HOLY WEEK TO EASTER - All these are from UNRAVELLING THE MYSTERIES, along with poems and other readings.
HOLY WEEK – Thursday to Friday
Afraid and alone and worn out with his praying
Afraid and alone and worn out with his praying,
his friends sleeping soundly and all unaware
that out in the darkness arrest was approaching,
and Jesus was frightened and full of despair.
Accused and alone and awaiting the judgement,
surrounded by enemies out for the kill,
with none to defend him and friends who'd betrayed him;
yet Jesus stood resolute, silent and still.
Abandoned, alone and in agony dying,
the torture and pain brought a cry of despair.
For then, as the crisis of death was approaching
for Jesus, it felt as if God wasn't there.
Now dead and alone, they would bury his body,
those friends who found courage to deal with his death.
A stone sealed the tomb and with soldiers to guard it,
his enemies thought they'd seen Jesus' last breath.
Alone in a garden, a woman was weeping.
In spite of precautions, the body was gone.
But then through her tears, she could hear her name spoken
and Jesus is living. The story goes on!
Marjorie Dobson (born 1940)
Words © 2019 © Stainer & Bell Ltd, London, England copyright@stainer.co.uk . Please include any reproduction for local church use on your CCL Licence returns. All wider and any commercial use requires prior application to Stainer & Bell Ltd.
Metre: 12 11 12 11
Tune: AFRAID AND ALONE 12 11 12 11 (Ian Sharp) or THE ROAD AND THE MILES TO DUNDEE
GOOD FRIDAY
First the cheering, then the jeering
1 First the cheering, then the jeering-
crowds can change their minds at will.
First they hail him, then condemn him;
aim to please, or aim to kill.
2 First the anger, then the whipping,
clearing out the Temple court.
First the traders, then the money-
space for prayer cannot be bought.
3 First the perfume, then the poison-
money should not go to waste.
First anointing, then annoyance-
do not judge her deed in haste.
4 First the trusting, then betrayal-
Judas seeking cash in hand.
First he loved him, then provoked him,
daring him to take a stand.
5 First the kneeling, then the serving,
showing deep humility.
First bread breaking, then wine sharing-
'Do this as you think of me.'
6 First the garden, then the praying-
sweating blood, then traitor's kiss.
First the trial, then denial-
Peter, has it come to this?
7 First the nails and then the hammer
piercing flesh and splitting bone.
First the sighing, then the dying-
Jesus on the cross, alone.
8 First the grieving, then the praying,
agonizing through your death.
First we share your desolation-
while you wait to take new breath.
Marjorie Dobson (born 1940)
© 2005 Stainer & Bell Ltd, London, England copyright@stainer.co.uk . Please include any reproduction for local church use on your CCL Licence returns. All wider and any commercial use requires prior application to Stainer & Bell Ltd.
Metre: 8 7 8 7
Tune: STUTTGART 8 7 8 7
EASTER SUNDAY
No soldiers and no body - (particularly suitable for Mark's gospel account.)
1 No soldiers and no body,
an empty linen shroud
and women with a story
they dare not tell aloud.
So, put away the spices
intended for the dead
and wait with fear, as they did,
to see some way ahead.
2 And did the story end there,
the last words torn away?
No final resolution?
What happened on that day?
What changed the gloom to glory?
What cancelled out their loss?
How could there be a victory
beyond that bloody cross?
3 Before the day had ended
the rumours ran around
that Jesus was still living,
no body could be found.
Authorities denied it,
said that the guards had fled,
but they feared most the story
'He's risen from the dead.'
Based on the break in the writing of Mark 16, where the fragment of writing has been torn away
Marjorie Dobson (born 1940)
© 2008 Stainer & Bell Ltd, London, England copyright@stainer.co.uk . Please include any reproduction for local church use on your CCL Licence returns. All wider and any commercial use requires prior application to Stainer & Bell Ltd.
Metre: 7 6 7 6 D
Tune: SALLEY GARDENS 7 6 7 6D
Come in the morning
Come in the morning.
Come see the dawning.
Come to the garden -
life has broken through.
1 Jesus, dead and buried.
To his grave they hurried.
Anxious women found that
life had broken through.
Chorus
2 Soldiers could not keep him
for they were found sleeping
and the tomb was open -
life had broken through.
Chorus
3 Peter, unbelieving,
left, still full of grieving.
Nothing would convince him
life had broken through.
Chorus
4 Mary, greatly shaken,
thought he had been taken.
Heard his voice that told her
life had broken through.
Chorus
5 Where there was despairing,
grief and horror sharing,
now there is a rumour
life has broken through.
Chorus
6 So God's word is spoken,
when our hearts are broken
there will come a time when
new life will break through.
Chorus
Marjorie Dobson (born 1940)
© 2008 Stainer & Bell Ltd, London, England copyright@stainer.co.uk . Please include any reproduction for local church use on your CCL Licence returns. All wider and any commercial use requires prior application to Stainer & Bell Ltd.
Metre: 6 6 6 5 and Chorus 5 5 5 5
Tune: DANCE TO THI DADDY 6 6 6 5 and refrain
Tag: Unravelling the Mysteries
A towel and a basin? – Marjorie Dobson’s hymn for Maundy Thursday
1 A towel and a basin?
This caused them great unease.
Their Master, now a servant?
The Christ upon his knees?
In washing feet made dirty
out on the city street,
he showed the power of action
where love and duty meet.
2 Yet Peter made his protest
and missed the point again,
till Jesus told him gently
that he must share his pain.
They hardly understood him,
although his words were clear
and soon his wise example
would be wiped out by fear.
