  Aha!

The opposite of (instant) gratification is learning.

Living by oneself is extremely hard.  It drives me crazy to get back to not a little noise, but complete silence.  I hope I don't have to do this for the rest of my life!

It's possible to get sore ankles from "Christ Lag in Todesbanden" (BWV 625).  Not cool.

Cookie dough is a type of sushi.  Just think on that.

When you live by a Great Lake, you expect it to look the same every day, but it doesn't.  I wake up with a new scene outside my window, and it is just lovely.

Worship's efficacy does not depend on having a satisfying experience.

Along with that, cultural patterns today make the upbeat, fast, exciting, loud, happy = good.  Where is the room for solemnity, sadness, contemplation, and otherwise Lenten thoughts in church, then, if that is what we're accustomed to appreciating.

We read Marva Dawn's "Reaching Out Without Dumbing Down" for class, and it supplied great insights about worship and community life in a postmodern age.  Many good quotes:

"Genuine love gives people not what they think they need, but what they truly need" (66).

"Many modern songs actually praise not God but how well we are loving Him" (109).

Citing James White: "Nothing is a better source for variety and interest in Christian worship that careful following of the church year."

Finally, it is a true blessing to attend school where my professors can discuss sin and grace, Law and Gospel, Church Militant and Church Triumphant, the theology of the cross, sacramental and sacrificial, quote hymns, and recite the Third Article explanation in class.  Christian education is a freedom that I never hope to take for granted, and thank God for it every day.

Happy midterms!  The Lord be with you all.

Question of the week...

"So, what exactly is your job?"

Well, I have a lot of jobs.  I'm a part-time student in two schools, and haven't had a summer vacation in years.  I accompany services at my home church during the week, teach piano students there, assist with singing and playing for the senior choir, and also direct a children's choir, grades 2-4. During the year, I'm also taking organ lessons and preparing to give a recital, and starting work on my master's thesis doing research about a relatively unknown hymnwriter.  When I'm not doing that, I accompany music students at my alma mater, plus work night shifts at the library while writing and reading academic literature.

"No, I mean, do you have a real job?"

I give up...

You had me at "Let's go to Barnes and Noble."

You may wonder what it is with the obsession.  I'm always telling people about how we went to Barnes and Noble, and it's only fitting that I'm writing this post from one.  We did - we are either there checking in, coming back, or making plans to go there "when it's not busy."  That usually translates to "morning," but such plans never transpire as all of us get up late when we're at home - first me, then my mom, then my brother.

The two of us high school students had taken some homeschool classes at a church campus - pick and choose what you need to graduate, and we'll help what your parents can't do.  Gaps in the schedule were bound to happen, and there were these awkward gaps of 90 minutes at a time where mainly my brother had no class.  What to do?  Drive back home - impractical.  Wait in the car - fruitless and annoying.  The Barnes and Noble with cafe a mile-ish distant beckoned as a non-controversial location to look academic while being "homeschooled" at the same time.

Finally, I had a class while my brother was busy, and got to be treated by mom for a change.  Intro to Business lasted 12:00-1:30, and since I most certainly do not eat lunch before noon, aside from my two breakfasts (weird food rules...), this meant saving my appetite for a delicious treat PLUS a special coffee concoction PLUS a Seventeen magazine (buried in a Gramophone periodical or newspaper, or something).

The neat feature of that location is that while some Barnes and Noble cafes are crammed into an obscure corner (like the one I'm in right now), the thoughtful, strategically-mapped ones put it on a raised platform in the center.  This way, you may silently observe all surrounding occurrences:  the mom tracing her kids steps ("No, honey, you can't touch that.  Mommy will find you a book to read"), the weathered old men with rumbly voices having a semi-quiet discussion, the teens trying not to act awkward while their moms shell over the credit card for their cafe order, and occasionally that middle-aged woman on the phone with her sister about the mom in the nursing home.


Step one: Reconnoiter the premises, and spring on the prime property.  That means, the large four-person table over on the side with space enough for one or more laptops, a stack of cooking, magazines, a wobblier stack of fashion magazines, drinks, plates, and napkin piles (in case).  If you have the fair fortune of obtaining a Midwestern "bar," snag yourself a fork to make it a piece of cake.

Step two:  Leave the most decisive and stationary person to guard the table, who already has his or her order memorized.  This trustworthy saying is recited to the designated orderer, who has been awarded enough cash and the B&N membership card to retrieve all items from the counter.  If all goes well, the orderer will get the kind barista who remembers everything and smiles at people with his brisk countenance, who chatters to the one younger guy and the chirpy brunette girl while baking the premade frozen scones.

Step three:  Someone, probably the same person, has to wait around at THE counter with three other awkward people leaning on the condiment island thing with "Thank You" on the wastebasket flap. What exactly does the vanilla shaker do, anyway? You wait and watch all the other easier-to-make drinks go by until your tall "light" recipe pops out of the blender, they call your name, and you grimace as you turn around the damp plastic cup to peek at the spelling.  Miracle of joy:  they got it right.  Let's get the same barista next time.

Step four:  Crack open your reading material, if previously collected.  Otherwise, you have two choices:  stare at your laptop while it figured out that yes, the wifi network HAS been detected, or convince another person to wait at the table for you so that one older couple doesn't take it.  Hopefully this isn't the same person you asked before.

