Praising Easter phrases

Christians raise voices in joyful hymns celebrating Christ’s resurrection

Arkansas Democrat-Gazette Easter illustration.
Arkansas Democrat-Gazette Easter illustration.

Christians of the West will celebrate Easter on Sunday with a chorus of "alleluias" as they express their joy through song. Whether it's Charles Wesley's old standard "Christ the Lord Is Risen Today" or Matt Maher's contemporary take on "Because He Lives," the songs help set the tone for the day.

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Democrat-Gazette file photo

Choirs, such as this one at the annual Community Easter Sunrise Service in Little Rock, will celebrate Easter through song in churches across the state. Music, whether traditional hymns or contemporary songs, helps set a celebratory tone for the day.

"For me, the hymns and anthems of Easter are the pinnacle of our praise of God of the whole Christian year," said the Rev. Gordon Garlington, pastor of Park Hill Presbyterian Church in North Little Rock.

Garlington said the music reinforces the message of the day -- the celebration of Christ's resurrection and victory over death.

"Each year as I begin an Easter service, I look out and see empty places -- seats once occupied by friends who have died during the past year. To sing those songs celebrating God's victory over the grave is like shouting into the face of death, 'Your days are numbered! You will not have the last word!'" Garlington said. "That's obviously a faith statement, something we can't prove this side of the grave. But it's the bottom line of our Christian faith, that death will not have the last word."

Garlington said he looks for two types of hymns on Easter -- ones that celebrate the Christian faith and the events of the first Easter when Jesus rose from the dead, "but also ones that challenge us to live out the implications of Christ's resurrection here and now."

"Because we believe the future belongs to God, we as Christians are challenged to stand against the forces of death in today's world, things like greed fueling the growing divide between the rich and poor, racial and religious bigotry and the proliferation of guns and violence in our society," he said.

Geoffrey Moore, president-elect of the Hymn Society in the United States and Canada, said the music selected for Easter worship services differs according to the church's background. What's traditional for some isn't for others.

"Some from Baptist and/or revival traditions would consider 'Up From the Grave He Arose' or 'He Lives' as traditional," he said.

Lutherans, he said, would more likely consider "Christ Jesus Lay in Death's Strong Bands (Christ Lag in Todesbanden)" as traditional.

"Some from the African-American traditions would consider 'He Rose' or 'The Angel Rolled the Stone Away' as tradition," he said.

Others embrace more contemporary songs, like those sung by Chris Tomlin, Maher and Kari Jobe.

But one hymn that Moore said holds broad appeal is Wesley's "Christ the Lord Is Risen Today." Wesley was a prolific hymn writer known for songs such as "O for a Thousand Tongues to Sing," "Hark! The Herald Angels Sing" and "Love Divine, All Loves Excelling." Many of his hymns originally had multiple stanzas, including his Easter classic, which started out with 11.

"Thankfully time has redacted them down to anywhere from four to seven," Moore said.

The lyrics begin like this:

Christ the Lord is risen to day, Alleluia!

Earth and heaven in chorus say, Alleluia!

Raise you joys and triumphs high, Alleluia!

Sing, ye heavens, and Earth reply, Alleluia!

Moore said singing isn't something that's incidental to the Christian life. He referred to the Old Testament, saying many times the people of God are urged, even commanded, to "sing a new song."

Singing, he said, is "integral to proclaiming the Gospel and living the Christian life and ushering in the new kingdom."

"If, therefore, Easter marks, in some sense, the moment when the new life and the new kingdom have finally and fully broken into this world, then singing on Easter Sunday may be the most appropriate act or worship," he said.

He quoted St. Augustine, who said singing "is something which signifies that the heart labors with what it cannot utter."

"Singing, therefore, is a holy act which allows us to enter into the mysteries which are the human heart and even what it means for the human heart to be laid full open before God in praise of the one who has brought about redemption," Moore said.

While some congregations stick to the old standards, Moore said a balance of new and old can offer a link to history, as well as to the next generation.

"[If] the only songs we are singing are from our own community, speak only to and of our already established identity, revisit only our own past, and tell only our own stories, then our future will be shaped in our own image and quite naturally begin to curve in on itself, becoming insulated and self-referential," he said. "Therefore, we need to sing the songs of others, of those who are not present among us and of those who come into our presence bringing their own song, so that our future can be shaped as Christ has commanded: for the other.

"Singing new songs is, deeply and profoundly, an act of loving one's neighbor."

Suzanne Cain, minister of worship at Second Baptist Church in downtown Little Rock, tries to balance a mix of new and old as she selects music for services, including those for Easter Sunday. She works with the church's pastor, the Rev. Preston Clegg, to select music for Easter that will engage the congregation, usually traditional hymns as well as something more contemporary.

"I've had good success with finding some new songs to teach the congregation," she said.

Cain said she looks for songs that have lyrics that "really speak to who we are as a congregation."

She's partial to the music of Keith and Kristyn Getty. They are known for songs such as "In Christ Alone" and "The Power of the Cross."

"I use a lot of their stuff," she said. "It's really easy to learn and it's singable with really rich lyrics."

Cain said music adds to the celebration of Easter.

"Music has a way of speaking to the heart of everybody in ways that words can't," she said.

Religion on 03/26/2016

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