Ash Wednesday

Today is the forty-sixth day before Easter Sunday, which means that it is Ash Wednesday and therefore the beginning of Lent in many Western Christian traditions. There are some hymns that refer to the "forty days" of Lent, because technically the Sundays of Lent are not counted for some reason. As the dates of Easter and Ash Wednesday change each year, some hymnals over the years printed charts giving the dates for several years into the future, but now we have the Internet to do that calculation for us, and it can go both into the future and the past as far as we might want.

The custom of the distribution of ashes dates back to at least the tenth century, signifying public penitence at the start of a season of repentance and reflection. Different denominations (and, of course, different churches within denominations) have different ideas about Lent, whether it requires fasting or only "giving up" things, or whether it might be better to focus on the "turning away" aspect of repentance rather than the self-flagellistic aspect.

At any rate, fasting of some sort has generally been considered part of the Lenten tradition, as seen in this hymn by Joseph Thrupp, which first appeared in Psalms and Hymns for Pub­lic Wor­ship (1853).

Awhile in spirit, Christ, to thee
Into the desert we would flee;
Awhile upon the barren steep
Our fast with thee in spirit keep.

And in our hearts to feel and own
That we live not by bread alone.
Be thou our Helper in the strife,
Be thou our true, our inward Life.

And while, at thy command we pray,
“Give us our bread from day to day,”
May we with thee, O Christ, be fed,
Thou Word of God, thou living Bread.

Joseph F. Thrupp, 1853; alt.
Tune: ARIZONA (L.M.)
Robert H. Earnshaw, 19th c. (?)

One Year Ago: Lord, who throughout these forty days

Martha and Mary

Today in the calendars of many churches is the commemoration of Martha and Mary of Bethany (some traditions also include their brother Lazarus).

The well-known passage from Luke 10:38-42 describes a dinner at their house, where Jesus is a guest. Martha, only doing what she was brought up to do, finds that the world is not always so simple (a hard lesson for many of us), while Mary learns that sometimes just being quiet and receptive is exactly right (equally hard for some others, I suppose).

For an appropriate hymn we're already back to John Newton, whose Olney Hymns included the following.

Martha her love and joy expressed
By care, to entertain her guest;
While Mary sat to hear her Lord,
And could not bear to lose a word.

The principle in both the same,
Produced in each a different aim;
The one to feast their friend was led,
The other waited to be fed.

But Mary chose the better part,
For Jesus' words refreshed her heart;
While busy Martha angry grew,
And lost her time and temper too.

With warmth she to her sister spoke,
But brought upon herself rebuke;
One thing is needful, and but one,
Why do our thoughts on many run?

How oft are we like Martha vexed,
Encumbered, hurried, and perplexed!
While trifles so engross our thought,
The one thing needful is forgot.

Let other hearts the world admire,
Thy love is all that I require!
Gladly I may the rest resign,
If the one needful thing be mine.

John Newton, c. 1779; alt.
Tune: WINDHAM (L.M.)
Daniel Read, 1785

Since Olney Hymns contains no tunes for its texts, and I don't ever recall seeing this in any other hymnal, I chose one from the same period, perhaps the kind of tune that Newton's congregation would have used. Daniel Read was an early American composer, so his tune may never have actually been matched with the English Newton's text, but I think it fits. (My own somewhat Victorian tendencies might have chosen something like ARIZONA, but that's not always an impulse to be followed.)

P.S. You can read a bit more about the Vermeer painting above, Christ in the House of Mary and Martha at the Essential Vermeer website.