Step five:  Food item?  Okay, you have to stay and eat it - really slowly, so that the plate stays on the table and you look like a customer.
Drink item?  You are now free to move about the bookstore.  Now is the time to check out the music/DVD section, and attempt not to make it beep while you slip in.  It inevitably does, and then you have to declare your intent to the alert salesperson with something jingly on his neck.  "Just seeing what you have."  We actually know what you have.  Study the indie music so it doesn't look like you're actually eying the Top 40 releases, and spend a moment or two flipping over the vinyl bin for an extra 20 years of apparent wisdom.
Food and drink item?  Well, drink first, and then end with reading and a treat.  Still, make sure you get at least one bite of the two together.  Otherwise you'll never know...

Step six:  If you're trying to look like you're studying, you've done a decent job of it so far.  Keep typing (that's what I'm telling myself now).  People are probably not going to ask, "Are you in school?  Is today a vacation day?"  As soon as you peel open the sleek pages of InStyle, people have you pegged as one of those sorts of girls who orders chocolatey icy things and doesn't think critically.  In the case that you have some books and periodicals mixed in for variety, make sure that there's at least one serious-looking tome in there.  Like, "I go and read deep things for a nice break from reading more boring deep things."

Step seven:  In the event that your literature and homework situation is really static (congratulations, I guess!) the people-watching alleviates it.  Find at least one cute older husband and wife (let's face it, when they're together, they're all cute), one stylishly-dressed woman of unknown background, one mom holding a pacifying conversation with her tiny troop, and a man unaware of his loud political opinions.

Step eight:  It's time to leave.  Figure out how to not provoke others to shoplifting by leaving your technology on the table, and put away ALL the things you removed from their rightful places.  The eyes are sometimes more than the reading capacity.  Try not to run into the people waiting to snatch your four-person table upon exiting, and put back everything in the proper order.  Make a run for the car, so strangers don't pause to interview you about why you don't have class.  Of course you do; you're classy every day of the week.  But especially when you're at B&N.

Awake, my heart, with gladness!

Why is Good Friday the "sad" church service, and Easter Sunday the "happy" one?  Have you ever thought about that?  Still, why is it "Good" Friday and not "Bad" Friday?  Why does the progression of sorrow to joy occur in Holy Week?

The Three Marys at Jesus' Grave, Julius Schnorr von Carolsfeld

It may not be for the reason you usually think of, anyhow.

The Friday on which Jesus died, the week of Passover in the lunar calendar, is called "Sorrowful Friday" in some German and Scandinavian countries, in the sense of mourning, as well as "High" or "Holy" Friday.  Nevertheless, we can still understand it as Good Friday in the real sense, in that on that day of Passion Week, our sins were actually indeed accomplished.  Jesus cried out "It has been accomplished!" (John 19:30) at three o' clock in Friday, because the act of full payment for sins was completed then and there.  It was not left incomplete for three more days.

At the chapel of Lutheran Theological Seminary at Gettysburg 

Some children's Bible storybooks seem to present another motivation for being sad on Good Friday.  "Oh, poor Jesus.  See how everyone is hurting Him.  I should have taken His place and helped - I feel really bad that that had to happen."  Yes, it is true that what happened to Jesus Christ, the innocent Lamb of God, was sad.  Yet, the Bible presents us these things as the raw facts.  He was whipped, beaten, teased, stripped, and paraded about in the streets, at last given the lowest possible death as a criminal - crucifixion, about the most pain the body can endure without going unconscious.  That is what really happened, and we can't change history the way God laid it out.

Still, no one could have taken His place there - as the Son of God and Savior of the world, Jesus had to go through the Passion on His own.  God knew from the beginning what His plan would be to save the world, and the human events and people surrounding it came into place just as He ordained it to be.  "God...desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth. For there is one God and one Mediator between God and men, the Man Christ Jesus, who gave Himself a ransom for all, to be testified in due time" (1 Timothy 2:3-6).  Again, the theology of the cross:  God is good, and we must rely on His own revelation of Himself that what He does is good, even if it appears evil in how we perceive it.  "Every good and perfect gift is from above" (James 1:17).

The real cause of sadness should be the open reviewing of what happens to sin.  This is how God thinks about everyone's original guilt and active disobedience - only His innocent Son suffices to pay, and the burden He bears encompasses the punishment for ALL iniquity. "He Himself bore our sins in His body on the cross . (1 Peter 2:24).  No stone has been left unturned, and there is no room for doubt.

Good Friday also brings to light the doctrine of universal objective justification, which intimidates those who confuse it with universalism.  That day, the sins of the entire world were declared righteous, effective immediately.  "God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not imputing their trespasses to them" (2 Corinthians 5:18).  Without this, there is no real basis for evangelism, if you are unsure the person with whom you are speaking is able to be justified.  No, instead you are bringing this good news to the person, where the Holy Spirit works faith in the heart which grasps this justification for its own (subjective justification, by faith).  

Why are we happy, then, on Easter?  We see the effects of the reconciliation that occurred on Good Friday - if Christ has defeated all sin, then He has won victory over death.  "If Christ is not risen, your faith is futile - you are still in your sins!" (1 Corinthians 15:17).  

Joy on Easter morning doesn't come from relief that  people can touch and talk to Him again face-to-face, or that they don't need to remember the cross any more.  Today, many make it primarily into a spring celebration, and totally elude the origin.  It's not all about your eight-year-old daughter in a bright pink dress, showing off all the presents she got in her Easter basket.  Life's cheer is not based on looking great and eating chocolate (though America would love to have us believe that).  

