Strengthen With Thy Grace

On this day in 2017 we have a convergence of traditions. It's the Second Sunday in Lent on
the Christian calendar, and it's also the Feast of Purim on the Jewish calendar. Neither of
these days is tied to a specific date, so they rarely coincide.  And yet, we can bring them
together through one particular hymn.

Purim celebrates the story from the book of Esther, a woman born an Israelite but later

married to King Ahasuerus of Persia, who kept her origins a secret. At this time the Israelites 

were in exile in Persia. When Haman, an advisor to the king, devised a plot to kill all the

people of Israel, Esther defied convention by appearing before the king to plead for her

people (it was a capital offense to approach the king without permission). The eventual

deliverance of the Jews from the genocidal threat against them is marked by the joyful

celebration of Purim. Though Purim is a movable feast, it generally falls during the

Christian season of Lent.

Today's hymn dates from the sixth century, a text attributed to Pope Gregory the Great

(540-604), which begins:

Clarum decus jejunii

Monstratur orbi coelitus,

Quod Christus Auctor omnium

Cibis dicavit abstinens.

This was translated by Maurice Frederick Bell for the English Hymnal (1906). As was typical,

the text's illustrative exemplars from the Bible were all men, a conceit to which we need no

longer subscribe. In the revision below, the original third stanza (which you can see in the

full text here), referencing Daniel and John, was replaced by one about Esther, and

included in our original hymnal project for the Metropolitan Community Church.  

The glory of these forty days
We celebrate with songs of praise;
For Christ, by whom all things were made,
For us has fasted and has prayed.

Alone and fasting Moses saw
The loving God who gave the law;
And to Elijah, fasting, came
The steeds and chariots of flame.

So also Esther, at her hour,
For such a time was filled with pow'r
To go to the king, prepared to give
Her life, to let her people live.

Then grant us, Christ, like them to be
Full oft in fast and prayer with thee;
Our spirits strengthen with thy grace,
And give us joy to see thy face.

Creator, Christ, and Spirit blest,
To thee be every prayer addressed,
Whom grace and pow'r doth freely share,
With all who turn to thee in prayer.

Gregory the Great, Latin, 6th cent.;

tr. Maurice F. Bell, 1906; alt.

st. 3 Steve Carson, 1989

Tune: ERHALT UNS, HERR (L.M.)

Joseph Klug, 1543;

harm. J. S. Bach, 18th cent.
stanza3 Copyright © 1989 Steve Carson

Oddly enough, March 12 was also the original feast day of Gregory the Great (the date
of his death), but in 1969 the Roman Catholic Church moved it to September 3 (the
date of his elevation to Pope). So we actually have a triple convergence today.

Though I have sung this hymn many times (most recently at a 2015 hymn festival
celebrating the women of the Bible), I was not aware of the Lent/Purim relationship
until a few years ago, but I have no doubt that my friend Steve Carson knew when he
chose Esther to be the woman included in this hymn.



Eight Years Ago: Paul Gerhardt

Seven Years Ago: Robert Lowry

Six Years Ago: Paul Gerhardt

Another Female Stanza Substitution: Jesus calls us o'er the tumult

Saint Mary Magdalene

Mary Magdalene, sometimes called the "apostle to the apostles" because she was the first witness to Jesus' resurrection on Easter morning, is commemorated on some church calendars today. As I've written before, some of the other New Testament stories which supposedly feature Mary are now thought perhaps to be stories of other women.

It was Pope Gregory the Great in the sixth century who declared Mary Magdalene, Mary of Bethany (Martha's sister) and the penitent woman who washed the feet of Jesus to be the same person, and it was not until the twentieth century that Western religions separated those women and their stories (1969 for the Roman Catholic Church). During all that time, Mary Magdalene was frequently portrayed in art and literature carrying the jar of perfume that was used to anoint Jesus' feet in the story from Luke 7:36-50. This hymn for the day also puts her in that story.

When Mary, moved by grateful love,
The precious ointment poured
Upon the head and feet of him
She owned as Christ and Lord,
The odor of the costly gift
Pervaded all the room;
How grateful to the sense it seemed --
How sweet the rich perfume.

An off'ring similar I bring
In thanks and praise to thee
My heart's devoted love is all,
O Christ, accept of me
This gift, and may its fragrance rise
As incense to thy throne
And seal me with thy gracious hand
To work for thee, thine own.

Mrs. R. F. Williams, 1884; alt.
Tune: PETERSHAM (C.M.D.)
Clement W. Poole, 1875

This hymn text appeared in Women in Sacred Song (1889), a two-volume collection of hymn and song texts and tunes written by women and compiled by Eva Munson Smith, and I'm not sure if it appeared anywhere else. There were many more texts than tunes in Smith's collection, and this one was printed without music. Unfortunately, not much more can probably be determined about the author, not even her own first name, as the initials probably belonged to Mr. Williams.

P.S. The painting above is by the seventeenth-century Florentine artist Carlo Dolci.


***UPDATE***  This hymn with words and music together is now posted on Facebook (but with a different, more familiar tune).  Go to "Conjubilant W. Song" and click on "Photos" -- it's in the Downloadable Hymns section.


Two Years Ago: Saint Mary Magdalene

One Year Ago: Emily E. S. Elliott

Gregory the Great

Today is the feast-day of Pope Gregory I, also called "the Great." Lots to be found around the internets on his life and works, including several great hymns of the church that have come down to us and are still in use today. Most appropriately for the season, we present Gregory's Clarum decus jejunii as translated for The English Hymnal in 1906.

The glory of these forty days
We celebrate with songs of praise;
For Christ, by whom all things were made,
For us has fasted and has prayed.

Alone and fasting Moses saw
The loving God who gave the law;
And to Elijah, fasting, came
The steeds and chariots of flame.

So Daniel trained his mystic sight,
Delivered from the lions’ might;
And John, the Savior’s friend, became
The herald of Messiah’s Name.

Then grant us, Christ, like them to be
Full oft in fast and prayer with thee;
Our spirits strengthen with thy grace,
And give us joy to see thy face.

Creator, Christ, and Spirit blest,
To thee be every prayer addressed,
Who grace and pow'r doth freely share,
With all who turn to thee in prayer.

Gregory the Great, 6th century;
tr. Maurice R. Bell, 1906; alt.
Tune: ERHALT UNS, HERR (L.M.)
from Joseph Klug's Geistliche Leider, 1543;
harm. J.S. Bach, c. 1735

There had been other translations of Gregory's hymn, including one by Henry W. Baker in 1875 in a slightly different meter.

But all those men! Moses, Elijah, Daniel, John, etc. -- were there no women "full oft in fast and prayer" with the Almighty? For our hymnal we removed the Daniel/John verse (though I like it) and replaced it with a verse by my friend Steve about Esther (it's his copyright, so I won't reproduce it here). Doubly appropriate, as the Feast of Purim frequently (if not always?) falls during Lent.