"Weekend at Bernie's?" I asked. I knew that was the title of a comedy from the late 80's about two guys who prop up a dead man at a party so that everyone will think he's alive. Hilarity ensues. It did not strike me as a felicitous allusion for a church to want to appropriate! But she explained that her church was named St. Bernard's. I asked if that was in honor of Bernard of Clairvaux, and she said yes.
Bernard of Clairvaux was a 12th century abbot that even Protestants like. Luther and Calvin spoke highly of him, ranking him with Augustine and Pope Gregory the Great. He is the only medieval poet I can think of offhand whose hymns of adoration we still sing today - or should still sing today.
I can actually remember two occasions when I first became acquainted with his hymns. The first was from family devotions when I was about 10. Every night we'd gather as a family and my parents would read a Scripture passage, and we would say the Lord's Prayer together, and then one of us would close in prayer with particular requests. One night my brother Dave, home from college, added a wrinkle. He suggested we sing a hymn too. So we fetched a hymnal and he selected "Jesus, The Very Thought Of Thee".
Jesus, the very thought of Thee with sweetness fills my breast
But greater far Thy face to see, and in thy presence rest
O Hope of every contrite heart, O Joy of all the meek
To those who fall, how kind thou art; how good to those who seek!
But what to those who find? Ah this, no tongue nor pen can show;
The love of Jesus, what it is, none but his loved ones know
Savior our only joy be Thou, as Thou our crown shalt be
Be Thou O Lord our glory now, and through eternity
I was probably too young to appreciate the value of that devotional poetry, especially since it had the word "breast" in it. But later this hymn of Bernard's became one of my favorites.
I have no idea when I first heard Bernard's "O Sacred Head Now Wounded," but I have loved it for as long as I can remember:
O Sacred Head now wounded, with grief and shame weighed down
Now scornfully surrounded, with thorns thine only crown
O Sacred Head, what glory, what bliss till now was thine!
Yet though despised and gory, I joy to call thee mine
What Thou, O Lord, hast suffered, was all for sinners' gain
Mine, mine was the transgression, but Thine the deadly pain
Lo, here I fall my Savior, 'tis I deserve thy place
Look on me with Thy favor, vouchsafe to me Thy grace
What language shall I borrow to thank Thee, Dearest Friend
For this, Thy dying sorrow, Thy pity without end?
Oh make me Thine forever, and should I fainting be,
Lord let me never, never, outlive my love to Thee
When I was 18 I took a philosophy class with professor C. Stephen Evans, and one morning he said, "Let's open by singing together 'Jesus Thou Joy Of Loving Hearts'." We all looked at each other. Though it was a Christian college and most of us were from Christian backgrounds, none of us 80 students knew the hymn! Poor Dr. Evans looked crestfallen. (What are they teaching kids at church these days?) It was a sunny day, so somebody suggested we sing "Heavenly Sunshine", and we did:
Heavenly sunshine, heavenly sunshine,
Flooding my soul with glory divine
Heavenly sunshine, heavenly sunshine,
Hallelujah! Jesus is mine!
What can you say? Bernard of Clairvaux it isn't.
Later though I found and learned the Clairvaux hymn that Evans wanted us to sing, and have used it in private worship many times since. This is a great hymn to sing at holy communion too:
Jesus Thou joy of loving hearts; Thou fount of life, Thou light of men
From fullest bliss that earth imparts, we turn unfilled to Thee again
Our restless spirits yearn for Thee where'er our changeful lot is cast
Glad that Thy gracious smile we see, blest that our faith can hold Thee fast
Thy truth unchanged hath ever stood, Thou savest those that on Thee call
To them that seek Thee Thou art good; To them that find Thee: all in all
We taste Thee O Thou Living Bread, and long to feast upon Thee still
We drink of Thee, the Fountainhead, and thirst our souls from Thee to fill
O Jesus ever with us stay; make all our moments calm and bright
Chase the dark night of sin away; shed o'er the world Thy holy light
A good way to honor the worthy name of Bernard is to sing his songs. When my Catholic co-worker told me about "Weekend at Bernie's" I have to admit it jolted me a little - maybe along the lines of calling the Abraham Lincoln Memorial "Dear Abby's Place" or Mother Teresa's Calcutta mission "Momma Teri's Wonder Emporium". So I quoted some of Bernard's lyrics to her and decided to make a bold suggestion. "I can make available to you some of Bernard's hymns. What do you think about going to your priest and saying, 'Since our church is named for Bernard of Clairvaux, could we sing some of his hymns sometime?'" Who knows, maybe, just maybe - slight chance! - there will be in church that day some 10-year-old who, decades from now, will remember fondly how he first began to associate the name "Bernard" with noble words that directed heartfelt devotion and worship to the Lord Jesus Christ.
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