Sound Theology by Colleen Butcher

But when they looked up, they saw that the stone, which was very large, had been rolled away. As they entered the tomb, they saw a young man dressed in a white robe sitting on the right side, and they were alarmed.

“Don’t be alarmed,” he said. “You are looking for Jesus the Nazarene, who was crucified. He has risen! He is not here. See the place where they laid him.”

Mark 16:4-6

Christ is Risen! (You say … )

This week’s playlist includes a number of brass arrangements of Easter music. The key work on the list is the concert overture tone poem by Russian composer Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov (1844-1908). Rimsky-Korsakov uses melodies and themes from the Russian Orthodox liturgy, the “Obikhod,” a collection of multi-voiced liturgical chants. read more…

While they were talking about this, Jesus himself

stood among them and said to them, “Peace be with you.”

Luke 24:36b

Christ is Risen! He is Risen Indeed! Alleluia!!

This is our third week of celebration. Are you still speaking the words of resurrection to each other on Sunday morning? Sharing in the call and response of Easter joy? As we walk through the Easter Season, the call grows in energy and confidence as we hear the stories of Christ. In this week’s gospel lesson, Jesus eats with his disciples, accepting their offering of fish, and in return, he opened their minds to understand the scriptures. read more…

Very early on Sunday morning the women went to the tomb, carrying the spices that they had prepared. When they found the stone rolled away from the entrance, they went in. But they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus, and they did not know what to think. Suddenly two men in shining white clothes stood beside them. The women were afraid and bowed to the ground. But the men said, “Why are you looking in the place of the dead for someone who is alive? Jesus isn’t here! He has been raised from death.”

Luke 24: 1-6

Christ is Risen! He is Risen Indeed! Alleluia!! read more…

I know that my redeemer lives, and that in the end he will stand on the earth.
And after my skin has been destroyed, yet in my flesh I will see God;
I myself will see him with my own eyes—I, and not another.
    How my heart yearns within me!

Job 19:25-27 read more…

In the transition from Lent to Holy Week, Bach’s assertion about the aim of music fits perfectly. Our Lenten disciplines have helped to prepare us for the events of the passion, but we need a soundtrack to keep our hearts and minds attentive to the “glory of God and the refreshment of the soul.”

This week’s playlist includes only one piece of music: The Passion of the Lord Jesus Christ according to the Gospel of Matthew, aka “The St. Matthew Passion,” by Bach. Writing about the place of the Passion in Bach’s life, renowned tenor David J. Gordon writes:

An indication of the special regard he held for this work is that Bach went to considerable trouble in his old age to repair the large manuscript score of the St. Matthew Passion. This presentation-quality copy, still in existence today, is unique among Bach manuscripts: he designed it beautifully, painstakingly bound and re-sewed it by hand, and carefully highlighted the biblical words in red ink. Those few who saw it after Bach’s death considered the manuscript unperformable and left the huge work unpublished and unheard until 1829 [a full century after it was composed] when Felix Mendelssohn organized [and conducted] a performance, heavily abridged, in Berlin. read more…