3 But later they remembered
and took his words to heart:
in sacrifice and service
they gave the church its start,
and we who follow after
take up the task today,
to show, in love and service,
we also walk Christ's way.
Marjorie Dobson (born 1940)
Words © 2012 Stainer & Bell Ltd, London, England copyright@stainer.co.uk .
Please include any reproduction for local church use on your CCL Licence returns. All wider and any commercial use requires prior application to Stainer & Bell Ltd
Metre: 7 6 7 6 D
Tune: PASSION CHORALE
This hymn is available in Marjorie's most recent collection of worship items: Unravelling the Mysteries and also Hymns of Hope and Healing, both available from Stainer & Bell Ltd - click here
More of Marjorie's hymns will follow here.
January – a poem at the turning of the year by Marjorie Dobson
January
(the month is named after the Roman god, Janus, whose two faces looked in opposite directions and who was the god of doors, or openings.)
At the turning of the year
that two-faced Roman god
looks longingly back,
yet urges us forward
into the unknown.
We stand at the threshold,
knowing we must face
the unknowable,
yet lingering and clinging
to what we leave behind.
The changing pace of time
may fill us with dread
when anxieties overwhelm,
or danger threatens,
or the future has predictable limitations.
There may be hope in days ahead,
promises to be fulfilled,
vows to be made,
new life and new directions
glittering with expectation.
But the two-faced god
pays no regard to pain or pleasure,
simply stands like stone
gazing impassively
in both directions.
Thank God, the God we know,
holds past and future
in living, loving hands
and takes on flesh
to prove the truth of that involvement.
Marjorie Dobson © Stainer & Bell Ltd 2019 from Unravelling the Mysteries
Unravelling the Mysteries – Marjorie Dobson
Some while ago I posted information about Marjorie Dobson’s book Unravelling the Mysteries. As a consequence of Conferences and events being cancelled due to COVID, together with her husband’s illness and death, less has been made of this book than might have been. In that light it seemed right to raise its profile again in case you missed it.
In a review of the book in the Hymn Society Bulletin, Claire Wilson had this to say:
In a short poem Marjorie Dobson recalls her childhood, when hand-knitted items of clothing, once outgrown, could be untangled and rewoven into a new garment. Something along these lines happens in this refreshingly unconventional assortment of hymns, poems, monologues, dialogues and prayers. Biblical narratives are creatively re-told in the first person from the perspective of the main character.
In ‘Afterwards’, for example, we find an imaginative depiction of the fear and confusion experienced by Jesus’ mother in the early days of her pregnancy. Later, in a monologue, Mary takes us graphically through those harrowing hours during which she ‘wept and railed at God’ while cradling her son’s crucified body.
Christians’ need for confidence is frequently highlighted and inventively explored. Psalm 100 encourages us to ‘Sing to the Lord’, but what if we have reservations about our musical ability? No worries, we are told: the many diverse contributions listed in the poem will successfully blend in a chorus of praise. To quote just a few lines,
Come crooners and crows, Come singers from shows, Come tone-deaf or sweet. Or those with a beat: Musicians or not, Just give what you’ve got!
In each of the book’s sections (Beginning, Faith, Grace, Choices, Sorrow, Resurrection) we encounter a God who is waiting to empower us. We are all potentially effective disciples, however incompetent, grief-stricken, ashamed, guilty, or doubt-filled we may currently feel.
Unravelling the Mysteries never descends into shallow religious optimism, though. The reality of human despair and anger is fully acknowledged, and people experiencing depths of anguish are given a voice, as in the hymn, ‘God, hold us, unfold us, through desolate loss’.
What ultimately matters, we are told in the Epilogue, is the love of God which is at the core of our existence.
For whom is this book likely to be a resource? Well, preachers faced for the umpteenth time with crafting a sermon on some all-too-familiar Old or New Testament passage will surely welcome Marjorie’s inventive take on around twenty biblical characters. Her adventurous ideas are colourfully expressed both in poems and hymns.
Those who shy away from “religious literature” since they know from experience that quite frequently they have given up after the first chapter should be encouraged to give this book a try. It is eminently suitable for dipping into at random! A message of comfort, stimulation, forgiveness or hope may leap out to us from any page.
Finally, this treasure-chest of insights, biblical exploration and encouragement to reflect and ask questions finds expression in a variety of hymns and songs. Living with uncertainty as to what the future holds takes courage, and this is emphasised in ‘A man set off for Bethlehem’, where we encounter Samuel setting off in trepidation before God’s purpose is finally achieved. Jesus’s own experience of fear and loneliness is imaginatively portrayed in ‘Afraid and alone’. Those attending a service of healing could find themselves be moved by ‘The touch was so light’.
The collection includes hymns appropriate for use during Lent, Holy Week (‘A towel and a basin’), Eastertide, Pentecost and at Holy Communion. Others, equally sing-able, could be used on ‘public’ occasions such as infant baptisms or Remembrance Sunday, where those leading worship might welcome fresh ideas and where people who attend church infrequently might find their conventional expectations enjoyably challenged. The hymns are somehow ‘transferable’ in character: most, if not all of them, would fit as well into an informal gathering as into a more solemnly traditional service. Many tunes are familiar, and new ones not difficult to learn.
You may well know Marjorie Dobson as a hymn writer and contributor of material to https://theworshipcloud.com/
You might have a copy of her book of worship resources: Multicoloured Maze (https://stainer.co.uk/shop/b882/). You can get Unravelling the Mysteries from Stainer & Bell at: https://stainer.co.uk/shop/b959/.
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