Today marks the 109th birthday of Dag Hammarskjöld (1905-61),
Swedish statesman and the second secretary-general of the United Nations
(1953-61). After teaching at Stockholm University, he was secretary of the Bank
of Sweden (1935) and later its chairman (1941-8). He then served as the Swedish
foreign minister (1951-3). Given how matters have deteriorated in Gaza and
elsewhere in the Middle East, it is worth remembering that Hammarskjöld helped
to set up the Emergency Force in Sinai and Gaza in 1956 and worked tirelessly
for reconciliation in the Middle East. He died in an airplane crash in Rhodesia
(Zambia), while on a mission to resolve a crisis in
the Congo. He was posthumously awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.
After his death, a book containing his personal reflections was
discovered in his house in New York. It was published as Markings in
1963. The reflections date from 1925, when he was 20 years old. The final
entries are from the year of his death. The title in the original Swedish
refers to “waymarks,” guideposts or cairns which hikers use to mark their
routes. The book thus marks the spiritual journey of this extraordinary
individual. It contains poems (many of them in the style of haiku), prayers,
quotations, maxims, jottings and other musings. The book has been described as "the
noblest self-disclosure of spiritual struggle and triumph, perhaps the greatest
testament of personal faith written… in the heat of professional life and
amidst the most exacting responsibilities for world peace and order" (Henry
P. Van Dusen). In his foreword to Markings, W. H. Auden quotes
Hammarskjöld: "In our age, the road to holiness necessarily passes through
the world of action." In his 2013 biography, Hammarskjold: a
Life, Roger Lipsey
describes the relationship between his subject’s vocation as a peacemaker and
his understanding of being a disciple of Jesus as “engaged
spirituality.”
For more information, see www.dag-hammarskjold.com
Earlier this year, an LCMS pastor who is serving in
Berkeley, California, sent me a liturgy he has written that makes use of
Hammarskjöld’s "markings." The pastor, Robert O’Sullivan, wrote, “After looking
at your blog, I thought this would interest you.” It did and still does.
Pr. O’Sullivan has been a part time pastor of Bethlehem
Lutheran in Berkeley for twenty years, while also being a high-school English
and Social Studies teacher in Oakland most of those years. He completed
his undergraduate and theological education in the 1960’s, but found himself
working as a radio/tv journalist (in the U.S. and Nigeria), legislative aide in
the California Assembly, political consultant, press representative,
speech and humor writer, and a researcher/editor at the University of
California, Berkeley for the next twenty plus years. In his mid-forties,
he decided to become a high-school teacher and soon thereafter BLC called him
to be its “bi-vocational pastor.”
According to Pr. O’Sullivan:
Markingsmass brings together Hammarskjöld’s
words in dialogue with the liturgy of the Western mass, the basic communion
service familiar to Roman Catholics, Episcopalians/Anglicans and Lutherans. Although
he did not have words in response to all the basic elements of the mass, those
that fit have been placed together here in the usual order in this
liturgy. In one case, the Song of Praise is not a traditional Gloria
but, we think, clearly praises a One who brings beauty, peace and joy, while
calling us to follow Him.
It should be noted that the liturgy, like the book, uses the
archaic English terms “thee, thy, thine and thou.” So does Markings, one
of whose translators (the one who did not know Swedish!) was the British poet,
W.H. Auden, a friend of the diplomat. These archaic English forms,
familiar still to those who know King James and Shakespearean English, are akin
to the Swedish and German intimate second person familiar, which does not exist
in modern English. This usage here is most appropriate, because the
diarist, an accomplished linguist who was fluent in four languages, had a fondness for
older beautiful expressions (he often had a 1762 Anglican Book of Common
Prayer, noted for its elegantly eloquent translation of the Book of
Psalms, with him, as well as an archaic French version of St. Thomas a Kempis’ Imitation
of Christ). At the time of his death he was working on a translation
of Martin Buber’s, I and Thou. The
“thou” cognates suggest an intimacy and reverence which cannot be equaled by
“you” usages.
Although one of the 20th century’s most
prominent Christian mystics, Hammarskjöld had no formal training in theology.
His earned degrees were in linguistics, literature, history, economics, and law. His doctorate was in political economics. He was a member of the Swedish
Academy, which awards the Nobel Prize in Literature. A broadly
cultured man, he wrote brilliantly on subjects as diverse as Beethoven’s
Ninth Symphony, the needs of the developing world, and hiking in northern
Sweden.
