Bonus Poem: Gratefulness

Gratefulness

There are two usual ways to deal with the things that could happen.

I mean, the things that you never expect,

Like that chest pain turning into an aortic stent,

Or those radiating twinges turning into disc surgery,

Or your growing fatigue finally being diagnosed as leukemia,

Or your knees giving out, even though you can never imagine that, 

since you can still bound up the stairs if you want, 

but they don’t last forever, you know. Don’t you?

These things, or any number of 101 damnations, could all happen. 

At least one of them surely will.

I mean, you’ll probably die,

Even though you can’t imagine that, either.

Aging comes with its perks, but also its downsides.

And you could dread the prospects of all these things,

Like first-year medical students, who,

I hear, often think that everything they read about is an affliction that they have. 

You can worry yourself to death, which is a little ironic, isn’t it?

Or, on the other hand, you can deny all this,

And go on living as if everything revolves around you,

As if you can take whatever you want from life,

Because, after all, you are special, aren’t you?

Bad things happen to other people. 

But you, above all others, deserve all the good things in life that you can grab.

And yet for some reason, I think neither of these alternatives is the best one.

For some reason, and I’m not sure how we get to it,

(Except maybe by being called to it? 

And is this what it means to have a mature concept of God?)

It turns out that the best alternative is living with an everyday gratefulness:

A cheerful humility about the world around you,

Letting go of the hurt and letting in the forgiveness,

Allowing tears to come with someone’s warm hug because you’ve been missed,

Being astonished by the life all around you, 

in the smallest square inch of dirt beneath your feet up to the giant hemlocks you walk under, 

And being amazed at the gifts of everyone from the kid in the school play 

to the cleaning lady who mops the floor 

to the doctors and P.A.s and N.P.s who are trying to figure out the next best step. 

Gratefulness. What better way to celebrate this season, or any other, for that matter? 

What better way to recognize love incarnate? 

What better way to live?

Scott L. Barton

Bonus Poem: Hymn, "All Our Days"

 

This hymn came about after an organ recital at First Churches, Northampton, Mass. Kiel Krommer played a captivating piece called "Reflection," the first sixteen measures of which called out to me as the music for a touching hymn. I wrote the hymn words based on the music Kiel loaned me, tracked down the composer, Daniel Bishop, in Liverpool, U.K., and sent a request to use part of his piece for a hymn. He was apologetic that the publisher might not allow it, and he was right. Well, the publisher would have charged a big fee. After telling Daniel Bishop that I understood that everyone needs to be compensated for their work, but I just couldn't swing the publisher's requirements, Daniel offered to write new music for this hymn. It's heavily based on the original piece but different enough that it stands on its own. Mr. Bishop even engraved the words and music just as you have here. We owe a lot to him if this becomes a hymn you decide to use.  

I think the best hymns are prayers, which this one is.

Verse 1 expresses a feeling of gratitude for everything that we are, and our faith that it is by love that we live—love from God, family, and those around us.

Verse 2 refers to all the vicissitudes of life, including our inevitable deaths, and God's accompanying us in it all. The last four words are the title of my favorite poem by Thomas John Carlisle.

Coming off the reference to our deaths in verse 2, verse 3 begins with our hope that there are things we have accomplished, and love we have given, that will endure after we are gone. But in the meantime, we still decide to follow the program of our God, believing that God in Christ makes all things new.

If you want to pair the hymn with a lectionary text, one possibility would be 2 Corinthians 5:17. 

I appreciate the comments that a few colleagues made after my first draft of the words. This whole project goes to show that something like this doesn't come out of a vacuum but in collaboration with good-hearted people. 

 

 

Bonus Poem: Hymn: God Is Our Only King

 

God Is Our Only King

DIADEMATA  SMD

 

Scott L. Barton, 2025                                                                                 George Job Elvey, 1868                                                          

 

1. God is our only king in this beloved land,

If any claim to take that name, against them we will stand;

Our forebears fought and died, so all of us would reign,

The Constitution makes it clear, and we will make it plain!

 

2. “Give me your tired, your poor, those yearning to breathe free,

Those hated victims of all wars, send homeless souls to me!”

We welcome in this land, all strangers needing care,

We follow Jesus here because humanity we share.

 

3. Giant displays of strength reveal the inward fear

Of those who think that might makes right, and only self revere;

We trust that love prevails, for Christ the crucified 

From death rose up to give us hope, and with us still abides.

 

4. Making a nation great means kindness is restored,

And diff’rences can make us strong, while hatred we deplore;

Our God calls us to serve all people far and wide,

And how we serve the least of these, is how we’re glorified. 

 

 

We Have No Bloody King

 

Scott Barton (2025)                            DIADEMATA SMD              George Elvey (1868)

 

1.    We have no bloody king in this beloved land,

If any claim to take that name, against them we will stand;

Our forebears fought and died, so no one person reigns,

The Constitution makes it clear, and we will make it plain!

 

2.    “Give me your tired, your poor, those yearning to breathe free,”

Those hated victims of all wars, send homeless souls to me!

We welcome in this land, all strangers needing care,

We open wide our arms because humanity we share.

 

3.    Giant displays of strength reveal the inward fear

Of those who think that might makes right, and only self revere;

We trust that love prevails, for what there is inside

Each member of humanity says goodness still abides.

 

4.    Making a nation great means kindness is restored,

And diff’rences can make us strong, while hatred we deplore;

Our nation needs no king, across this land so wide,

Since how we serve the most in need is how we’re glorified.