“This Is Food Indeed” (2005)
This is a song I began in May and finished in August of 2005. The lead sheet is still in progress.
I completed an acoustic pop arrangement of this song for four instruments in November 2006 (Acrobat Reader required):
Listen to a live performance (
hi-fi or lo-fi) of the arrangement from a service at our church in 2006.
You’re always welcome to contact me with comments or questions.
About the song
In spring of 2005 I got to watch Alexander Nevsky on the big screen, and it reminded me how it was the custom of kings of old to drink from a chalice after winning a battle. One thought led to another, and eventually I had a song about communion that connected the threefold offices of Christ (Prophet, Priest and King) with Holy Week events involving cups: the last supper (the cup of the new covenant), the crucifixion (the cup of God’s wrath) and the resurrection and ascension (the cup of victory).
In the Eucharist—also known as Holy Communion, or the Lord’s Supper—believers in Jesus participate in a family meal in order to remember their Savior. Beyond a ritual of mere commemoration, God’s people are here nourished spiritually by his real presence among them as they eat the bread and drink the wine together. It is through this mysterious aspect of communion that the deepest thirst of our souls is quenched. Bread and wine are not our ultimate food and drink; rather, the Word of God is (cf. Dt 8:3)—that is to say, we are fed by the crucified and risen Christ who bids us feed on his body and drink his blood.
| 1. |
Two callused hands pick up a loaf of bread. |
(Mt 26:26) |
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He lifts his eyes and breathes a prayer of thanks. |
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“My body,” he says, and feeds it to his friends. |
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The Prophet’s news slakes our thirst and it tastes like wine. |
(cf. Mt 26:27f.) | |
| 2. |
Two bloody hands pick up a wooden cross. |
(cf. Jn 19:17) |
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He lifts his eyes, and convict pardons court. |
(cf. Lk 23:34) | |
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His fair-weather friends seek shelter from the cold. |
(cf. Lk 22:54–57) | |
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The Priest slakes justice’s thirst as he drains the bitter cup for us. |
(cf. Mt 26:39) | |
| Refrain: |
This is food indeed—O feast yourself on the bread of life. |
(Jn 6:55; cf. Jn 6:48–51) |
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And this is real drink—take a draft from this spring, never thirst again. |
(Jn 6:55; 4:14) | |
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Why do you crave what does not satisfy? |
(Is 55:2) | |
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Let your soul delight in the richest of fare, for this is food indeed. |
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| 3. |
Two shining hands lay blessing on his friends. |
(Lk 24:50) |
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He lifts his eyes, the traitor is restored. |
(cf. Jn 21:15) | |
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Ascending on high, he’s hidden from their sight. |
(Acts 1:9) | |
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The King is thirsty; he waits to share the victor’s cup with us. |
(cf. Mt 26:29) | |
| Bridge: |
O Lamb of God who takes away our sin |
(Book of Common Prayer; cf. Jn 1:29) |
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(Grant us your peace), |
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Lift our eyes from these shadowy signs to the substance of your glory |
(Calvin’s Institutes IV.17.xviii; cf. Col 2:16f.) | |
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(We lift up our hearts). |
(Sursum Corda) | |
