Singing old hymns

A parishioner once asked me, "Haven't any hymns been written since 1200 A.D.?" In other words, why do we sing those old unfamiliar hymns?

There are many reasons, one of which is that I like them. Also, as a teaching elder in the Episcopal Church, I am charged with handing on the faith of the church. Christianity was not discovered yesterday, and we have a rich history. One of the ways that we keep that history alive is to sing "hymns ancient and modern."

Another way we keep our Christian history alive is to remember those who passed it on to us. Today is the feast day of John of Damascus, priest, who died around 760. John's primary contribution to Christianity is that he condemned heresies. Heresies are sneaky. They are cloaked in Christianity but are wolves in sheep's clothing. Heresies deny basic Christian dogma, such as the incarnation of Jesus Christ.

Heresies usually present one issue for debate to stir up controversy, but they have an ulterior motive that is much darker. One of the controversies in John's day was whether Christians should have icons - those paintings on wood that provide a window into meditating on the life of Christ. There was an uproar that said you could not have an icon representing Christ because Christ is God and you can't have an image of God. John maintained that this cloaked a heresy that denied the humanity of Jesus Christ.

In our Hymnal 1982, John of Damascus has three hymns. We sing these at Easter because they are about the humanity and divinity of Jesus Christ, and primarily about his resurrection. Here's a verse from one of those hymns. If you are familiar with any contemporary Christian music, you might recognize a line from John's hymn (written in the 8th Century A.D.) that has been transferred over into a very popular contemporary song. It just proves that the truth never gets old.

The day of resurrection!
Earth, tell it out abroad,
the Passover of gladness,
the Passover of God.
From death to life eternal,
from earth unto the sky,
our Christ hath brought us over
with hymns of victory.


In peace,
Linda+
The Rev. Linda McCloud
Vicar, Holy Cross Church Episcopal
406-208-7314
http://www.holycrosschurchbillings.org/
photo: Icon of the Archangel Gabriel
Greek Orthodox Church in Nazareth
Israel, August 2004