Presumably, many of you know that (by the grace of God through Christ Jesus) I am a child of God. So, if you have followed my blog for any length of time you no doubt have noticed that some few of my posts include scripture references, my thoughts on a passage or how our Creator is revealed in a particular piece of music, etc ... In today’s post I want to introduce you to two works. One is a book by Francis Chan called “Crazy Love” and the other is a piece of music for SATB choir called “Look, You Saints, A Cloud of Witness” by Jonathan Crutchfield and arranged by Joseph M. Martin.[As a side note, the words for the choral work are by John H. Dickson. Dr. Dickson is now Dean and Professor of Conducting at the Townsend School of Music at Mercer University. I briefly studied with him at Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville. He is an outstanding choral musician and as my memory serves me, has always had a love for the beauty of words and as he often put it, “the marriage of text and music.”]
In Francis Chan’s book “Crazy Love” Chan asks the question, “What does running toward Christ and pursuing Love look like in daily life?” He answers this question in looking at all of Hebrews chapter 11. This chapter speaks of men and women of great faith – and yet, they were greatly flawed. Chan writes, “It is tempting to assume that the people listed there were superhuman, or supersaints, and that you and I could never do the kinds of things they did. But did you know that Abraham was afraid for his safety, so he lied about his wife … Consider Jacob, who stole his brother Esau’s birthright … Or did you know that Moses was a murderer and so scared of speaking up that God had to send his brother, Aaron, to be Moses’ mouthpiece? … Then there’s Samson, who had so many issues I don’t even know where to begin. And of course, David, a ‘man after God’s own heart’ who was an adulterer and a murderer …” (Chan 114).
Chan’s point here is that in spite of our wandering hearts we too can daily pursue, not only love as found in Christ, but the loveliness of Christ, which is the crux of “Crazy Love.” Later Chan goes on to say, “As chronicled in Hebrews 11, the God that the people of faith served is the very One we serve. … When you pray, your prayers are heard by the same God who answered Moses’ prayer for water in the desert, the God who gave Abraham and his barren wife a son, and the God who made the slave Joseph second in power only to Pharaoh.” (Chan 116).
The title for the anthem “Look, You Saints, A Cloud of Witness” is taken from the opening lines of Hebrews 12, “Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us.” (NIV, vs. 1). This “cloud of witnesses” is the people of faith spoken of in chapter 11 of Hebrews. What a humbling thought, to know that we are "surrounded" by these great saints. "Look, You Saints, A Cloud of Witness" is a majestic anthem thusly described on the jwpepper site -- “This noble call to worship and service is a stirring tribute to God's faithfulness as displayed through the work of his church. The arena of heaven cheers on the people of God as they seek to run the race and fight the good fight answering the call to ministry."
The SATB anthem is accompanied by piano and organ and includes parts for handbells and the congregation. If you would like to listen to a brief sample of the work go to http://www.jwpepper.com/. In the keywords box type Look, You Saints, A Cloud of Witness. When the page pulls up click on “closer look” to hear an audio sample. I highly recommend both “Crazy Love” and “Look, You Saints, A Cloud of Witness.” Happy reading, listening, or singing!
Chan, Francis. “Crazy Love.” Colorado Spring, CO: David C. Cook, 2008. Crutchfield, Jonathan; Martin, Joseph M. arr. “Look, You Saints, A Cloud of Witness.” Celebrating Grace Inc. (via Shawnee Press), 2010.