Give Me Oil in My Lamp, Keep Me Burning....

Pentecost 21, November 6, 2011
1928 Book of Common Prayer Service
Joshua 24:1-3a, 14-25
Psalm 78:1-7 from BCP
1 Thessalonians 4:13-18
Matthew 25:1-13
~~~


Give me oil in my lamp, keep my burning…

On this Sunday after All Soul’s/All Saint’s Days we come together to celebrate with believers of all time. Anglicans stress community, remaining intentional in worship, study and communion with each other as we prepare for the return of our Lord.

Rejoice, Rejoice, Believers will be the processional hymn this Sunday at Grace Anglican Church in Boise. Watching for the Lord to come is the subject of this hymn, based on Jesus’ parable of the 10 virgins, our Gospel reading. This hymn has been in our Hymnal since 1871. It was first published by Laurentius Laurenti in his Evangelica Melodica, 1700, a collection of words and music for the entire Christian church year.

Lorenz Lorenzen was born June 8, 1660, in Schleswig (at that time a duchy ruled by Denmark). His father was a town burgess and loved music, so he saw to it that his son was musically educated. Lorenzen studied at the University of Rostock, where he changed his name to the Latin version, Lauarentius Laurenti. In 1684, at the age of 24, he became cantor and director of music at the Cathedral Church of Bremen, Germany, and held this position for 38 years until his death on May 29, 1722. He was 62 years old. Rather young, I must say.

The tune, LLANGLOFFAN is a melody from Hymnau a Thonau er Gwasanaeth yr Eglwys yng Nghymr (Hymns and Tunes for the service of the Church in Wales, edited by The Rev. Daniel Evans, rector of Corris). David Lewis was well known for collecting and arranging of old Welsh tunes. The resemblance between this tune and the English folk song “The Jolly Miller of Dee” has been noted.

Here is a link to that tune: http://ingeb.org/songs/millerof.mid

The New Testament reading of 1 Thessalonians is complimented by our sequence hymn, Jerusalem, My Happy Home. We will sing of all the saints being united to joyously welcome Jesus’ return to earth.
The author of this hymn was identified simply by the initials of F.B.P. This probably refers to Francis Baker, pater (or priest), a Roman Catholic imprisoned for his faith in the Tower of London during the sixteenth century. Some authorities state that the author was Father Laurence Anderton, who lived during the reign of King Charles I. A British Museum manuscript, which is undated but of the late sixteenth or early seventeenth century, gives a text of 26 four-line stanzas under the title “A Song Made by F.B.P. To the Tune of Diana.” The editors of Hymnal ’82 employ, respectively, stanzas 1, 12, 22, 23 combined with 25, and 6, slightly modified, of the “F. B. P.” version. This text has been in the Hymnal since 1865.

The music for this hymn is named LAND OF REST. It is to Ralph Vaughan Williams that musicians look with deep admiration for his matching of English Folk tunes with texts in the English Hymnal. A similar sense of gratitude is due Canon C. Winfred Douglas for his extensive use of American folk hymnody in the Hymnal ’40, of which this matching of a classic text with a beautiful American folk hymn tune is an example and a stroke of sheer genius. Perhaps this was paving the way for American Anglicans and British Anglicans to share in the rich tradition of Anglican hymnody.

Lift Up Your Heads, Ye Mighty Gates, again, a hymn reflecting the saints witnessing the final completion of the restoration with our Lord. The text, originally intended for the first Sunday of Advent, has been in the Hymnal since 1892, however it has a broad use for other Sundays as we match it here with Sunday’s Gospel reading in Matthew.

Psalm 78:1-7 and the anthem, Jubilate will be the music the singers in the loft present. Jubilate Deo (Let Us Praise You) is attributed to Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and arranged by Alan Bullard. It is correlated with the Old Testament reading, reflecting the command of Joshua to the people of Israel to serve and praise the Lord at all times.

Let us praise you,
Let us praise you,
Father, let us praise you,
We rejoice in you,
O Father,
Let us give you praise.
         Jubilate, Jubilate, Jubilate Deo


Remember the Sunday School song, “Give Me Oil In My Lamp, Keep Me Burning?” As we remember and honor all the souls and saints of the church now and all time….We are admonished to keep oil in our lamps. We refuel in our worship, reading the word and coming to the table to form disciples to share the gospel message in our community.

As we approach Advent, the tension rises in expectation of something we look forward to but “see through a glass darkly.” God has promised to be with us and to fill us, even in our waiting. May our prayer be,
“Give me oil in my lamp, keep me burning.”

Sources:
Hymnal ’82 Companion
Companion to the SDA Hymnal
Deacon Ron Jutzy
Then Sings My Soul
A Treasury of Hymns
Tune My Heart to Sing
YouTube.com