I have enough

Recently, a friend from choir introduced me to the music of Lorraine Hunt-Lieberson, mezzo soprano. And after listening to the first of her CD's I ordered — Bach Cantatas BWV 82 and 199 — I just want to say thanks so much Lois, and wow, what a voice!

The first piece on this CD, BWV 82 - Ich habe genug, is probably my favorite. Not only is it beautifully sung, it is brilliantly composed. But then of course with Bach as the composer, how could it be otherwise, right?

Ich habe genug expresses contempt for this worldly life and a yearning for death and heaven. It also has a very intriguing paradox — the words do not even mention the pains of living in this world; rather, they are full of radiance and hope. Bach’s music, however, is full of pain and dissonance. I think this conflicting combination well expresses the Christian life itself. The haunting "music" of this cursed world and its resulting pain fills the air around us and reverberates within us. We cannot escape it. But do we "sing" about the trials we're enduring? No (or at least we shouldn't). We "sing" about the glory to come!

For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory that is to be revealed to us (Rom 8:18).

For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain (Phil 1:21).

The history behind Ich habe genug (meaning, "I have enough") is really rather interesting. Bach intended this cantata for the Feast of the Purification of Mary (also known as "Candlemas"), and it was first sung on that day on February 2, 1727. This feast commemorates Mary's journey to Jerusalem for the duel purpose of ritual purification forty days after giving birth and to present her child to God. It is based on Luke 2:22-32, which actually says little about the purification of Mary; rather it focuses on Simeon, to whom it had been revealed by the Holy Spirit that he should not see death before he had seen the Lord's Christ. Simeon's beautiful prayer follows: Now Lord, You are releasing Your bond-servant to depart in peace, according to Your word; for my eyes have seen Your salvation, which You have prepared in the presence of all peoples, a light of revelation to the Gentiles, and the glory of Your people Israel. In Bach's day, the Feast of the Purification of Mary was a time for Christians to think about their own deaths and to expand the idea of Simeon's words to mean, "now that the Savior has appeared, I can die with good cheer, for death has lost its terror."

Lorraine Hunt-Lieberson usually wore a flimsy hospital gown and thick woolen socks when performing Ich Habe Genug. And with her face contorted with pain and yearning, she portrayed a terminally ill patient who wants to go to heaven and be comforted by her Savior.

Ironically, Lorraine herself died of cancer on July 3, 2006 at the age of 52. It seems she was not a believer, however, for she has been quoted as saying this about herself regarding Bach's cantatas: "It was a revelation, even for a non-believer, to experience these works in context, as it were, and thus to discover how they really worked! For they are sermons, sermons in verse and music, beautiful and intense supplements to the sermons preached by the pastor in his pulpit." How very sad to sing such words of hope and never experience the truth of them.

Cantata BWV 82, Ich Habe Genug as sung by Lorraine Hunt-Lieberson


English translation:

It is enough.
I have held the Savior, the hope of all peoples,
In the warm embrace of my arms.
It is enough.

I have seen him,
My faith has impressed Jesus on my heart;
Now I wish this very day
To depart from here with joy.

It is enough.
My one consolation is this:
That I am Jesus’ beloved and he is mine.
In faith, I hold him.
For in Simeon, I already see
The joy of life to come.
Let us go forth with Simeon!
Ah! if only the Lord
Would free me from my body’s enslavement;
Ah! if indeed my liberation were soon,
With joy I would say to you, O World,
It is enough.

Slumber, my weary eyes,
Fall softly and close in contentment.

O World, I will linger here no more.
For indeed, I find nothing in you
Pleasing to my soul.

Here I am resigned to misery,
But there, there I shall feel
Sweet peace and quiet rest.

My God! When will I hear that precious word: “Now!”
Then I will depart in peace,
And rest both here in the humus of the cool earth
And there within your bosom.
My departure is at hand,
O World, good night!

With gladness, I look forward to my death,
(Ah! if only it had already come.)

Then shall I escape all despair
That still enslaves me now on earth.

"All of our theology must eventually become biography.

The constant challenge in this life we call Christian is the translation of all we believe to be true into our day-to-day life-style."

You Gotta Keep Dancin’

(In the midst of life’s hurts, you can choose joy!)

by Tim Hansel

We love Him because He first loved us - 1 Jn 4:19

Have you ever noticed that Paul never speaks of his love for Christ? Rather he keeps on talking about Christ's wonderful love for him. Neither does he insist that we love Christ. Instead he keeps telling us how Christ loved, and loves, us.

It's interesting to note that the law commanded, Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind (Matt 22:37). But then this is the very nature of the law. And we should love God. However, the law cannot produce love, so God comes to us in grace and says, “I love you.” Therefore, what the law could not accomplish, grace did and does, because love produces love. When we come to know the love of Christ, we respond to Him in love. That’s why Paul's epistles are so filled with the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord (Rom 8:39).

Peter, like Paul, had once been a strict observer of the law, and he too had come to know the love of Christ. As a result, Peter had developed a deep love for Christ and the overflowing joy that accompanies such love. That’s why we read these heartfelt words in 1 Peter 1:8: Though you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy.

Knowing and loving Christ brings inexpressible joy (1 Pet 1:8), but we can't love Him, or others, by trying. Instead, we must accept His love for us in faith so that our hearts may naturally respond.

Stolen Goose

John: Pastor, I have stolen a fat goose from a poultry yard.

