A Blessing for Palm Sunday

May the Lord God, who is King over all, bless you today.
May you hear the word of his good pleasure.

May you know his will and his intent,
which is your life everlasting and your incorruptible perfection.
May you be enriched in him.
Be strong, and be redeemed by his grace.

May the King who has come,

riding on a donkey,
give you an everlasting crown,
a crown of truth for your head.

May his victory be yours.
May he bless you with peace.

Amen.

Based on Psalm 47, John 12: 12 – 16, and Odes of Solomon 9

Alternate Nativities: The Ode of Mary

Consider this an Alternate Nativity

I am putting on the love of the Lord,
wearing it like a garment of praise
and He loves me, his humble servant
for how should I have known how to love the Lord,
                if He had not loved me
I love the Beloved and He loves me
and where His rest is, I too shall be.

I shall not be a stranger
for I have been united with him
the Lover has found the Beloved
and because I love him
I shall carry the Son

For the one that is joined with Him
that is Life, shall have life;
and he who has joy in the Living One
will himself become living.

This is what the Spirit of the Lord,
which does not lie,
has done for me.
Be wise and understanding.
Hallelujah. 

This Alternate Nativity is based on one of the Odes of Solomon (number 3).

Like a Crown

Last Sunday I had the opportunity to perform as part of a fundraiser concert for a local charitable organization.  Various church choirs, ensembles, and soloists were asked to sing or play a song.  I was originally going to play a  song on my guitar, but decided (at nearly the last minute) to do something different.

Instead, I performed Like a Crown - a selection from The Odes Project.  The Odes Project has set some of Christianity's earliest hymns - from the Odes of Solomon - into contemporary music.



This is Ode number 1

1. The Lord is on my head like a crown, and I shall never be without Him.
2. Plaited for me is the crown of truth, and it caused Your branches to blossom in me.
3. For it is not like a parched crown that blossoms not;
4. For You live upon my head, and have blossomed upon me.
5. Your fruits are full and complete; they are full of Your salvation....

To download a copy of the odes project version of this song click here.

I used two sounds from the Freesound Project
Polar
N Dimensional Parallel Space