He came from a distinguished family, his father having been
Prime Minister of Sweden and a key figure in the development of international
law. His mother came from a family of clergy and academics. She introduced
him to devotional literature, such as The Imitation of Christ, which she gave to him at
the time of his confirmation. Even during very hectic days of
international crises he took time to reflect upon the Bible and the liturgy, as
well as the works of medieval mystics, especially Meister Eckhart and St.
Thomas a Kempis.
The suggested hymns are fittingly Scandinavian or
Nordic. “Joyful, Joyful We Adore Thee” is Schiller’s “Ode to Joy,” which
Beethoven used in his Ninth Symphony, which was performed at Hammarskjöld’s two
inaugurations as Secretary General and at his memorial service.
The Markingsmass
may be used on or near September 18, Hammarskjöld’s date of death and the day
that many Lutheran churches commemorate his life as a renewer of society, or on
July 29, his birthday. This mass could also be used on December 28, Holy
Innocents’ Day; Memorial Day; Veterans’ Day; October 24, UN Day; New
Year’s Day, or on other appropriate occasions. It can of course be adapted
according to the traditions of the assembly using the material.
MARKINGSMASS
PRELUDE: Suggested: Sibelius, “Finlandia”
(contains “Be Still, My Soul” melody)
HYMN: Children of the Heavenly Father
CONFESSION
All: The longest journey is the journey inwards.
L: So once again we chose for ourselves - and opened the
doors to chaos, the chaos we became whenever God's hand does not rest upon our
heads.
C: Whoever has once been under God's hand has lost
innocence: only we feel the full explosive force of destruction which is
released by a moment's surrender to temptation.
L: But when our attention is directed beyond and above, how
strong we are, with the strength of God who is within because God is God.
Strong and free because ourselves no longer exist.
C: Almighty...forgive our doubt, our anger, our pride. By
Thy mercy, abase us; by Thy strictness, raise us up.
ABSOLUTION
L: Forgiveness is the answer to a child's dream of a miracle
by which what is broken is made whole again, what is soiled is again made
clean. The dream explains why we need to be forgiven, and why we must forgive.
C: In the presence of God, nothing stands between God and
us...we are forgiven. But we cannot feel His presence if anything is allowed to
stand between ourselves and others. Amen.
INVOCATION
L: We come before Thee, Father
C: in righteousness and humility
L: With Thee, Brother.
C: in faith and courage
L: In Thee, Spirit
C: in stillness.
HYMN: Be Still, My Soul
INTROIT/PSALMODY (to be developed)
KYRIE
C: Have mercy upon us. Have mercy upon our efforts, that we,
before Thee, in love and in faith, righteousness and humility, may follow Thee,
with self-denial, steadfastness and courage, and meet Thee in the silence.
SONG OF PRAISE
L: Thou takest the pen
C: and the lines dance.
L: Thou takest the flute
C: and the notes shimmer.
L: Thou takest the brush
C: and the colors sing.
L: So all things have meaning and beauty in that space,
where Thou art.
C: How then, can we hold back anything from Thee?
CREDO
Affirmations of faith. (Note: DH never attempted
to write a personal creed, per se, but Markings includes many
personal statements of faith, “yeses” to God. The following are excerpts
which can be used as appropriate. Perhaps they are best read by the
worship leader for the reflection of the assembly.)
At some moment I did answer Yes…and from that hour I was
certain that existence is meaningful and that, therefore, in self-surrender,
had a goal.
As I continued along the Way, I learned, step by step, word
by word, that behind every sentence spoken by the hero of the Gospels, stands one man
and one man’s experience.
To be free, to be able to stand up and leave everything behind—without
looking back. To say Yes—
To say Yes to life is at one and the same time to say Yes to
oneself. Yes—even to that element in one which is most unwilling to let itself
be transformed from a temptation into a strength.
You dare your Yes—and experience a meaning.
You repeat your Yes—and all things acquire a meaning.
When everything has a meaning, how can you live anything but
a Yes?
Yes to God: yes to Fate: yes to yourself. This
reality can wound the soul, but has the power to heal her.
Thine—for Thy will is my destiny,
Dedicated—for my destiny is to be used and used up
according to Thy will.
Through me there flashes this vision of a magnetic field in
the soul, created in a timeless present by unknown multitudes, living in holy
obedience, whose words and actions are a timeless prayer.
—“The Communion of Saints”—and—within it—an eternal life.
For all that has been—Thanks! To all that shall
be—Yes!
Suggested: Traditional creed (e.g., Apostles’ or
Nicene) according to the heritage of assembly.
