40 Days of Chant, Psalm 4 at a Coffee Shop

So I wrote this chant at one of the coffee shops I frequent here in Omaha.  I am enjoying this discipline because of what I am learning.  I don't think I could have written this one four days ago, but the more I do these I can feel my "ear" getting better.  I am just beginning to hear them before I write.

I have been reading the book Mindset by Carol Dweck where she argues that we shouldn't think about innate talent.  On the other hand we should thing about challenging ourselves to get better every day.  She argues for learning by failure instead of just doing what we know we can do over and over again.  Reading this book was an influence in me taking up this discipline this Lent.  It is something Brad Goode tried to teach me 15 years ago in Jazz Improv I at CCM.  I think I am starting to hear him now.  Each day I am trying to do something different with these chants and to learn another way to express these deep and rich Psalms with very few chords.

Anyway, enough about my process.  Here's the chant for Psalm 4.  It is common in the Psalms and in Hebrew poetry in general for there to be a shift in tone close to the end.  Psalm 13 is another example where the psalmist questions God for a host of verses and then says in effect, "Nonetheless I will praise you for all time".  Psalm 4 is like that; so, even though it is a short psalm, I split this chant.  The last two verses shift in voice and I felt it necessary to end differently than the first 6 verses.

1	Answer me when I call, O God, defender of my cause; *     you set me free when I am hard-pressed;     have mercy on me and hear my prayer.
2	"You mortals, how long will you dishonor my glory; *     how long will you worship dumb idols     and run after false gods?"
3	Know that the LORD does wonders for the faithful; *     when I call upon the LORD, he will hear me.
4	Tremble, then, and do not sin; *     speak to your heart in silence upon your bed.
5	Offer the appointed sacrifices *     and put your trust in the LORD.
6	Many are saying,    "Oh, that we might see better times!" *     Lift up the light of your countenance upon us, O  LORD.

7	You have put gladness in my heart, *     more than when grain and wine and oil increase.
8	I lie down in peace; at once I fall asleep; *     for only you, LORD, make me dwell in safety.

40 Days of Chant Psalm 3 and BEER!!!

I choose to do a simple chant for Psalm 3, mainly because I had less time today because of a big funeral today.  Also, since it is a short psalm I think simple chant works better.  To much complexity and it would overwhelm the text.  Conversely if the psalm was longer it would need a longer psalm.

1 Lord, how many adversaries I have! *

     how many there are who rise up against me!

2 How many there are who say of me, *

     “There is no help for him in his God.”

3 But you, O Lord, are a shield about me; *

     you are my glory, the one who lifts up my head.

4 I call aloud upon the Lord, *

     and he answers me from his holy hill;

5 I lie down and go to sleep; *

     I wake again, because the Lord sustains me.

6 I do not fear the multitudes of people *

     who set themselves against me all around.

7 Rise up, O Lord; set me free, O my God; *

     surely, you will strike all my enemies across the face,

     you will break the teeth of the wicked.

8 Deliverance belongs to the Lord. *

     Your blessing be upon your people!

I also got to my watering hole to try some beers.  Omaha Beer Week is wrapping up and there were a lot of great things on tap at the watering hole.  First up was the Funkwerks Saison Noir.  This one threw me.  It looks malty, but it doesn't taste like malt at all.  The taste was actually a bit salty.  

Next up was the Funkwerks Dahlia This Belgian Strong Ale is delicious.  It has just a small hint of apple, but isn't sweet at all.

40 Days of Chant Psalm 2

So today is the second day of Lent; so today's chant if for Psalm 2.  Again, the text comes from the BCP 1979 Psalter.  I split this psalm because there is a change in the text.  I did a single chant for the first five verses and a double chant for verses 6-13.  However, they are both in Emaj, but the single chant is deliberately ambiguous to reflect the questions in the text.  Oh, and I promise to get a beer post up tomorrow.

1 Why are the nations in an uproar? *

 Why do the peoples mutter empty threats?