It's about the true and simple fact that "Jesus lives, the victory's won!" because "death is dead, the true Life liveth!"

He is risen indeed!

The Man Who Trusts In Him Is Blest: The Life and Work of Nikolaus Selnecker

In Hersbruck of Bavaria, Germany on December 5, 1532, a future co-author of the Formula of Concord and influential hymnwriter named Nikolaus Selnecker entered the world of post-Augustana Europe.  His father, a protonarius (clerk and notary public) to the magistrate at nearby Nurnberg, soon relocated the family to the city in 1536.[1]  There, father Selnecker took office as the chief clerical administrator, forming acquaintance with Reformation-era figures such as Philip Melanchthon, Veit Dietrich, and Emperor Charles V.[2]

At the tender age of 12, his early organ skills were enlisted at the Kaiserburg chapel.  This affluence in the area of church music would supplement his later post at Leipzig, establishing the choir J.S. Bach would later direct, as well as his interest in supplying new hymns for the church.[3]  His “Gymnasium” education as a youth followed the via moderna humanist tradition, and despite his father’s intentions of legal study, his future path in theology grew from the influence of his classes there.[4]  Catherine Winkworth reports that King Ferdinand of Spain along with his Italian confessor conspired to abduct the boy for his “remarkable musical gifts and personal beauty,” but his father concealed him in Wittenberg.[5]  Her source is unconfirmed, and the tale may be spurious. 

Moving to the university in Wittenberg did not come without its trials, but Selnecker’s experience may have been extreme.  In 1549, en route to the school, a wandering man named Schlappenhauer fired several serious shots at him, leaving him unable to walk for months, and postponing his baccalaureate studies until the next year.  This event unfortunately cast traumatic effects over the rest of his life – he remained predisposed to illness and psychological fear even being “secretly bothered by apparitions,”[6] which certainly motivated many of his hymns. [7]  He was known for being short-statured and mild-mannered, thus predisposing him to accusations of being a “weather vane,” and probably promoting his own personal feelings of insecurity in preaching and writing.[8] 

Following his 1550 arrival at Wittenberg, Selnecker boarded at Melanchthon’s home, replacing recent student David Chytraeus.[9]  Reportedly, Philip Melanchthon esteemed Selnecker the highest of all his students at the University of Wittenberg.[10]  In a letter to the young man’s father, the reformer and assistant of Martin Luther commented on the youth’s “genius, modesty, and piety.”[11]

On July 31, 1554, he graduated with an M.A., and following that taught at the university with the title of privatdocent, administering courses on biblical books, philosophy, rhetoric, and (unsurprisingly) Melanchthon’s writings.  Assisting with his further education were Johann Bugenhagen, George Major, and other reformers in the area.  His classes seemed quite well-sought – apparently 200 students attended one of his lectures – and his mind was growing as an academic.  Suddenly, the Elector of Saxony, August, called him to be the third court chaplain at his Dresden court, upon Melanchthon’s referral.  Hesitantly, he left the university with a farewell speech entitled “On Preferring Academic Life to Life at the Court.”[12]
            Later on, he was graced with the title of second court preacher at Dresden around 1558, also assuming the direction of the royal chapel’s boy choir.  In addition, he tutored six-year-old Prince Alexander, heir apparent.[13] This situation prepared him in due time for family life – in 1559 he married the daughter of the superintendent, Margaretha Greiser.[14] What is more, his output of literature blossomed in all disciplines of religious study.  Theodore Jungkuntz categorically lists Selnecker’s writings during this time:

Philosophy – an epitome of Aristotle’s Physics (1561)
O.T. Exegesis – Proverbs (1558); Psalms (1563)
N.T. Exegesis – Johannine Epistles (1561)
Church History – a catalog of the chief church councils from the time of the apostles to the present (1564)
Systematic Theology – a study on man’s fall and on the structure of human institutions (1560); two pamphlets on the Lord’s Supper (1561); a study on the providence of God (1564)
Practical Theology – a versified catechism (1562); a book on catechetical methodology      (1564).[15]

 Nevertheless, the theologians leaned toward a Calvinist view of the sacrament, accepting that the presence of Christ’s body and blood in the visible elements might additionally be understood in a spiritual sense.  Discerning the shift in terminology, Selnecker opposed the movement, increasingly resigning himself from the position.  A consultation about this doctrine held at Dresden revealed that he disproved reading Luther through the eyes of Melanchthon.[16]  Finally, the Neustadt pastor Martin Hoffman openly vocalized against Elector August’s affinity for game hunting one Sunday while Selnecker took ill.  Grain fields belonging to Hoffman’s mother had been damaged as a result of royal intrusion, and the pastor seized this opportunity to defend the peasantry.  After Selnecker recovered, he reiterated a similar sentiment.  “It is not fair to take the children’s bread and throw it to the dogs,” he quoted, threatening that the dog-like nobility would face God’s condemnation if such violation kept up.  He appeared to evaluate his argument not as infringement of the Fourth Commandment respect for God-given authority, but the elector’s infringement upon the Seventh Commandment.  Selnecker defended himself:  “Every Christian ruler should daily consider these two points – who has placed him in this high office…(and) why he has been given such an office and position.”[17]  Unsurprisingly, Hoffman was forced from his post in 1564, and Selnecker was likewise asked to leave. [18]

