A Hymn of Praise - Homily for the Fifth Sunday of Easter, Year C

          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.

Readings: Acts 14: 21-27; Psalm 145; Revelation 21: 1-5a; John 13: 31-35

---

[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.