In 1674, Thomas Ken composed three hymns for the boys at
Winchester College where he served as chaplain – one to be sung upon waking,
one at bedtime, and one at midnight, if they were still awake. Each hymn ended
with a common stanza encouraging the boys to praise God.[1] Thomas Ken understood that even from an early
age, we should live our lives as a hymn of praise to God, and that’s the
message of today’s readings.
Our readings this morning are all about praising God. In
our first reading, we find Paul and Barnabas proclaiming the good news, praising
God for all of the good work he’s done through them in opening the door of
faith to the Gentiles. Our Psalmist isn’t
alone in praising the name of the Lord forever.
“Generation after generation recalls the wonderous deeds performed by
God, and each generation joins the next in singing God’s praises.”[2] Our second reading tells us why we should praise God: “He will wipe every tear from [our] eyes, and there shall be
no more death or mourning, wailing or pain.” Our Gospel, then, tells us how to praise God: love one another as
Jesus loves us.
So
what does it mean to praise God? Well,
let’s start with some definitions. There
are seven Hebrew words for “praise” in the Old Testament. Today’s Psalm uses four of them – tehillah, barak, shabach, and hallal.
The first word – tehillah, or “song of praise” – is what we translate
as “psalm.” The other three encompass meanings
including boast, celebrate, kneel down, bless, and triumph. In the New Testament, which was written in
Greek, the word we translate as praise is doxazo. Our word “doxology,” or “hymn of praise,”
comes from it. It’s translated as the
verb “to glorify” in our Gospel, like when Jesus says, “Now is the Son of Man
glorified, and God is glorified in him.”
With
that background, we return to our question: What does it mean to praise, to
bless, to glorify God? Scripture is filled with the command to praise God, so
much so that C.S. Lewis found it to be a stumbling block to his faith. He initially thought that God demands our
praise, which he found tyrannical. After
much thought, he realized how wrong he was.
God doesn’t demand our praise, because he doesn’t need it. God needs nothing. So Lewis came to understand that we praise
the things we enjoy – like a good meal or a catchy tune; we praise the things
we admire – like a hero or a gifted artist; and we praise the things we love –
like our family members, our friends, and our dogs. In C.S. Lewis’s words: “I think we delight to praise what we enjoy because the
praise not merely expresses but completes the enjoyment.”[3] Praising God, then, isn’t a command; it’s an
invitation. “In commanding us to glorify Him, God is inviting us to
enjoy Him,”[4] to love him, and to be loved by him completely.
There’s
no greater praise, there’s no greater glory than love. When we love each other, we praise and glorify
God, and God praises and glorifies us.
Why? Because “the way people come
to know and love the divine is through the human.”[5] That’s why Jesus tells the disciples to love
one another as he loves them. “The greatest, most tangible sign of discipleship
is the love Jesus’ disciples have for one another. Their love, like his, gives
glory to God.”[6] Love, then, becomes the distinguishing
characteristic of the Christian and our greatest challenge.
It’s
not easy to love. Remember, Jesus calls
us not just to love each other, but to
love each other as he loves us. That’s a tall order, because Jesus loves us
so much, that he gave his life for us on the cross. Love always requires self-sacrifice, and sometimes
we fail to love because we’re not willing to make the sacrifice. We’re busy, we’re tired, we’re over-extended,
it’s too difficult. How can we do more? Loving each other every day at home, at work,
or in school can be so challenging that Saint Thérèse called it a slow martyrdom
by pin pricks.
Be that as it may, Jesus makes clear that love is our Christian mission. In the Gospel of John, love “is not emotion,
sentiment, or personal attraction, but very practical, dynamic, and demanding.”[7] Fortunately, we’re surrounded by so many
examples of generous people who sing God’s praise through self-sacrificial love
every day:
·
Every parent who
works long, tough hours to put food on the table is loving as Jesus loved and
singing a hymn of praise to God;
·
Every person who
gives up a promising career to care for an aging parent is loving as Jesus
loved and singing a hymn of praise to God;
·
Every soldier,
emergency worker, and police officer who risks his or her life for the safety
of others is loving as Jesus loved, and singing a hymn of praise to God; and
·
Every woman who
carries her baby to term no matter how difficult her circumstances may be is
loving as Jesus loved and singing a hymn of praise to God.
Love always involves
sacrifice, but God never asks us to sacrifice without giving us the skills and
support we need to accomplish it. Strengthened
by Christ in the Eucharist, we’re sent out into the world to love as Jesus
loved and to “glorify the Lord by our lives.”
That common stanza that ends each of Thomas Ken’s three
hymns became quite popular – it may well be the most widely-sung verse in the
world today. I first heard it at my
father’s Presbyterian church when I was very young. They called it The Doxology. I had no idea of its purpose or history when
I adopted it a few years ago as my first morning prayer. I just thought that its simple lyrics were
the perfect way to start my day, because it reminds me to live my life as a
hymn of praise.
Praise God from whom all blessings flow.
Praise him all creatures here below.
Praise him above, ye heavenly hosts.
Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost.
[1] Robert J. Morgan, Then Sings My Soul, Book I (Norwalk: The Easton Press, 2003), p.
21.
[2] Dianne Bergant, “The Book of Psalms,” New Collegeville Bible Commentary: Old
Testament, Daniel Durkin, ed. (Collegeville: The Liturgical Press, 2015) p.
1042.
[3] C.S. Lewis, Reflections on the Psalms (San Diego: Harcourt, Inc., 1986), p. 95.
[4] Ibid., p. 97.
[5] John Shea, The
Spiritual Wisdom of the Gospels for Christian Preachers and Teachers: The
Relentless Widow, Year C (Collegeville: The Liturgical Press, 2006), p.
136.
[6] Elaine Park, Konrad Schaeffer, Douglas Leal, Workbook for Lectors, Gospel Readers, and
Proclaimers of the Word: 2019 Year C (Chicago: Liturgy Training
Publications, 2018), p. 175.
[7] Scott M. Lewis, “The Gospel According to
John,” New Collegeville Bible Commentary:
New Testament, Daniel Durkin, ed. (Collegeville, The Liturgical Press,
2009), p. 347.