On March 15, 1565, Selnecker preached his last sermon there at Dresden, then commenced work at the University of Jena 11 days later, dealing with a shift of power to the Philippists.[19]   However, when the Flacian theologians such as Johannes Wigand returned to the faculty upon Duke Johann Wilhelm’s takeover, Selnecker was once again released from his services, holding less-extreme views than the Gnesio-Lutherans. [20]

Nevertheless, a new venture at a location accepting Selnecker’s faith opened soon after.  Elector August called him in 1568 to the ministry at St. Thomas’ in Leipzig, as well as positions of superintendent of the city and professor at its university. [21]  Replacing Viktorin Strigel, a Philippist, he worked on a Genesis commentary and lectured on Melanchthon’s Loci.  Shortly thereafter, Selnecker met his future colleague (and infamous source of anxiety) Jakob Andreae, whom Duke Julius had called to reform his territory.[22]

Julius, duke of Brunswick, took Selnecker from this parish once again to Wolfenbuettel, where the latter served as a superintendent and court preacher. [23]  In order to obtain this title, however, the duke required a doctoral degree of him.[24]  One of the events for himself and the other candidates was a debate over the personal union and communication of attributes in
Christology.  Chemnitz and Andreae recognized this as false doctrine, so the duke requested that Selnecker act as an intermediary.  He did come up with a document initiating peace between the opposing sides, but later this was invalidated.  Upon the presentation of Chemnitz’s The Two Natures of Christ, it additionally took Selnecker a while to fully agree on the multivolipresence of Christ.  Pressured to calm the doctrinal rumblings of both Philippists and Gnesio-Lutherans, Selnecker wrote to Elector August with nostalgia for Dresden. [25]

During this period, his official entrance into the controversy concerning the sacramental presence occurred, as his doctoral promotion in Wittenberg nonetheless.  Professors such as moderate Paul Eber and Philippist Caspar Peucer (Melanchthon’s son-in-law) raised the question of the terms of Christ’s ubiquity, taking a classical view of spirit and matter that finite material could not bear the infinite spiritual.  For the 1570 ceremony honoring six doctoral candidates,

130 theses were assembled, and Jakob Andreae pointed out the heresy of the 30^th thesis, which denied the omnipresence of Christ according to his human nature.  Duke Julius called on both Selnecker and Andreae, likeminded in doctrine if not in temperance, to examine the personal confession of the Wittenberg faculty, and after a written record was established that they were found orthodox, the argument was laid to rest.[26] While in Brunswick, he assisted in enforcing the Saxon Confession amongst the clergy, moved to Gandersheim in 1572 when the Gnesio-Lutheran Timotheus Kirchner relieved him of his stress, and penned a church order for Oldenberg-Jever. [27]  Yet, not appearing as orthodox as other pastors in the area, especially Martin Chemnitz, Selnecker again sought a change of theological scenery, and returned to his same career under Elector August at Leipzig in 1574. 

            During 1576, the Crypto-Calvinist controversy involving the nature of the sacramental presence penetrated Leipzig teaching, and Elector August realized that the Philippist doctrines Flacians accused his land of upholding were erroneous, particularly the nature of the Lord’s Supper. [28] Selnecker plunged into a confessional response. [29] In his sermons, he attempted to point out the coherence of Melanchthon’s beliefs with Luther’s, proving that the Philippists could and should accept the same teachings in order to understand their leader rightly.  “To secure the Melanchthonian church for Elector August in the wake of the Crypto-Philippist collapse, Selnecker was anxious to show how Luther and Melanchthon had agreed throughout their careers… (Selnecker) stated that Melanchthon referred to Luther as Father, Preceptor, and

the Elijah of the last times.”[30] However, Selnecker often came across as overly irenic between the two parties, and a change of attitude towards apologetics required outside influence, such as that of Chemnitz and Andreae. 

At the preliminary convention at Lichtenberg, a city 20 miles northeast of Dresden, he rallied the regional theologians to compose a public confession, advising them to assemble the future writers of the Formula.[31]  This contemporaneous prayer of his, typically referring to the pure means of grace, reflects his thoughts: 

            In these last days of sore distress
            Grant us, dear Lord, true steadfastness
            That pure we keep, till life is spent,
            Thy holy Word and Sacrament.[32]

Over the course of merely 10 days in May and June, Jakob Andreae led meetings to compile the Torgau Book, with Selnecker preaching for the festival service upon conclusion.  Then, the elector distributed it throughout the land to other rulers and theologians, receiving 25 Gutachen, or opinions regarding it.  He turned over the rest of this task to Chemnitz, Andreae, and Selnecker for extensive revision, and later David Chytraeus, Christopher Koerner, and Andreas Musculus joined them.[33]  This grew into the Bergic Book, published May 1577.[34]  Working together with Chemnitz, Chytraeus, and Andreae, Selnecker helped to finalize the Formula of Concord, released July 22, 1577.  Right away, however, it was severely critiqued by both Philippists and Gnesio-Lutherans, effecting a natural polemic defense from the authors.

