One of the oddities of life among Christians, a religion based loosely upon the life and teachings of a guy sometimes called the Prince of Peace --- especially at Christmas --- is that, as a group, we're remarkably peace challenged.
Once the tree comes down, well .... So much for that.
So I've been thinking that some Sunday morning --- when I'm familiar enough with The Hymnal 1982 arrangement to ensure that fingers and voice are working together (a challenge for a lazy and incompetent organist) --- we should sing No. 593 which begins, "Lord make us servants of your peace."
It's a paraphrase of a prayer attributed to St. Francis (Page 833, Book of Common Prayer) --- a lovely piece of noble sentiment that, of course, was not written by St. Francis at all.
There are many paraphrases of that prayer, set to music, and I listened to several on YouTube upon returning home Saturday afternoon after folding lectionary sheets and practicing a little.
This arrangement and performance by The Tenors, a Canadian ensemble, was my favorite --- although I did notice some carping in comments here and there the version wasn't explicitly religious enough.
Looking farther, I discovered that peace does not always prevail even among The Tenors. Ensemble member Remigio Pereira managed to get himself fired during July after going rogue during a perforance of O Canada, the national anthem, and slipping the line "all lives matter" into a solo verse.
Many were outraged that he had played fast and loose with the national anthem; others took offense because "all lives matter" has been a line used often by those less than supportive of the "black lives matter" movement. Goodbye, Remigio.
None of this changes the sentiment of the song, however, appropriate for a Sunday or any other morning.
Just in case you'd like to compare, here's the Book of Common Prayer version:
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