Every year at this time and especially on Good Friday, I hear and sing a hymn that shakes me to the core. It is the most heavenly, the most gentle of melodies. Sometimes you hear a hymn, or any song for that matter, whose lyrics and melodies were made for each other. This is one of them. There simply is no way to improve on it no matter how hard one tries. This hymn, this favorite of mine is "O Sacred Head Now Wounded".
Last night, led by the choir, we all sang this hymn at our Good Friday service. If there is one thing I have to criticize it is this: that I cannot sing past the first verse before my voice breaks...it breaks for emotion. That is not the fault of the hymn, but mine alone; the fault of a sinner before the face of unimaginable love. We have a saying in french, "le coeur devient gros", meaning the "the heart swells with emotion".
The pressure within my heart threatens to burst when the first strains are played at the organ. And make no mistake; this is a hymn that was made to be accompanied by an organ, or sung "a capella". No other instrument would do it justice. The melody and lyrics were composed by angels as a match made in heaven.
Listen to the lyrics, no...pray the lyrics, as the melody slowly and desperately seeks to lead you, the penitent, to the Godhead revealed to us: the Godhead braced in thorns. It is a vision not meant for the eyes, but for the heart and I can attest to that. I have held my breath at times during its singing, so as to not groan aloud, my eyes welling up. Oddly, I didn't seem to care if anyone saw me in this state while I sat in my pew, for I was alone with Him while I sang. The hymn has done its job.
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