Selnecker’s “year of patience and sadness” 1579 soon gave way to a time of rest and stationary church work in Leipzig.  Quite likely, he used this season to put down most of his hymns, and without a doubt his strained relationship with Andreae provoked some of this grief. Earlier, in diaries from 1576, Selnecker recorded Andreae’s opinions about the decision to call Chemnitz and Chytraeus: 

            Chemnitz was supposedly devilish and unfaithful and Chytraeus was nothing but a philosopher and skeptic…Dr. Jakob would not permit my point to     stand…finally he expressed himself that he wished to speak with (Elector August)   personally and convince him that both Chemnitz and Chytraeus should best be left       uninvited.  All this set me to   thinking and resulted in my becoming suspicious of Dr. Jakob…[35]

Continuing on, the offended Formula of Concord co-author says of his colleague”  “he never kept his promise,”[36] he complained that Selnecker had no “real understanding” and should be chained or dismissed.  At the end of the entries, he airs some previously-stifled harsh language concerning Andreae, immediately conceding that he wishes for it never to come to knowledge for the sake of Christian duty toward his neighbor and government.[37]

As one of many short examples of his intimidation, he expressed his tense emotions in a letter to his benefactress Anna, Elector August’s wife:

…Dr. Jakob has repeatedly issued threats against me as to how he intends to drive a wedge between me and my gracious lord.  Up until now I’ve been inclined to let him make his attacks and let the Lord Christ speak for me, something I still intend to do. ..O God, how this offense hurts me, sapping all my strength and making me sick.  But okay – may God settle it to His glory![38]

            Selnecker might have felt defensive toward Andreae because of his Gnesio-Lutheran background and especially strong will to centralize church government, as in his hometown Wuerttemberg.  Andreae seems to have been aware of this, and did try to reconcile the awkwardness in his own manner, via a letter on New Year’s Eve 1580. 

I pray good God that He grant you a right and true repentance and acknowledgement of this sin and that He not reserve you this grave temptation for your deathbed hour but that He preserve you from all evil…

This only distanced Selnecker further from amiable relations with him.  After this, they rarely spoke,[39] and Jakob Andreae soon took leave of the region.[40]

During this decade, roughly 1580-90, the greatest wealth of his literary contributions came to light.  The theologian and musician once more restored the venerable St. Thomas boys’ choir, producing his comprehensive Christliche Psalmen, Lieder und Kirchengesange (1587) of original service music for his parish.  Featured in this volume were six hymns teaching the chief parts of Luther’s Small Catechism.[41]  On top of that, he formulated and upheld a standard plan for chief hymns throughout the Sundays of the church year, explaining, “We here in Leipzig have long had a good Christian scheme for which hymn is to be sung in church on every Sunday and festival, according to what best fits that day’s Gospel, and this scheme has been kept up to this day.”[42]  His plan may be summarized as follows:

                                                                                                                       

Advent	Savior of the Nations, Come; German Litany
Christmas	We Praise Thee Jesus at Thy Birth; Now Praise We Christ, the Holy One; Thanks Let us Render (Sequence); From Heav’n Above to Earth I Come; From Heav’n the Angel Troop Came Near; Why, Herod, Fearest Thou the Foe; Hail the Day So Rich in Cheer
Epiphany 2 (if Christ’s Baptism is preached)	To Jordan Came The Christ, Our Lord
Candlemas	Lord, Now Lettest Thou Thy Servant Depart In Peace; In Peace And Joy I Now Depart
Epiphany 5	In Peace And Joy I Now Depart; O Lord, Look Down From Heav’n, Behold
Septuagesima	Salvation Unto Us Has Come
Sexagesima	Our Father, Thou In Heav’n Above
Estomihi	By Adam’s Fall Is All Forlorn
Invocavit and all Sundays in Lent	O Christ, Who Art The Light and Day, German Litany
Palm Sunday	From Depths of Woe before chanted St. Matthew Passion
Maundy Thursday	Jesus Christ, Our Blessed Savior
Good Friday	Dear Christians, One and All, Rejoice before chanted St. John Passion
Easter until Rogate	This Is Such A Holy Day; Christ Is Arisen From The Grave’s Dark Prison; Jesus Christ Our Savior True, Who Death Overthrew
Rogate	Our Father, Thou In Heav’n Above
Ascension	Dear Christians, One And All, Rejoice; Christ Rose to Heaven
Exaudi	If God Had Not Been On Our Side
Pentecost	We Now Implore God the Holy Ghost; Come, Holy Ghost, God and Lord
Trinity	God the Father, Be Our Stay; May God Bestow On Us His Grace
Trinity 1	May God Bestow On Us His Grace; The Mouth of Fools God Doth Confess
Trinity 2	Lord, Hear The Voice of My Complaint
Trinity 3	Have Mercy on Me, Lord, My God; The Only Son from Heaven
Trinity 4	That Man a Godly Life Might Live
Trinity 5	Were God Not With Us At This Time; If God Had Not Been on Our Side
Trinity 6	Wilt Thou, O Man, Live Happily; Salvation Unto Us Has Come
Trinity 7	My Soul, Now Bless Thy Maker; My Soul Now Magnifies the Lord
Trinity 8	O Lord, Look down from Heav’n, Behold
Trinity 9	The Mouth of Fools Doth God Confess
Trinity 10	Beside the Streams of Babylon
Trinity 11	In Thee Alone, O Christ, My Lord; From Depths of Woe I Cry to Thee
Trinity 12	By Adam’s Fall Is All Forlorn
Trinity 13	Salvation Unto Us Has Come; That Man a Godly Life Might Live
Trinity 14	Have Mercy on Me, Lord, my God; In Thee Alone, O Christ, My Lord
Trinity 15	A Mighty Fortress Is Our God
Trinity 16	In the Midst of Earthly Life; In Peace and Joy I Now Depart
Trinity 17	Dear Christians, One and All, Rejoice
Trinity 18	The Only Son from Heaven
Trinity 19	Lord, Hear The Voice of My Complaint; My Soul, Now Bless Thy Maker
Trinity 20	O Lord, Look Down from Heav’n, Behold
Trinity 21	Salvation Unto Us Has Come; May God Bestow on Us His Grace
Trinity 22	Have Mercy on Me, Lord, my God; From Depths of Woe I Cry to thee
Trinity 23	The Mouth of Fools Doth God Confess
Trinity 24	In Peace and Joy I Now Depart
Trinity 25	God the Father, Be Our Stay
Trinity 26	Our Father, Thou In Heav’n Above
Trinity 27	Dear Christians, One and All, Rejoice; A Mighty Fortress Is Our God
Annunciation	The Only Son from Heaven
Conversion of St. Paul	Have Mercy on Me, Lord, my God
Feasts of Apostles	Lord God, We Sing Thy Praise
John the Baptist	To Jordan Came Our Lord, the Christ
Visitation	My Soul Now Magnifies the Lord
St. Michael	Lord God, We All to Thee Give Praise; My Soul, Now Bless Thy Maker

