Confession of a hymnwriter
Roots and the Future
A lecture by Eyvind Skeie, Tartu, Estonia 2005
It is a privilege to be here and speak to you about “Roots and the Future”.
“Roots and the future” is a very good description of the tension I feel in my own work and ministry, as a writer of texts for hymns and devotional literature.
I started my professional life as pastor in the Lutheran Church of Norway, then I worked for the Oslo City Mission for about six years, and since 1987 I have been a free-lance writer. I have written mostly scripts for TV productions, songs, hymns, librettos, texts for church cantatas, translations, devotional books, novels, poems, and textbooks for schools in religion and ethics. I run my own communications company and develop campaigns and projects, for instance in relation to road safety for children. I have also traveled on behalf of various Christian organizations in Norway, the former Soviet Union, and in some African countries where I have met church leaders and artists. This year I was in Ethiopia, Egypt, and Mali. I have written a book about the creative process and given lessons about creativity and how to evoke one’s own.
One of the main characteristics of being creative is the ability to leave what is past behind and look forward to something that is yet to come. Creativity thus contains a strong will to start from nothing once again. Sometimes I put it like this: If we had received the message of the resurrection yesterday, how would we have expressed our faith, our service, and our hymns today? Or, if that message had been given us today, how would our hymns sound tomorrow?
The problem is this: creativity in general receives its energy from a kind of anger, a breaking up, a rupture, and a profound search for renewal. The uses of the arts in church and liturgy orient themselves along its tradition and its past, the long story of the church.
Almost all the agendas of the hymnological societies I know are oriented toward the past and not the future. They are not creative societies but rather societies of scholars and educated members, or pastors who happen to have this interest in hymnology.
Although I have written about twelve hundred hymns and songs, and several textbooks that aim at expressing the Christian faith in a contemporary way, I have never been invited to be an official representative of my church, or be a member of an official delegation dealing with the challenges in expressing the faith in the modern world. Creativity is not the most appreciated virtue in the church, and I was therefore happy to learn that the Internationale Arbeitsgemeinschaft für Hymnologie wanted to put “roots and the future” on its program.
In presenting my thoughts on “roots and the future” from the perspective of a hymn writer, I shall tell you about the four most important tools that I keep in my “workshop”. I hope that hearing about these tools might be able to inspire some of you, add a framework for our discussions, and provide some new impulses to your thoughts.
I am now ready to welcome you to my workshop, a small Norwegian “factory” that produces hymns that anyone can sing.
Tool Number One
The universe of the letters, language, stories and images of the Bible
Key word:
Living in the stories of the Bible.
Comments:
If one compares a hymn to a tree, the roots of that tree are the word of God, the words of the Bible. The letters, language, the narrative structures, symbols and images of the Bible are the materials from which all hymns originate.
Challenge:
How to read the Bible with one’s creative mind; how to rediscover the richness, power, and beauty of the Bible.
Key word:
Recognizing Christ in the Scriptures.
Comments:
There are many ways in which the church tries to be “contemporary”, making Jesus a “man of our time”. But understanding Jesus as the Messiah, the promised Son of God, is only possible when the promises in the Old Testament are understood and when his life, death, and resurrection are seen from the perspective of the Old Testament.
Challenge:
How to express the vision of Christ as given to us in the Bible in our multi-cultural world of modern religious movements and feelings.
Key word:
Making one’s personal language glow in the fire of the biblical symbols.
Comments:
In some way I must try to be where the prophet Isaiah was: before the holy altar of God where the glowing stone from that altar cleanses my lips.
Challenge:
Until fairly recently Christianity was the only religion in my country that had any practical impact on people’s lives. Now there are many different religions and traditions that claim people’s devotion and faith. How strong is my own vision of God? How deep is my love for Jesus Christ, the Son of God? Where do I find the words that convey this vision of God and express my devotion to Christ clearly enough to “compete” with all the other religious traditions that are strongly appealing to so many?
Key word:
Walking around the mystery of God, looking for the unseen aspects of the divine mystery.
Comments:
In the tradition of the Hindu pilgrimage, a pilgrim has to walk two or three times around the temple before leaving to make sure that he has worshiped also the unknown manifestations of the deity. This is a very interesting concept. What about me, an writer of hymns, which is perhaps the most traditional literary genre in existence? Perhaps the uses of the arts in the church are expressing and giving space to those unknown aspects of the divine mystery rather than repeating what is already known. Is there a secret language hidden somewhere?
Challenge:
Should a hymn writer of today be a pilgrim? Might there be unknown aspects of God that we need to discover or rediscover? Where are my overwhelming visions of God, the mystery of Christ, the experience of the Holy Spirit? How do I walk three times around the holy mystery of God, which is not concealed inside a temple but in the living words of the Bible?
Key word:
Taking a stand in the conflict between continuity and discontinuity.
