Sunday Nugget - Hymn 522 - Amarte Solo a Ti Senor

Well, I haven't been blogging for a while, because I'm way behind on my professional website work, so when I sit down in front of the computer, I feel like I really have had to stay focused on customers, instead of "belly button gazing," to paraphrase one of the choir members.

But I'm going to try to stay more attuned to the blog by dropping in more simple "nuggets" of things that seem meaningful even if I don't take the time to ramble on about them. (Here's a picture of the "world's largest gold nugget" called the "hand of faith" on display in Vegas)

So my first Nugget from Sunday's Mother's Day service is this hymn, Amarte Solo a Ti, Senor, which the choir sang with English lyrics.  There was a line in the English lyric, "I will protect the weak, my lord; I will defend the poor, my lord" and that really "wowed" me.

I thought, wow, this is a cool religion, that doesn't just tell you to go off and sit under a tree and forget the world until you have somehow forgotten yourself and transcended... this religion, this Jesus, he tells you to get out there and protect the weak and defend the poor.  Not just to worry about yourself and your spiritual journey, and hide away from the world, and your personal search for Joy, but to get out there and help people who need help.  Not to just sing, "I will love only you oh lord" but also "I will protect the weak and defend the poor."

OK, this was supposed to be a simple, quick "nugget" and here I am going off on a tangent again.

So this hymn reminds me of a recent opinion piece in the New York Times by Nicholas Kristof called A Church Mary Can Love.  In it, he writes "I’ve come to believe that the very coolest people in the world today may be nuns. So when you read about the scandals, remember that the Vatican is not the same as the Catholic Church. Ordinary lepers, prostitutes and slum-dwellers may never see a cardinal, but they daily encounter a truly noble Catholic Church in the form of priests, nuns and lay workers toiling to make a difference."

He also writes about the early church being far more accepting of women, including an early apostle named Junia, whose name was later masculinized to revise her gender.  You can read more about her at wikipedia here .

I looked for "Loving Only You My Lord" in English on Youtube but didn't find it... so here is a version with the original hispanic lyrics "Amarte Solo a Ti Senor." I chose this one because something about those flutes is really compelling.  The graphics are a little cheesy but there is one I particularly liked at the 1:39 mark, showing Jesus sitting aside and intently watching our little blue marble.

I will protect the weak, my lord.  I will defend the poor, my lord. Not quite ready to commit fully to that vow, but it's catching at me.