All in all, Selnecker penned roughly 150 hymns and about 175 theological writings of every kind, from exegesis per biblical book to systematic textbooks to polemic pamphlets.[43] (See Appendix.)

Nevertheless, this output would again be disrupted by the changing theological winds.   A 1591 shift in power to Dr. Nikolaus Crell, Elector Christian I’s chancellor, saw the removal of orthodox Lutherans in the district in favor of Philippists.  In fact, the succeeding court preacher Salmuth distributed a Bible integrating Calvinist study notes, prompting Selnecker to necessarily rebuke him by way of a polemic pamphlet.  Taking this risk only deposed him of his office once more, and after continued opining through publications, the authorities requested him to stop.[44] 

After passing a while in Halle and Magdeburg, he quickly assumed superintendence at Hildesheim.  Over this period, he left to settle a dispute at Augsburg, but contracted a serious illness and returned gravely ill to his new residency.  The religious atmosphere inclined towards true Lutheranism as consequence of the elector’s death, and his widow both dismissed the troublesome chancellor and reinstated the former staff.  Considering this to be his sixth call, he stated:

            The seventh call will make me then
            In yonder life a citizen.[45] 

Eagerly, he readied to leave despite his infirmity, but died May 24, 1592, merely five days after arriving in Leipzig for the last time.[46]  Jungkuntz describes,

            At hand to comfort this reluctant “soldier” of the cross were theologians Hunnius,             Mirus, and Mylius.  They asked him:  “Are you ready to die on the basis of the             doctrine which for so many years you have joyfully confessed?”  He bowed his           head deeply and answered the question with a broken but a joyful “Yes.” 

As a homiletician, Selnecker’s sermons exemplify adherence to Luther’s lens of doctrine, as well as a personal, applicable approach to the text.  He himself exclaimed that he did not have the time to write down his sermons, but students and arts colleagues transcribed an anthology of 170 homilies.  These meditations on lessons outside the pericopes also were a popular form of
devotional literature.[47]  From these, we can gather many characteristics of his preaching style.  On such occasions, he made clear the power of death over God’s creation, thus treating the deceased with honor and respect as something Christ has redeemed.  Additionally, he did not advocate a denial of grief, but emphasized godly sorrow in Christian love for the departed, accompanied by comfort. 

Usually, Lutheran pastors of the Reformation era, including Selnecker, either took a didactic and exegetical view of the text, or centered the sermon on the themes of godly sorrow, repentance, sanctified life, and most of all comfort.[48]  The means of grace – Word, Holy Baptism, and the Lord’s Supper – held a prominent place in his vocabulary of imagery and themes.  Supporting his true, Scriptural view of Holy Communion, he declared:

            Oh, how rich a blessing comes from using the holy sacraments!  They seal and        strengthen us in the faith, and as surely the words say “Given for you” and “Shed    for you,” so surely do they testify to and confirm our salvation.[49]

Evidently, he took care to acquaint himself intimately with his flock – frequently, he would comfort the congregation attending a funeral based on an illustration from the deceased parishioners’ life.  For example:  Aegidius Becker, a student in God’s Word, was now finishing his theological education in heaven.[50]  An engaged young woman, Miss Schwartz, was now clothed in the “gown of salvation and the robe of righteousness.”[51]  In these and many other instances, Selnecker based the overarching theme of comfort on the biblical promises concerning the resurrection and the “Joyful Exchange.” 

            Overall, contemporaries of Selnecker may have labeled him a “weather vane,” easily blown by theological trends, but by the end of his life that caricature no longer applies.  In the development of the Formula of Concord as well as his evident departures from difficult work situations, he evidently opted in favor of orthodox Lutheranism.  In keeping with that, Lutherans accept his homiletical, exegetical, and hymnic works as sound and beneficial.  May Christians today remember the faithful fruits of Nikolaus Selnecker, and thank God for his furtherance of the Lutheran Reformation.  As he himself illustrated,

            The man who trusts in Him is blest
            And finds in Him eternal rest;
            This world's allurements we despise
            And fix on Christ alone our eyes.
            Alleluia![52]

Appendix

Selnecker’s Published Works and Hymns Translated into English

 

