Day 407 | Friday, 30 April 2021

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Day 407 | Friday, 30 April 2021

Yesterday I shared an article about faith.  Hebrews 11 is a wonderful chapter from the Bible on faith.  There is a hymn based on Hebrews 11 that was written in 1960 by Anders Frostenson and translated by Fred Kaan in 1972.  It was introduced in the 1989 United Methodist Hymnal.  Here are the words. (There are many other hymns around faith, but I thought you might appreciate a newer one.)

1. Faith, while trees are still in blossom, plans the picking of the fruit; faith can feel the thrill of harvest when the buds begin to sprout.
2. Long before the dawn is breaking, faith anticipates the sun. Faith is eager for the daylight,
   for the work that must be done.
3. Long before the rains were coming, Noah went and built an ark. Abraham, the lonely migrant, saw the light beyond the dark.
4. Faith, uplifted, tamed the water of the undivided sea. and the people of the Hebrews
   found the path that made them free.
5. Faith believes that God is faithful: God will be what God will be. Faith accepts the call, responding, “I am willing, God, Send me.”
6. 
   

 “Anders Frostenson, was born on April 23, 1906, in Skane, Sweden, and died on Feb. 4, 2006, in Örebro, Sweden. He graduated in 1947 with a bachelor’s degree in English, Slavic languages and philosophy from Lund University and served as a Lutheran Priest at the Lövö Assembly until his retirement in 1971.”  

“Fred Kaan translated this particular hymn in 1972 for the 4th edition of Cantate Domino, hymnal of the World Council of Churches, printed in 1974. Mr. Kaan was born on July 27, 1929, in the North Holland city of Haarlem. Mr. Kaan’s mission of spreading Christian unity is exemplified here by the way he contributed to the accessibility of international hymnody as well as the ecumenical and biblical character of this hymn.”

“This hymn is based on Hebrews 11, beginning with verse 1: “Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for.” In stanza three, he refers to Genesis 6:13 (also Hebrews 11:17) and Genesis 12:1 (also Hebrews 11:8). In stanza four, he refers to Exodus 14:15-16 (also Hebrews 11:29). In the final stanza, he paraphrases Exodus 3:14 and Isaiah 6:3.”

“The repetition of the first word “Faith” in stanzas one, four and five, as well as “Long before…” in stanzas two and three, subtly expose and emphasize the consistency of God’s faith.”

“All the hymn’s images set the imagination of the singer in motion, and one can almost hear the birds in the garden, the rain in Noah’s times and the wild waters of the Red Sea. In the final phrase in stanza five, Mr. Kaan concludes by proclaiming that we need to respond to God’s calling by serving in faith.”

 “The final line of the last stanza ends with the singer responding, “I am willing, Lord, send me.” In comparison to another recent hymn based on Isaiah 6, “Here I am Lord,” this hymn enjoys surprisingly little popularity.”

“This may be attributed to the choice of less stirring tunes, like FOR THE BREAD and MERTON. Neither tune seems to work well with the text because they do not underline the beautiful language or its vibrant and colorful storytelling.”
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 “Frostenson and Mr. Kaan collaborated on the book Songs and Hymns from Sweden in 1976. Mr. Kaan included and translated 13 of Frostenson’s hymn texts.”
 
Today: Think about who the people were who guided you and your faith.