Today

O Haupt voll Blut

"THE" Passion hymn, with music arranged by Bach. Lyrics in English and German below. Have a Good Friday.



O sacred Head, now wounded, with grief and shame weighed down,
Now scornfully surrounded with thorns, Thine only crown;
O sacred Head, what glory, what bliss till now was Thine!
Yet, though despised and gory, I joy to call Thee mine.

What Thou, my Lord, hast suffered, was all for sinners’ gain;
Mine, mine was the transgression, but Thine the deadly pain.
Lo, here I fall, my Savior! ’Tis I deserve Thy place;
Look on me with Thy favor, vouchsafe to me Thy grace.

Men mock and taunt and jeer Thee, Thou noble countenance,
Though mighty worlds shall fear Thee and flee before Thy glance.
How art thou pale with anguish, with sore abuse and scorn!
How doth Thy visage languish that once was bright as morn!

Now from Thy cheeks has vanished their color once so fair;
From Thy red lips is banished the splendor that was there.
Grim death, with cruel rigor, hath robbed Thee of Thy life;
Thus Thou hast lost Thy vigor, Thy strength in this sad strife.

My burden in Thy Passion, Lord, Thou hast borne for me,
For it was my transgression which brought this woe on Thee.
I cast me down before Thee, wrath were my rightful lot;
Have mercy, I implore Thee; Redeemer, spurn me not!

What language shall I borrow to thank Thee, dearest friend,
For this Thy dying sorrow, Thy pity without end?
O make me Thine forever, and should I fainting be,
Lord, let me never, never outlive my love to Thee.

My Shepherd, now receive me; my Guardian, own me Thine.
Great blessings Thou didst give me, O source of gifts divine.
Thy lips have often fed me with words of truth and love;
Thy Spirit oft hath led me to heavenly joys above.

Here I will stand beside Thee, from Thee I will not part;
O Savior, do not chide me! When breaks Thy loving heart,
When soul and body languish in death’s cold, cruel grasp,
Then, in Thy deepest anguish, Thee in mine arms I’ll clasp.

The joy can never be spoken, above all joys beside,
When in Thy body broken I thus with safety hide.
O Lord of Life, desiring Thy glory now to see,
Beside Thy cross expiring, I’d breathe my soul to Thee.

My Savior, be Thou near me when death is at my door;
Then let Thy presence cheer me, forsake me nevermore!
When soul and body languish, oh, leave me not alone,
But take away mine anguish by virtue of Thine own!

Be Thou my consolation, my shield when I must die;
Remind me of Thy passion when my last hour draws nigh.
Mine eyes shall then behold Thee, upon Thy cross shall dwell,
My heart by faith enfolds Thee. Who dieth thus dies well.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

O Haupt voll Blut und Wunden,Voll Schmerz und voller Hohn,
O Haupt, zum Spott gebunden Mit einer Dornenkron’,
O Haupt, sonst schön gezieret Mit höchster Ehr’ und Zier,
Jetzt aber höchst schimpfieret; Gegrüßet sei’st du mir!

Du edles Angesichte, Davor sonst schrickt und scheut
Das große Weltgewichte, Wie bist du so bespeit!
Wie bist du so erbleichet! Wer hat dein Augenlicht,
Dem sonst kein Licht nicht gleichet, So schändlich zugericht’t?

Die Farbe deiner Wangen, Der roten Lippen Pracht
Ist hin und ganz vergangen; Des blaßen Todes Macht
Hat alles hingenommen, Hat alles hingerafft,
Und daher bist du kommen Von deines Leibes Kraft.

Nun, was du, Herr, erduldet, Ist alles meine Last;
Ich hab’ es selbst verschuldet, Was du getragen hast.
Schau her, hier steh’ ich Armer, Der Zorn verdienet hat;
Gib mir, o mein Erbarmer, Den Anblick deiner Gnad’!