Published Works

Epitome in libros octo Physicorum Aristoteles, 1560
Argumenta et annotiones in librum sapientiae Salomonis, 1561
Catalogus praecipuorum Conciliorum Oecumeniorum et Nationalum a tempore Apostolorum        usque ad nostra tempora, 1561 and 1571
Epistula prima St. Johannae, 1561/62
Theophania sive Comoedia de primorum parentum conditione et ordinum sive graduum in            genere humano institutione, 1562
Libellus brevis et utilis de coena domini, 1562
Vera et invicta doctrina de coena contra sacramentarios, 1562-63;
50 Psalmen des königlichen Propheten David ausgelegt, 1563
Capita doctrinae christianae quam Catechismum nominamus, versibus reddita, ca 1563;
Der ganze Psalter des königlichen Propheten David ausgelegt, 1565-66
Pädagogia christiana, 1566, 1567², 1571³, 1577⁴, dt. 1569, 1570²
Bericht, wie sich ein Christ in Sterbensläufen trösten und halten soll, 1566;
Tröstliche Sprüche und Grabschriften aus der heiligen Schrift, 1567;
Posodia, 1568
Commentar in Genesim, 1569
Psalter Davids mit kurzen Summarien und Gebetlein, 1572
Institutio religionis christianae continens explicationem locorum theologicorum, 1573, 1579
Historia Lutheri, 1575, dt. 1578
Commentarius in omnes Pauli epp., 1578
Commentarius in harmoniam evang., 1578;
Noatio de studio theologiae, 1579; Colloquia oder Tischreden M. Luthers, 1580
Jungfrauenspiegel und von Notwendigkeit wahrhafter Kirchenzucht, 1580
Examen ordinanorum aut Forma explicationis examinis ordinandorum, olim scripti a Ph. Melanchthone, instituta et accommodata ad veram confessionem, 1582, 1584 und 1592
Operum lat. partes IV, 1584-93
Christliche Psalmen, Lieder und Kirchengesänge, 1587
Ehe und Regentenspiegel, 1589
Trostsprache für Christen, 1594[53]

Hymns Translated into English

Supplementary to his ministry, Selnecker composed Christian poetry as well.  Christopher Boyd Brown mentions that he “wrote hymns and edited hymnals for a popular market,” active still in his last tenure at Leipzig.[54]  The Evangelical Lutheran Hymnary (1996) contains the largest number of translations of his texts; other modern hymnals bear the same with slight alterations.  

“Now Christ, the Sinless Son of God” (ELH 248) from Christus, der wahre Gottes Sohn
“Let Me Be Thine Forever” (v. 1)  (ELH 427) from Lass mich dein sein und bleiben
“Lord Jesus Christ, With Us Abide” (ELH 511) from Ach bleib bei uns
“O Faithful God, Thanks Be To Thee” (ELH 522) from Wir danken dir, O Jesu Christ
“O Lord My God, I Cry To Thee” (ELH 573) from O Herre Gott, in meiner Not
“We Thank Thee, Jesus, Dearest Friend” (ELH 394)

Works Cited:

Brown, Christopher Boyd.   Singing the Gospel:  Lutheran Hymns and the Success of the   Reformation.  Cambridge, MA:  Harvard University Press, 2005.  8. 

Carver, Matthew.  “The ‘Burr’-Quote:  Selnecker’s Funeral Sermon for Catherine of          Mecklenberg.”  Lutheran Orthodoxy.  Posted 17 Oct 2011.  Accessed 28 Mar 2015.              http://lutheranorthodoxy.blogspot.com/2011/10/burr-quote-selneckers-funeral-       sermon.html

--.  “Nicolaus Selnecker:  a Scheme for Chief Hymns.”  Lutheran Orthodoxy.  Posted. 7 Feb         2012.  Accessed 28 Mar 2015. http://lutheranorthodoxy.blogspot.com/search/label/           Nicolaus%20Selnecker

De.wikipedia.org. “Nikolaus Selnecker.”  Wikipedia Deutsch.  Accessed 28 Mar 2015.             http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nikolaus_Selnecker#Literatur_2

Hauck, Albert, ed.  The New Schaff-Herzog Encyclopedia of Religious Knowledge.  Google          Books.  Accessed 28    Mar 2015. https://books.google.com/ books?id=TZ1AAQAAMAAJ&pg=PA346&dq=selnecker+thomaskirche&hl=en&sa=X  &ei=   

Julian, John.  “Selnecker, Nicolaus.”  A Dictionary of Hymnology.  New York:  Charles     Scribner’s Sons, 1892. 

Jungkuntz, Theodore R.  Formulators of the Formula of Concord.  St. Louis:  Concordia   Publishing House, 1977. 

Klug, Eugene F.A. and Otto F. Stahlke.  Getting Into the Formula of Concord.  St. Louis:             Concordia Publishing House, 1977. 

Kolb, Robert.  “Historical Background of the Formula of Concord.”  A Contemporary Look At     The Formula of Concord.  St. Louis:  Concordia Publishing House, 1978. 

--.  “Pastoral Practice in the Funeral Sermons of Nikolaus Selnecker (1530-1592).”  Lutheran        Quarterly.  XXVIII: 2014. 

Kolb, Robert, Irene Dingel, and L’ubomir Batka, ed.  The Oxford Handbook of Martin Luther’s    Theology.  Oxford:  Oxford University Press, 2014. 

Lueker, Erwin Louis.  “Selnecker, Nicolaus.”  Lutheran Cyclopedia.  St. Louis:  Concordia           Publishing House, 1954. 

