Hosanna! and Hallelujah!

We’re just days now before Christmas day—which is more than a day, but a whole season that we celebrate. I want to celebrate here as part of that.

The lowly manger was probably not wood, but stone, similar to 
a sacrificial altar. This is a screenshot from near the end of this video, shown
in full below. The video ends with words over this image:
"Jesus of Nazareth... went about doing good. (Acts 10:38) This Christmas season, so can you."

I have a pretty good collection of nativities, many tiny ones that can hang on the tree, a slightly larger olivewood one imported from Israel, a paper one, and many others. I have the other kinds of Christmas decorations as well, but the nativity scene has always been the underlying theme of my Christmas decorating and celebrating. For 30+ years we celebrated Christmas Eve by acting out a nativity play that I wrote, using mostly scriptures, back when middle son, referred to here as Economic Sphere, played the newborn baby and son Political Sphere was a shepherd. The birth of Jesus Christ is the part of Christmas that gives us “reason for the season.”

We've been using grandkids to depict the nativity for our Christmas cards
ever since the first of them was born. This year we included our dogs to help
keep watch over the flocks by night.

But this is more than a birthday celebration. We celebrate this birthday because of the life this baby grew up to live. He became the greatest teacher the world has ever known, without writing those teachings down himself—no books, no lectures. We have other people’s records of what He taught. And in translation, because he spoke Aramaic, a language that wasn’t widely spoken around the world even in His day. His Sermon on the Mount is pivotal, containing the Beatitudes, the Lord’s Prayer, guidance about controlling our thoughts and being a light to others. His words lead us to thriving civilization—a happy life.

But He was more than a great teacher. In fact, if He was merely a great teacher and not more, then much of His teaching would not even be true. No, He was much more than a person who taught helpful words. He also taught us by the way He lived—loving everyone, every sinner, but never condoning the sin. Rather, He loved by inviting every person to become better, following in His way, which was completely without sin.

And then there were the miracles. So many miracles, with so many people testifying of them. Regular people, who were astonished and amazed—and blessed by these miracles personally.

And there was more. There was the suffering in Gethsemane and on the cross. He died, the sacrificial unblemished lamb, to atone for our sins, to rescue us from this fallen world.

Depiction of Mary and new baby Jesus from the video
"The Christ Child: A Nativity Story." Screenshot from here.

Still, we honor Him for more than His death on the cross. Even the thieves did that. It was what happened on the third day—the resurrection. He conquered death! He conquered the physical death that separated the body from the spirit, leading the way for us to be resurrected as well, to live again as He lives. And He conquered our separation from God that happened with the fall, which we as sinful mortals can’t overcome on our own, because no unclean thing can dwell in the presence of God. He makes it possible for us to become clean before God.

It is because of Easter Sunday that we celebrate Christmas Eve in the manger.

There are some beautiful depictions of the story.

There is this one presented by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints: “The Christ Child: A Nativity Story.” In full length it’s about 17 minutes long. If you stay to the last part, you get to see a beautiful depiction of the wise men coming to see a growing baby Jesus, a toddler by that point. The awe on the face of the main wise man is an image for the season.

 

I have loved watching The Chosen the last couple of seasons. I love seeing the people come to life for us, possibly in the way they actually were, or maybe not, but at least we can see they were human beings who really lived and breathed. It’s been beautifully engaging, and I think it is helping to spread Christ’s message to the world. This past week we went to the theater to see The Chosen Christmas special, which is now available streaming online on various platforms, including YouTube.

Embedded within the special is a new episode of The Chosen. Some fifteen years after the death and resurrection of Christ, Mother Mary is recalling her memories and collecting them to pass along to Luke, who is in the process of writing them. We see the two time periods. One of the things she adds is her psalm that starts, “My soul doth magnify my Lord.” [As an aside, there’s a depiction of this in song, as part of The Redeemer, an oratorio by Tabernacle organist Robert Cundick, sung as a solo depicting Mary. I was in the choir for the original performance of The Redeemer, in college, back in 1978. I’ve always loved this song, although I find it impossible to sing. You can see the Tabernacle Choir performance here.] 

The Chosen’s depiction of the nativity uses the same film set as the one above. The Chosen borrows the Jerusalem/Bethlehem set, built in rural Utah by the Church for videos about Christ’s life. You may not be aware of some similarities between Utah and Israel. They are both somewhat mountainous and also desert, with many areas of grassland, brush, and not much thick vegetation. There’s a freshwater lake (Galilee in Israel, Utah Lake in Utah) that flows by way of a river (the River Jordan in Israel, the purposely named Jordan River in Utah) into a landlocked dead saltwater sea (the Dead Sea in Israel, the Great Salt Lake in Utah). Utah is, of course, larger by far than Israel and has a larger variety of features, including high mountains with snow and pines and granite—or even more barren areas with red rock formations. But this central area is a pretty good stand-in for Israel in films. 