Comments:
I am convinced that all of us who are serving in “creative ministries” are taking a stand in the conflict between roots and the future. We must analyze where we are and where we want to be. There is a profound crisis in the way in which the church uses words. The strength and credibility of our words in hymns and sermons are fundamentally connected with our will and ability to understand that crisis and to change our attitudes in accordance with the words of the Bible.
Challenge:
I must be willing to relinquish all my old words in order to find the new ones. I must find the way in which I shall walk around the mysteries of God worshiping the unknown aspects of the mystery of the Trinity of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. I must choose the future rather than the roots. I must choose crisis and creative anger rather than peaceful repetition of traditions.
Tool Number Two
Reading the daily newspaper
There is a temptation for me when I decide to be rooted in the words of the Bible; I could be in danger of closing the circle of interpretation. My language could easily lose its connections with the life of today and the experience of the people of today. I have to expose myself openly to the world as it is. I must be present here, not in an imagined biblical world of symbols and stories.
Key word:
Openly exposing myself to the pressures of modern life.
Comments:
In every aspect the modern world is complex and confusing. Religious paradigms are changing rapidly. In post-modern societies many different religions and value systems can exist side by side, even within one and the same individual. This is a great change from the way religion and faith used to be expressed. The Christian faith is no longer “unique” and the church is about to lose all its privileges. This is the great change in the religious paradigm of our time. It takes us back to the first centuries of Christian history, the time before Constantine.
Challenge:
As a hymn writer I must understand and even feel the pain of this change of the religious paradigm that is taking place before my eyes. In some way this makes it impossible for me just to continue repeating what earlier generations have done. I have to feel the power of this post-modern spirituality and confront it with the vision of God and Jesus Christ as given in the Bible. In this confrontation the language of the “new” hymns can be born, the as yet unsung hymns that will be sung in the future.
Key word:
The birth of pluralism; accepting the end of the idea of unity.
Comments:
Post-modernity is characterized by acceptance of pluralism and diversity as something positive and important to be achieved. Post-modern pluralism is not easily dealt with by the church. There is a deep conflict between the pluralistic Western idea of peaceful co-existence among different traditions and religions versus the Christian idea of Christ as the bearer of the ultimate truth about God and humankind and the “intolerant” aspects of the gospel that Christ is Lord and the only one worthy of worship and faith. The hymn is a part of that conflict.
Challenge:
Should hymns express the post-modern spirituality with all its longing and poetry, or should they be part of the proclamation of Jesus Christ as the “true light” of the world? How do I, as a writer and poet find the right “temperature” in my hymns? Should they be appealing in the post-modern manner, or should they carry on this “intolerant” vision of Jesus as the only truth from God? A hymn writer must struggle with these issues. In my own writing, I go in both directions.
Key word:
The return to unity based on aesthetic and emotional concepts.
Comments:
Which kind of spiritual concept can we foresee for post-post-modern times? And how will that impact our language and the way we speak about God? For my part, I think that the logic-philosophical system and its language is collapsed and no longer exists. Post-post-modern humanity will not experience existence as compatible with the Western logic-philosophical manner. New premises are already at hand: the human language of unity is based on emotions and an aesthetic feeling: the world is one because it is beautiful. Nature gives me pleasure and satisfaction, it impresses me and makes me a small part of something that is beautiful and vast. This is not about faith in God the Creator, but an awesome attitude toward life and creation as mysteries worthy of being celebrated. How then should my hymns sound vis à vis this experience?
Challenge:
I must look for words that can express the sacredness of this world and still hold on to the mystery of God and Creation. I need to understand the depths hidden in the mystery of the Word of God from eternity, the Word from the beginning, the Word of Creation incarnate in Christ, and I need to understand the hidden glory of Christ who is also the Word of Creation. I need to find the words for the new songs of the pilgrim; not only for the individual pilgrim on his journey to heaven but words for the pilgrimage of the created world, the earth, and the universe on their pilgrimage to God. I need to be in constant dialogue with many different religious sensibilities and traditions even if they, at first, seem to threaten my own faith and belief. Today, as a writer of Christian songs, stories, and devotional literature I must expose myself to this confusing, complex and, yes, inspiring marketplace, this melting pot where even Christian spirituality is given new forms and expressions.
Tool Number Three
The power and skill of my creative self
I have tried to describe two important powers: the roots in the Bible and the pressure and confusion of the post-modern world. Ii is in the tension between these powers that both the sermon and the hymn come into being. However, one more power is needed: the power of the creative self. I myself must be present, with my talent (if I have one!) and my skills as poet and writer.
Key word:
My personal creative power and my ability to express myself.
Comments:
A work of art never comes to life without an artist. In the case of hymns, there are normally two artists involved, the poet and the composer. Since a hymn is more than just a composite of several traditional elements it is important to emphsize that there must be an author and that the hymn is a work of art. It is of great importance for a living church to have within its fold this kind of creative workers, partners, and specialists. As a writer, I say to myself, that the church needs me, that I have a very important ministry, that I am an instrument in fulfilling one of the most urgent needs of the church namely, translating and transforming the gospel and the vision of God into poetry, music, and song.
