Stay with Us

This evening at choir rehearsal we put the final touches on "Stay with Us" by Evil Hogland, in preparation for a special service tomorrow evening, "A Service of Hope and Remembrance." Several things about this are so lovely; the occasion where eight downtown churches get together yearly and host a special service for people who have lost a loved one during past year. Offered in the evening, the setting is much like an Evening Vespers or Evening Prayer service.

The Road to Emmaus by Daniel Bonnell

"Stay with Us" is the INTROIT for this service, and seems so fitting. Based on this text from Luke 24:29 . . .

But they urged him strongly, “Stay with us, for it is nearly evening; the day is almost over.” So he went in to stay with them.

This hymn text has been sung since the early days of the church. From WIKIpedia:

Phos Hilaron (Φῶς Ἱλαρόν) is an ancient Christians hymn originally written in New Testament Greek. Often referred to by its Latin title Lumen Hilare it has been translated into English as 'Hail Gladdening Light' or 'O Gladsome/Joyous Light'. It is the earliest known Christian hymn recorded outside of the Bible that is still being used today.

Tradition says that in the early years following Jesus resurrection, a lamp was kept perpetually burning at his tomb. When Christians gathered for evening worship, the lamps were lit from the burning lamp at the tomb. Various translations of the Greek are used today for the Phos Hilaron, including this one from the Lutheran hymnody:

Joyous light of glory of the immortal Father,
Heavenly, holy, blessed Jesus Christ,
We have come to the setting of the Sun
And we look to the evening light.
We sing to God, the Father, the Son and Holy Spirit.
You are worthy of being praised with pure voices forever.
O Son of God, O Giver of Light,
The universe proclaims your glory.

You will remember that this comes from the story where Jesus meets two disciples walking along the road from Jerusalem to Emmaus. They did not yet know that Jesus had risen from the dead. What was their posture and conversation like before Jesus showed up to walk with them? Jaded? Grief-stricken? Devastated? We love the part where they didn't recognize the Master until he sat with them at supper and broke the bread (Luke 24:13-49). Hogland's hymn says it this way:

Stay with us, it soon is evening and night is falling.

Isn't that what we all want and need from the Lord? To know that He will not leave us when dark times in our lives leave us devastated, frightened, alone. We want the gentle, risen Jesus to dine with us too and apply his resurrection to our own dark, needy worlds. This hauntingly beautiful setting keeps playing through my mind. It's really a sung prayer    . . . Lord, don't leave me!  It's also a statement of faith . . . faith that Jesus is the answer, and so we run to him and invite him to stay with us where we are.

If you haven't listened the link above, take a few minutes and bask in the peace of the message that is so appropriately served by the music. Compellingly sung by the National Lutheran Choir.

The Supper at Emmaus by Caravaggio, painted in 1601 and 1606

Other works by Daniel Bonnell