Depiction of Mary and new baby Jesus from "The Messengers,"
and episode of The Chosen, within their Christmas special. 
Screenshot from here.

There is another important part of the Christmas story, the part that fulfills prophecy from ancient times—from Isaiah, Daniel, Jeremiah, Malachi, Micah, and even words among the Psalms and other ancient scriptures. It is the news that He will come again. And many of us are wondering if this long-foretold event will happen in our day. I hope so. I would like to believe that the evils we are seeing in our day are not just a run-of-the-mill evil, but the evils we’re told to expect before His rescue of us.

I learned recently that one meaning of the word Hosanna is a call to come and rescue, to deliver us. So, as I read the news, I frequently say, aloud to the Lord, “Hosanna!” Come! Rescue us! And let it be soon!

If it is not in my lifetime, then still that day will come. And by then I will have seen Him again.

As you take time this Christmas season to celebrate the birth of our Savior, take time to call Hosannah, to call Him to save us all, and sing Hallelujah—praise and give thanks to the Lord. He is so very worth celebrating. And the best way, beyond food and decorations and even family gathering, is to follow Him every day.

Beyond Words

For some things there are no words. That’s why we need music and art.

This Sunday we celebrate the most wonderful and amazing—beyond words—event in the history of creation: Christ Completing the Atonement by Rising from the Dead.

I’ll celebrate today with just a few words to tie the artwork to the events. The artists, I find, as I do this collection, both happen to be from my religion, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints: Walter Rane and Ken Turner (Ken is a personal friend here in Texas; I have highlighted him for his 9/11 piece "Out of the Ashes").

Palm Sunday—the Sunday before the resurrection—our Lord and Savior entered Jerusalem according to prophesy.

The painting is called “Triumphal Entry” by Walter Rane.

Walter Rane's "Triumphal Entry"

The crowds were in Jerusalem to celebrate the Passover. That is what Jesus was celebrating during the Last Supper later that week. According to custom the diners sat on the floor at a low table. It was during the meal that Jesus blessed and gave them the bread and wine as a covenant for them to remember Him and keep His commandments.

This painting is Walter Rane’s “In Remembrance of Me.”

Walter Rane's "In Remembrance of Me"

Christ also gave them another covenant blessing: the washing of feet, which showed them service, but also has meaning I don’t yet fully understand.

The painting is Ken Turner’s “Washing Feet.”

Ken Turner's "The Greatest Servant of All"

At the end of the meal, when “they had sung an hymn” (Matthew 26:30 and Mark 14:26), they went out onto the Mt. of Olives. According to the New Testament Student Manual on our Church website,   the hymn they sang

was probably the traditional Jewish recitation from Psalms 113-18, called the Hallel. Psalms 113-14 were traditionally sung at the beginning of the meal, and Psalms 115-18 were traditionally sung as part of the formal closing of a Passover meal.

The painting is Ken Turner’s “They Had Sung an Hymn.”

Ken Turner's "They Had Sung an Hymn"
found on his Facebook page a year ago, no current link

What happened in the garden of Gethsemane is significant beyond our understanding. It was here that Jesus suffered beyond what normal mortals can suffer, so intense that He bled from every pore.

There’s a song our young children sing about this part of the story, called “Gethsemane.” I first heard it in a recording by Claire Crosby—actually it was the first video I saw of her as well; I think she was three.

This painting is another Ken Turner, “Gethsemane.”

Ken Turner's "Gethsemane"

Walter Rane also did a version called “Not My Will But Thine.”

Walter Rane's "Not My Will But Thine"

When the soldiers arrived, seeking to apprehend Him, Jesus let them know which one was Him, so they would not harm the others.

This painting is Walter Rane’s “I Am He.”

Walter Rane's "I Am He"

Peter was the apostle we often think of as impulsive. He drew a sword and cut off the ear of one of the soldiers. Jesus immediately healed the ear. One would think that would indicate to any soldier or observer or accuser that He was who He said He was.

This painting of the healing, and the instruction to Peter not to stop what needed to happen, is Walter Rane’s “Suffer Ye Thus Far.”