Erkenne mich, mein Hüter, Mein Hirte, nimm mich an!
Von dir, Quell’ aller Güter, Ist mir viel Gut’s getan.
Dein Mund hat mich gelabet Mit Mich und süßer Kost;
Dein Geist hat mich begabet Mit mancher Himmelslust.

Ich will hier bei dir stehen, Verachte mich doch nicht!
Von dir will ich nicht gehen, Wenn dir dein Herze bricht;
Wenn dein haupt wird erblaßen Im letzten Todesstoß,
Alsdann will ich dich faßen In meinem Arm und Schoß.

Es dient zu meinen Freuden Und kommt mir herzlich wohl,
Wenn ich in deinem Leiden, Mein Heil, mich finden soll.
Ach, möcht’ ich, o mein Leben, An deinem Kreuze hier
Mein Leben von mir geben, Wie wohl geschähe mir!

Ich danke dir von Herzen, O Jesu, liebster Freund,
Für deines Todes Schmerzen, Da du’s so gut gemeint.
Ach gib, daß ich mich halte Zu dir und deiner Treu’
Und, wenn ich nun erkalte, In dir mein Ende sei!

Wann ich einmal soll scheiden, So scheide nicht von mir,
Wenn ich den Tod soll leiden, So tritt du dann herfür;
Wenn mir am allerbängsten Wird um das Herze sein,
So reiß mich aus den Ängsten Kraft deiner Angst und Pein!

Erscheine mir zum Schilde, Zum Trost in meinem Tod,
Und laß mich sehn dein Bilde In deiner Kreuzesnot!
Da will ich nacht dir blicken, Da will ich glaubensvoll
Dich fest an mein Herz drücken. Wer so stirbt, der stirbt wohl.

Reclaiming the Baby From the Bathwater

The following thoughts are not theologically rigorous. They are more along the lines of sentiment. But I don't think they're baseless . . .

I think the Reformation was a necessary corrective to a church that had become wacked out and blatantly corrupt. I also think the Reformation was an over-corrective and we need to reclaim a few things.

In our aversion to legalism, we've made everything optional. Reformed churches, curiously, maintain the primacy of the Sabbath even while insisiting there is no sacred-secular divide in life. But aside from that exception, days, feasts, and observances are optional. So, too often, is discipleship to the Master Whom we profess.

The Passion week and Easter weekend that just passed have left me thinking that we could use a few "Holy Days of Obligation" in our evangelical churches.

No Christian holy day is more important than Easter. True, Christmas is essential, because if Jesus hadn't been born, then nothing that followed could have happened. But why was He born? He was born to die. And the Passion Week is our time to reflect more deeply on these truths and mourn our sin more fully and, on Sunday, rejoice more truly.

I was surprised this year at the number of friends I have - friends whose walk with God I respect - who treated Easter weekend as just another weekend. Concerts, dates, dinners, even skipping church(!).

I admit that I hardly spent the entire weekend, myself, in prayer, meditation, and fasting. I was on a plane returning from a business trip when my church held its Maundy Thursday service, I spent Good Friday working, and the omelette I cooked up on Saturday was absolutely incredible. But I did set aside time Friday night to attend a presentation (recitation) of the Gospel of John as a way to focus more intently on the person of Christ. At home and driving, I sought out music throughout the weekend that related to the Passion. And on Sunday morning I went to the Episcopal Cathedral for my high church fix before heading off to my own church to celebrate with my friends (surprisingly, the two services were much more congruent - the liturgy, the creed, even the sermons - than I would have expected from such different churches).

I say all this not to hold myself up as a paradigm. Rather, I'm simply trying to express my belief that this last week (my Catholic friends would say 40 days) is not just another week to be punctuated with better-than-usual music on Sunday. It is the ground of our existence, the sine qua non of our faith, and something deserving of intense focus.

.

"If Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins. . . . If only for this life we have hope in Christ, we are to be pitied more than all men. But Christ has indeed been raised from the dead" (1 Corinthians 15.17,19,20).

.

Isn't that worthy of some extra attention?