Oron, Aryeh.  “Nicolaus Selnecker (Hymn-Writer, Composer).”  Bach Cantatas Website.  Posted             May 2003.  Accessed 19 Mar 2015.  http://www.bach-cantatas.com/Lib/Selnecker.htm

Polack, W.G.  The Handbook to the Lutheran Hymnal.  St. Louis:  Concordia Publishing House,   1958. 

Winkworth, Catherine.  “Nicholas Selnecker.”  Christian Singers of Germany.  Google Books.      Accessed 30 March 2015.  https://books.google.com/

            books?id=A14XAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA148&dq=christian+singers+of+germany+selnecke            r&hl=en&sa=X&ei=bJwaVf_AOYO7ogTDiYLIAw&ved=0CCwQ6AEwAQ#v=onepag            e&q=christian%20singers%20of%20germany%20selnecker&f=false.  . 

Worship Committee of the Evangelical Lutheran Synod.  Evangelical Lutheran Hymnary.  St.      Louis:  MorningStar Publishers, 1996.

---

[1] Aryeh Oron, “Nicolaus Selnecker (Hymn-Writer, Composer.”  Bach Cantatas Website.  May 2003.  Accessed 19 Mar 2015.  http://www.bach-cantatas.com/Lib/Selnecker.htm

[2]Theodore R. Jungkuntz,  Formulators of the Formula of Concord.  St. Louis:  Concordia Publishing House, 1977.  90.

[3]Julian, John.  “Selnecker, Nicolaus.”  A Dictionary of Hymnology.  New York:  Charles Scribner’s Sons, 1892. 

 1039.

[4] Jungkuntz, 90.

[5] Winkworth, Catherine.  “Nicholas Selnecker.”  Christian Singers of Germany.  Google Books.  Accessed 30 March      2015.  https://books.google.com/

                books?id=A14XAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA148&dq=christian+singers+of+germany+selnecker&hl=en&sa=X&ei=bJw                aVf_AOYO7ogTDiYLIAw&ved=0CCwQ6AEwAQ#v=onepage&q=christian%20singers%20of%20germany%20  selnecker&f=false.  151. 

[6] Jungkuntz, 108.

[7] Ibid., 90. 

[8] Ibid., 108. 

[9] Jungkuntz, 90.

[10] Julian, 1039.

[11] Jungkuntz, 90.

[12] Ibid., 91. 

[13]Ibid., 91.

[14]Ibid., 91.

[15] Jungkuntz, 92.

[16] Ibid., 95. 

[17] Ibid., 94. 

[18] Julian, 1039.

[19] Jungkuntz, 96.

[20] Julian, 1039.

[21] Ibid., 1039.

[22] Jungkuntz, 96.

[23] Julian, 1039.

[24] Jungkuntz, 96. 

[25] Ibid., 97.

[26] Kolb, A Contemporary Look, 48-49. 

[27] Julian, 1039.

[28] Jungkuntz, 99.

[29] Julian,1039.

[30] Kolb, et. al. The Oxford Handbook of Martin Luther’s Theology,  Oxford:  Oxford University Press, 2014. 530.

[31] Jungkuntz, 99-100.

[32] Worship Committee of the Evangelical Lutheran Synod.  Evangelical Lutheran Hymnary.  St. Louis:  MorningStar Publishers, 1996.  511:2.

[33] Klug, 21-22. 

[34]Jungkuntz, 101.

[35] Ibid., 146-7

[36] Ibid., 147

[37] Ibid., 153-4.

[38] Ibid., 101. 

[39] Ibid., 101. 

[40] Albert Hauck, ed.  The New Schaff-Herzog Encyclopedia of Religious Knowledge.  Google Books.  Accessed 28           Mar 2015. https://books.google.com/                books?id=TZ1AAQAAMAAJ&pg=PA346&dq=selnecker+thomaskirche&hl=en&sa=X&ei= 

[41] Hymnsandcarolsofchristmas.com, “Early German Lutheran and Reformation Hymnals.”  Hymns and Carols of             Christmas. par 26.  Accessed 30 Mar 2015.  Par 26. 

[42] Matthew Carver,  “Nicolaus Selnecker:  a Scheme for Chief Hymns.”  Lutheran Orthodoxy.  Posted. 7 Feb 2012.      Accessed 28 Mar 2015. http://lutheranorthodoxy.blogspot.com/search/label/ Nicolaus%20Selnecker

[43] W.G. Polack, The Handbook to the Lutheran Hymnal.  St. Louis:  Concordia Publishing House, 1958.  579. 

[44] Julian, 1039.

[45] Jungkuntz, 105. 

[46] Julian, 1039. 

[47] Robert Kolb, “Pastoral Practice in the Funeral Sermons of Nikolaus Selnecker (1530-1592).”  Lutheran Quarterly.  XXVIII: 2014.  24. 

[48] Ibid.,27. 

[49] Jungkuntz, 106.

[50] Kolb, “Pastoral Practice…,” 30. 

[51] Ibid., 37. 

[52] Worship Committee of the Evangelical Lutheran Synod.  Evangelical Lutheran Hymnary.  St.          Louis:  MorningStar Publishers, 1996.  394:3.

[53] De.wikipedia.org. “Nikolaus Selnecker.”  Wikipedia Deutsch.  Accessed 28 Mar 2015.                 http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nikolaus_Selnecker#Literatur_2

[54] Christopher Boyd Brown, Singing the Gospel:  Lutheran Hymns and the Success of the Reformation.  Cambridge, MA:  Harvard University Press, 2005.  8.  

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