 2 Why do the kings of the earth rise up in revolt,

and the princes plot together, *

 against the Lord and against his Anointed?

 3 “Let us break their yoke,” they say; *

 “let us cast off their bonds from us.”

 4 He whose throne is in heaven is laughing; *

 the Lord has them in derision.

 5 Then he speaks to them in his wrath, *

 and his rage fills them with terror.

6 “I myself have set my king *

upon my holy hill of Zion.”

7 Let me announce the decree of the Lord: *

he said to me, “You are my Son; this day have I begotten you.

8 Ask of me, and I will give you the nations for your inheritance *

and the ends of the earth for your possession.

9 You shall crush them with an iron rod *

and shatter them like a piece of pottery.”

10 And now, you kings, be wise; *

be warned, you rulers of the earth.

11 Submit to the Lord with fear, *

and with trembling bow before him;

12 Lest he be angry and you perish; *

for his wrath is quickly kindled.

13 Happy are they all *

who take refuge in him!

Telling the Truth and Getting Away With It.

Truth

Lent began this week on Ash Wednesday.  I have to confess...Lent is my favorite season of the church year.  First and foremost, it is my favorite because it just not going to be commercialized nor co-opted by the powers.  I mean could you imagine the powers that be promoting a season that calls us to remember our mortality?  Budweiser isn't going to turn lent into a memorable commercial for the super bowl.  Costco isn't going to promote self denial and restraint.  Gold's Gym will never adopt the slogan "Remember you are dust, and to dust you shall return."  Which leads me to my next reason for loving Lent...

During Lent we get to tell the truth about ourselves.  We are not God. We are mortal.  We are wrong. We are broken.  We get to tell the truth that drinking the right beer, even ones chosen from this blog, will not make us better looking, younger, or more attractive.  Nor will it cause dogs to form special bonds with horses for that matter.  Shopping at the right stores will not make us better people, and no matter how much we work out, no matter how much we torture ourselves, we will not live for ever.  It's the simple truth, we are dust and to dust we shall return.  In Lent this truth is our starting place.  We start with ashes to remind us that we are not God, to remind us just how far from God we are.  

Now, before you think I have turned into a puritan, please keep reading.  This truth is our starting place, our beginning not our end.  This truth will set us free because once we admit where we are we can begin the journey of transformation toward being a resurrected people. Admitting the truth immediately orients us toward God.  We can only begin to journey in God’s direction once we are steadfastly pointed in that direction.  I'll be writing about steps to take along that journey over the weeks of Lent.  Right now, however, let's sit with the truth: no matter what a financial advisor, a doctor, a government, or a car company tells us, we are mortal.  We are far from God, and it is time to turn on the truth and head back toward God.

40 days of chant Psalm 1

So for my lenten discipline this year I am writing an Anglican Chant each day.  Technically an Anglican Chant can be used for any psalm, but I'll be using Psalms 1 through 40 so that the writing process will be a meditation on each one.  So, below is Psalm 1.  I am using the text from the BCP 1979 psalter, which is in the public domain.

 1 Happy are they who have not walked in the counsel of the wicked, *
       nor lingered in the way of sinners,
       nor sat in the seats of the scornful!
 2 Their delight is in the law of the Lord, *
      and they meditate on his law day and night.  

3 They are like trees planted by streams of water,
          bearing fruit in due season, with leaves that do not wither; *
       everything they do shall prosper.
 4 It is not so with the wicked; *
       they are like chaff which the wind blows away.

5 Therefore the wicked shall not stand upright when judgment comes, *
      nor the sinner in the council of the righteous.
6 For the Lord knows the way of the righteous, *
     but the way of the wicked is doomed.

I would love for this chant to be used, so I grant permission for it to be used in any liturgical setting.  However, once I have all forty done, I'll publish them as a set on my website: www.barefootpriest.com.  I do hope you'll buy it if you plan to use it.