Challenge:
I must find my own voice in doing this. I must refine my work as an artist, gather wisdom, techniques, and skills. I must live centered in the Christian faith and devotion without losing my own identity and individuality. I must be very honest to my own artistic expression and still be aware of my solidarity with the church and its confession.
Key word:
Providing support and space for new hymns to be born.
Comments:
Whether the church is aware of it or not, it has an obligation to me and to all artists within its body to give support and space for new hymns to be born. When I look back on the some eight hundred hymn texts I have written I feel grateful and satisfied. Yet I have this nagging feeling about why it has been so difficult to be given any kind of support from the church in this work? I have received hundreds of letters and positive comments about my hymn texts but very little direct support and no space where I could unfold my talent within the church. This is regrettable.
Challenge:
Talent is a gift. A hymn is a gift, not only from one’s talent but from the spirit of God. As an author I need to keep this vision of myself as an individual endowed with talent, as an artist who has the great privilege to serve Jesus Christ with my writing. Still, without pasture the cow dies. It should not have to be like this. If the Christian church, the body of Christ, is to deal with all the great challenges of the future, it has to work more to support the creative forces and individuals within its ranks.
Key word:
Existing between provocation and forgiveness.
Comments:
In my work I have sometimes been provocative, thereby causing debates in my church. Some people may have thought it would be best never to trust an artist, because his main goal is to express his own feelings and attitudes. Therefore artists must never be given any positions in the church, instead they are being kept on so that they can say nice words when needed. Artists are the software of the church, but bishops, scholars, and councils are the hardware.
Challenge:
If what I have been saying today is valid elsewhere as well, we should do something about it. Whom do we allow to represent the church in society and in public? To whom do we give power in the body of Christ? Where in the hierarchical structure of power do we make room for the power of music and of the arts? As an artist I like to see myself as a partner of all those who want changes in the life of the church. Christ came with fire and the spirit of change. Hymnody must be part of that. My life as an artist in the church is an existence between provocation and forgiveness.
Key word:
Poetry and prophecy: where are the bearers of the light?
Comments:
There is a link between poetry and prophecy.
Challenge:
Who are the bearers of the light in our own time? How can the artist in the church be a part of the renewal of the spiritual patterns of Christian life today? If I have a talent, where must I go to find inspiration? How can I always be only a pilgrim, always find new words and sing new songs without end?
Tool Number Four
Understanding and recognizing the collective self of the congregation
Key word:
Understanding that my own personal self is a part of the collective self of the church or congregation.
Comments:
It is not enough for me as a hymn writer to live in the language of the Bible, read my daily newspaper, and have an individual artistic self. A hymn is not a hymn until a congregation as a body has accepted and recognized it as a valid expression of the collective faith that lives in that congregation. Post-modern religious identity is individualistic and eclectic. Post-modern attitudes give opportunities for many personal experiences and expressions. This is a good time for poets!
Challenge:
If I want to be a hymn writer I must see myself as a servant and accept the fact that my voice must be modified by the common understanding of the church and the congregation. I am only a hymn writer when someone wants to sing my hymns. A hymn is a religious poem that the congregation chooses to sing as an expression of their shared faith. The challenge to me is to listen, not only to the whispers of my own soul but to the Christian faith that transcends my own understanding.
Key word:
A hymn must be in touch with the collective experience of the church in the world today.
Comments:
It is easy to think of the collective experience of the church in terms of its history, doctrine, confession, and its centuries-long tradition. But it is even more important to think of the collective experience of all Christians living on earth today. Together, in East, West, North, and South we tell the whole story of what it means to be the body of Christ in our time. A hymn must be understood as an ecumenical responsibility.
Challenge:
In meeting with Christian sisters and brothers who live under severe conditions and even persecution, nothing has inspired me more than being with Christians who have had to suffer for their faith, and to learn from them what it means to carry the cross of Jesus Christ. In my vision of the revival and renewal of Christian hymnody the concept of the suffering body of Christ and the invisible fellowship of all Christians is essential. I am very grateful to have been part of this.
Key word:
Rethinking the dramatic script of the worship service.
Comments:
Hymnody plays various roles in the Christian worship services of different traditions. The religious patterns and paradigms of post-modernity and post-post-modernity demand that we rethink how the dramatic script of the worship service should be organized, and how we should create new hymns to fit into this re-created service. I am thinking of the themes and issues reflected in hymns, how the hymn is structured as a poem, how it is sung in the service, what function it has, how it keeps the balance between personal, individual expressions of poet and church member, and how it can cause the members of the congregation to become more active partners in the service. All this has to do with the concept of the service as a dramatic script needing energy and will of expression. We need of think about all of these points, discuss and experiment with them, and do creative work. This is what makes up the everyday life of a hymn writer.
Challenge:
Living the everyday life of a hymn writer. It is a beautiful life! Hallelujah!