Let us worship God,

for whom our souls thirst and our bodies long.

We have come to hear the Word God has sent.

Let us worship God in spirit and in truth.

—based on Isaiah 55:2, 11-12; John 4:24

Loving God, we are too often foolish consumers. In both body and soul we eat and drink what isn’t good for us. We eat and drink mindlessly. Break our bad habits and fill us with hunger and thirst for what truly satisfies. Fill us with hunger and thirst for your living word and for the body and blood of Jesus Christ your Son, in whom we pray. Amen.

The words of Isaiah 55, paraphrased in this text, find their fulfillment in the spiritual food we eat at Christ’s table, as is made clear in this beautiful communion text.  Consider singing this as an invitation to the table. The text was first combined to this Filipino tune by Joel Navarro and published in Global Songs for Worship (2010).

 

The tune name MALATE refers to an old district in Manila where the Methodist Church was located and where the Solises had served prior to their immigration to the United States. It was written by Mutya in an A = 3 D-minor scale (D = 6 7 1 2 3 4 6) with a flattened 7. Although the tune is in 4/4 time, the rthymic pattern of the opening of each phrase and the modulation to G minor at the appearance of the high Eb (from D = 333 4 3- to D = 666b 7 6-) are reminiscent of the music’s Spanish influence. The accompaniment is in a romantic style. The hymn may be sung as a soprano and alto duet. Be careful of the cross-relationship between F natural and F sharp. The prelude is for introduction only. Sufficient time for breathing is needed at the end of each stanza.

 

Hymnal Companion to “Sound the Bamboo”: Asian Hymns in Their Cultural and Liturgical Context, p. 263-64

©2011 GIA Publications, Inc., Chicago

Initially studying mathematics and physics at Dulwich College, Michael A. Perry (b. Beckenham, Kent, England, 1942; d. Tonbridge, Kent, England, 1996) was headed for a career in the sciences. However, after one year of study in physics at the University of London, he transferred to Oak Hill College to study theology. He also studied at Ridley Hall, Cambridge, and received a M.Phil. from the University of Southhampton in 1973. Ordained a priest in the Church of England in 1966, Perry served the parish of St. Helen's in Liverpool as a youth worker and evangelist. From 1972 to 1981 he was the vicar of Bitterne in Southhampton and from 1981 to 1989, rector of Eversley in Hampshire and chaplain at the Police Staff College. He then became vicar of Tonbridge in Kent, where he remained until his death from a brain tumor in 1996. Perry published widely in the areas of Bible study and worship. He edited Jubilate publications such as Hymns far Today's Church (1982), Carols far Today (1986), Come Rejoice! (1989), and Psalms for Today (1990). Composer of the musical drama Coming Home (1987), he also wrote more than two hundred hymns and Bible versifications. 

Born to a musical family in the Visayas region of the Philippines, 11 May 1930, Mutya Lopez Solis is the wife of Melchizedek. She received her initial music training at Silliman University, earning an AB in music, with a major in piano. She subsequently earned her master’s degree in music education from Philippine Women’s University, Manila. In parish ministry, she is a strong partner with her husband, and she has set his texts to music in Filipino styles. She is a piano teacher, and she edited the publication Itugyan: Original Compositions, Transcriptions for Violin, Choral Arrangements by Prof. Zoe Radriguez Lopez (Salinas, CA: SRMNK Publishers, 1998).

 

Hymnal Companion to “Sound the Bamboo”: Asian Hymns in Their Cultural and Liturgical Context, p. 495, ©2011 GIA Publications, Inc., Chicago