THE LESSONS
Isaiah 2:4(b); 11:1-10; 55:8-13; Amos 5:21-24;
Micah 6:8; Revelations 21:1-5; 22:1-3; Matthew 5:3-12
HYMN: Words: Robert O’Sullivan;
Tune: Wachet Auf
Wake, Awake, Creation’s groaning,
The children of the world are moaning
Give birth, O mother earth at last!
Midnight hears the jubilation
The people of the revelation
Mid songs of peace and love, at last!
The travail and the pain
By joy have lost their reign: Alleluia!
God's children by the Spir't revealed
The spheres with freedom's music pealed.
Wake, Awake, Death's forces scorning -
All hateful rage mocks Easter's morning!
Reveal yourselves, ye saints, at last!
Fear and hatred's days are numbered
Love, justice are now unencumbered
When peace breaks through in human hearts.
Like mighty flowing streams
Revive historic dreams: Alleluia!
Where lambs will mute the lion's roar
With songs their Maker to adore.
Wake, Awake, the hungry call us.
The sick, imprison'd, as Christ befall us.
With hope, ye saints, go forth at last.
Thirsty, naked and the stranger
Need hope and love against all danger.
You're called to give yourself at last.
Emboldened by his words,
Make plowshares out of swords; Alleluia!
May nations put to end their rage
And peace endure from age to age.
SERMON:
HYMN: Joyful, Joyful We Adore Thee
OFFERTORY:
L: May we be offered to that in the offering which will be
offered.
C: God took the form of humanity in the victim who chose to
be sacrificed.
L: Denied any outlet, the heat transmitted the coal into
diamonds.
C: Beauty, goodness in the wonder’s here and now became
suddenly real.
THE OFFERING
THE INTERCESSIONS
PRAYER OF THE DAY
Thou who art over us,
Thou who art one of us,
Thou who art also within us,
May all see Thee in us also.
May we prepare the way for Thee,
May we thank Thee for all that should fall to our lot.
May we also not forget the needs of others.
Keep us in Thy love as Thou wouldst
that all should be kept in ours.
May everything in our beings be directed to Thy glory
and may we never despair.
For we are under Thy hand,
and in Thee is all power and goodness.
Give us a pure heart - that we may see Thee,
A humble heart - that we may hear Thee,
A heart of love - that we may serve Thee,
A heart of faith - that we may abide in Thee. Amen.
MARKINGS’ LORD’S PRAYER
L: Our Father
C: Who art in heaven
L: Hallowed be thy name:
C: Not mine
L: Thy Kingdom Come
C: Not mine
L: Thy will be done;
C: Not mine
L: Give us peace with Thee
C: Peace with All
L: Peace with ourselves
C: And free us from all fear
L: Lead us not into temptation
C: But deliver us from evil
L: Let all that is in us serve Thee.
C: And thus free us from all fear.
THE LORD’S PRAYER
THE PEACE
L: Beneath the hush a whisper from long ago promising
peace of mind and a burden shared
C: No Peace which is not peace for all
L: No rest until all has been fulfilled
C: From injustice – never justice
L: From justice – never injustice
SUGGESTED MUSIC: J.S. Bach, Sheep May Safely Graze
VISIONS OF PEACE
You wake from dreams of doom and—for a moment—you know: beyond
all the noise and the gestures, the only real thing, love’s calm unwavering
flame in the half-light of an early dawn.
In a dream I walked with God through the deep places of
creation; past walls that receded and gates that opened, through hall after
hall of silence, darkness and refreshment—the dwelling place of souls
acquainted with light and warmth—until, around me, was an infinity into which
all flowed together and lived anew, like the rings made by raindrops falling
upon wide expanses of calm dark waters.
SHARING OF THE PEACE
Suggested: Communion/Eucharistic celebration according
to the tradition of assembly.
BENEDICTION
L:[Be filled] with the love of Him who knows all, with the
patience of Him whose now is eternal, with the righteousness of Him who has
never failed, with the humility of Him who has suffered all the possibilities
of betrayal. Amen.
THE DISMISSAL
L: In our era the road of holiness necessarily passes
through the world of action.
C: So shall the world be created each morning anew. Forgiven
in Thee, by Thee.
ALL: Lord—Thine the day—And I the day’s!
HYMN: How Great Thou Art
THOUGHT FOR THE WEEK
"God does not die on the day when we cease
to believe in a personal deity, but we die on the day when our lives cease to
be illumined by the steady radiance, renewed daily, of a wonder, the source of
which is beyond all reason." Markings