Walter Rane's "Suffer Ye Thus Far"

Then came the illegal trials, the scourging, and the crucifixion, until Jesus could say, “It is finished.” He was the sacrificial lamb, without blemish. The sacrificial lambs had just been selected for Passover, and then the Sacrificial Lamb that they symbolized began His ordeal. The lamb image is a screenshot of a video related to our Sunday lesson a couple of weeks ago.

screenshot from here

Then comes the cross. 

This is Ken Turner's "Surely He Hath Borne Our Griefs."

Ken Turner's "Surely He Hath Borne Our Griefs"

Jesus’s mother was one of the few staying at His feet during the ordeal on the cross. They needed to take His body down and place it in the tomb rather quickly, as the Sabbath approached. Imagining this moment is beyond pain.

This is Walter Rane’s painting “Christ Taken from the Cross.”

Walter Rane's "Christ Taken from the Cross"

Early Sunday morning the women went to the tomb to anoint the body with oils. They did not find Him, but an angel told them He was risen. I have heard people comment on the napkin that had been placed over His face. It was folded neatly. Tradition was, if a person got up from a dinner table, for example, and was not finished, he would fold the napkin neatly. It signified he would return.

This painting by Walter Rane, “He Is Not Here,” is one of my favorites.

Walter Rane's "He Is Not Here"

Was He truly alive again? Mary saw Him at the tomb. This is Ken Turner's "Empty Tomb."

Ken Turner's "Empty Tomb"

He appeared to his apostles, and ate with them. He appeared to them again when Thomas was with them. He appeared to some of them on the road to Emmaus.

This is Walter Rane’s “Christ at Emmaus.”

Walter Rane's "Christ at Emmaus"

He appeared to them again on the shores of Galilee. And He spent weeks among them, teaching them, guiding them in how to spread the gospel—the good news. That good news is that He overcame death for all, and He overcame the separation from God for all who would accept His atonement and keep their covenant to always remember Him and keep His commandments.

It is in keeping those commandments that our lives are different. They are not restrictions from a full and happy life; they are the very guidelines to a good life.

We are reminded, at Easter—and always—that it is not life, but the tomb, that is empty. He came that we might have life, and have it more abundantly (John 10:10). 

I’ll add one more piece of music. This is Leonard Cohen’s “Hallelujah!” redone with lyrics for the Easter story. I first discovered the words a year ago. (I’ve been arranging the piece for two dulcimers.) But this rendition was passed along to me several times this past week. I think it’s the prettiest one I’ve heard: “An Easter Hallelujah—Cassandra Star & her sister Callahan.”

He taught us how to love perfectly. And He promises to make up the difference for our imperfections if we simply love Him and earnestly strive to love one another as He loves us.

His love is beyond words. But it is not beyond what we can feel.

May you experience a glorious Easter!

Hallelujah!

It’s Easter week, when we celebrate the most important event ever to happen on earth—the resurrection of Christ.

Why celebrate just a day, when we can celebrate all week?

·         Palm Sunday—The Triumphal Entry

·         Monday—Cleansing of the Temple

·         Tuesday—Teaching in Jerusalem

·         Wednesday—events unknown, but He told us, “Come, follow me.”

·         Thursday—Gethsemane—where those in my religion believe He suffered the sins of the world, overcoming the spiritual separation from God the Father, which would be followed by overcoming physical death soon after.

·         Friday—Crucifixion and Burial

·         Saturday—The Tomb

·         Sunday—The Resurrection—it is not life that is empty, but the Garden Tomb.

It’s worth looking at what we have because He lives—and offering a Hallelujah for those blessings.

I’m sharing this video for that purpose:

You can find this video, and a daily celebration of blessings from the resurrection at Mormon.org/easter.

The video uses many words from Handel’s Messiah. I’m singing “He Was Despised” this Sunday, as part of our Easter worship program. I love the piece, which isn’t done as often as many others; it is mournful, so it needs to be followed up with some Hallelujah songs, which we are doing.

The Mormon Tabernacle Choir recently did a project inviting the world to join them in singing the Hallelujah Chorus from Handel’s Messiah. People were invited to send in a video of themselves singing along, and then a master chorus was produced using those thousands of videos. It’s kind of glorious.

If you loved that, you might want to try singing along for the entire Messiah, with the Tabernacle Choir, and soloists from the Metropolitan Opera, this Friday, Good Friday. It’s being broadcast at my church building at 8:00, and many other places. But it’s also available online for streaming through April 4^th. You can even download a public domain score if you don’t already have one.

Music is one of my favorite ways of shouting Hallelujah, or feeling anything really important. When times are troubled and dark, it’s good to take time to sing Hallelujah, while spring celebrates with us, and everything seems to, and light and hopeful.

Hallelujah!