Pastor Davis: That is very wrong, John.

John: Would you like it, Pastor?

Pastor Davis: Certainly not! Return it to the man you stole it from.

John: But I have offered it to him and he won't have it.

Pastor Davis: In that case, you may keep it for yourself.

John: Thank you, Pastor.


Pastor Davis arrives home that evening to find that one of his geese has been stolen...

Is ignorance bliss?

Are most people content to be ignorant? Does ignorance create bliss? According to an article written by Himanshu Mishra (University of Utah), Baba Shiv (Stanford University), and Dhananjay Nayakankuppam (University of Iowa), people who are about to make decisions do not like to be ignorant — they want as many details as possible. However, after they've made a decision, people want to be happy with it and thereafter only want vague information. "It does appear that vagueness can actually make one more optimistic about one's own life choices and subjective well-being by allowing one to see what one wants to see—a case of ignorance truly being bliss!" the authors write.

This article got me to wondering if this so-called "Blissful Ignorance Effect" has followed many of us over into our spiritual lives. Sometimes it seems we're afraid to study Scripture for fear we might discover we've made a poor decision to follow Christ. Or, maybe we've been brought up to believe certain things and we're afraid they won't stand up to the scrutiny of Scripture. If the latter is the case, what's so terribly bad about that? Are we secretly afraid our faith will completely fall a part if we discover some of the things we were taught in Sunday School weren't exactly right? The fact is, faith is not something we have to strive to hold onto because it too is a gift God has given us.

But God does want us to grow to spiritual maturity, and He has made abundant provision for every one of us to do so. In Corinthians Paul rebukes the believers for not having grown. The trouble with the Corinthians was that they did not have much appetite for the Word; they did not have a passion to know and obey the truth. And we know that "the babe in Christ who craves pure spiritual milk will grow up in their salvation, now that they have tasted that the Lord is good" (1 Pet 2:2-3). This was the trouble with the Hebrew believers, too. When the author of the book would have gone further into the great subject of Christ as "high priest in the order of Melchizedek," he was forced to write:

We have much to say about this, but it is hard to explain because you are slow to learn (Heb 5:11).

Scriptural ignorance is not bliss, for it is there that we learn who we are in Christ and how we are to live!

During World War II there were many stories about parents having prearranged a code with their sons so that "Johnny" could let them know to which theater of war he had been sent. These parents would pour over and study these letters in detail in an effort to make out what "Johnny" was trying to make them understand.

Such interest and concern over a letter from "Johnny"! And appropriately so, but do we show such interest in God's Word to us? Let's not be guilty of being content with "vague information," with knowing only a few passages which "warm our hearts."

Sausage and Black Bean Soup

The arrival of brisk autumn evenings has turned my mind to making warm soups and breads. Several years ago a friend emailed me this delicious, and really, rather healthy soup. Served with crusty, fresh-out-of-oven bread, it makes a wonderful supper, and it’s incredibly easy to make. My family loves it!

6 oz turkey kielbasa sausage, sliced
1 c diced green, red, or yellow peppers
1 (14 oz) can fat free low sodium chicken broth
1 (15 oz) can black beans, rinsed and drained
1/4 c picante sauce or salsa

Coat medium sauce pan with non-stick spray. Medium heat, add sausage, saute 1 minute. Add peppers and saute 1 minute. Add broth. Bring to boil; reduce heat. Add beans and picante sauce and simmer covered for 5 minutes. Serves 4.


And here's an easy bread recipe you can throw together and bake in a matter of minutes:
3 1/4 c whole wheat flour
1 1/4 c unbleached flour
3 tsp salt
2 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 c canola oil
2 c water
3 tbsp honey
2 tbsp melted butter

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease a baking sheet. Sift flours, salt, and baking power together. Mix in 1/4 c oil. In separate bowl, dissolve honey in water. Stir into flour mixture. Mix until just a sticky dough pulls together. Turn dough onto a well-floured surface and divide into 2 pieces. Form pieces into oblong loaves, similar to french bread loaves. Place loaves on baking sheet. Bake in oven for 18 minutes. Remove from oven. Brush with 2 tbsp melted butter and bake 10-15 minutes longer until bottom of loaves sound hollow when tapped.

Removing specks - Luke 6:41-42

This is a picture of my little brother, Tim. He's about 1 1/2 years younger than I am. He looks pretty innocent, doesn't he? Well he’s not. He’s a big conniver!

I'll never forget the day he hood-winked mom into giving him two extra cookies. It was so unfair!

After lunch that day we had each been given a cookie and sent out to play. See that swing set back there? I was swinging in the middle swing as high as I could go, while Tim kept going up and down that slide on the right.  For some reason — don't ask me why — he decided to lay his half eaten cookie on the bottom of the slide, when all of a sudden a big black crow swoops down, grabs it, and flies off.

Big deal. I still had my cookie. And he had already eaten half of his. But was he satisfied? Oh no. He started screaming and carrying on, and then ran into the house to con mom out of another cookie.

Of course it worked. Mom's such a pushover. And just because he was so upset, she actually gave him TWO cookies to replace the measly HALF cookie the crow had taken. His crying stopped suspiciously fast after that. See, I told you he's a big conniver!

You may wonder if he shared any of his extras cookies with his loving big sister. Ha! Yeah right.  Obviously, I'm a much more caring person than he is.