{"id":1439686,"date":"2022-04-15T08:01:11","date_gmt":"2022-04-15T12:01:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=1439686"},"modified":"2022-04-15T08:01:21","modified_gmt":"2022-04-15T12:01:21","slug":"christians-have-contemplated-o-sacred-head-now-wounded-on-good-friday-for-800-years","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/christians-have-contemplated-o-sacred-head-now-wounded-on-good-friday-for-800-years\/","title":{"rendered":"Christians Have Contemplated \u2018O Sacred Head Now Wounded\u2019 On Good Friday For 800 Years"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">28<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fchristians-have-contemplated-o-sacred-head-now-wounded-on-good-friday-for-800-years%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=1439686&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><div><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/organ-e1649968092777.jpg\" class=\"ff-og-image-inserted\" alt=\"image\" \/><\/div>\n<p>As Christians around the world prepare to celebrate the highlight of the church year \u2014 the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.christianity.com\/wiki\/holidays\/orthodox-easter-origin-and-date.html\">resurrection<\/a> of Jesus Christ \u2014 many stop their flurry of activities on Friday to somberly reflect, in private and corporate meditation, on the agony Jesus suffered in his cruel and wrenching death on the cross.<\/p>\n<p>Called Good Friday, remembrances begin with the early hours of the original day as Jesus is tried, convicted, scourged, and finally nailed to the cross, a torturous and wrenching death written in all four <a href=\"https:\/\/www.famous-trials.com\/jesustrial\/1041-crucifixionofjesus\">gospels<\/a>. Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John recall in detail the barbarous treatment of the Savior by the Roman authorities, who were fulfilling the prophecies when God promised His people a Savior to bear man\u2019s sin and through His Easter resurrection gives eternal life to those who <a href=\"https:\/\/www.biblegateway.com\/passage\/?search=1%20Corinthians%2015&#038;version=LEB\">believe<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>As we reflect on those horrible hours on the cross and the agony of crucifixion, known to this day for its abject <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ranker.com\/list\/crucifixion-physics\/christopher-myers\">brutality<\/a>, we look to Jesus\u2019 face, contorted with pain. As the Old Testament prophet <a href=\"https:\/\/www.biblegateway.com\/passage\/?search=Isaiah+52%3A14&#038;version=ESV\">Isaiah<\/a> described, many were amazed when they saw him. His face was so disfigured he seemed hardly human, and from his appearance, one would scarcely know he was a man.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<span class=\"Oud22Q7GCnIFLWlvxnZV849v43HLomi5Tgzoxiq0aXM5dIykyfWNpBeUcl1rM1JXpDwUtEtP\"><\/p>\n[embedded content]\n<p><\/span>\n<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<p>A Cistercian monk during the Middle Ages wrote a poem about Jesus\u2019 death that was discovered and translated by a Lutheran pastor in the 17th century, who set it to music. \u201cThe Passion Chorale, O Sacred Head Now Wounded,\u201d has been <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=R_OBbjAfVrI\">sung<\/a> on Good Friday throughout the church for more than 350 years, published in hundreds of hymnals and languages, as Christians reflect on Jesus\u2019 anguish and the brutal physical toll the beatings and spiked nails had on his body.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote\">\n<p>O sacred Head, now wounded,<br \/>with grief and shame weighed down,<br \/>now scornfully surrounded<br \/>with thorns, thine only crown!<br \/>O sacred Head, what glory,<br \/>what bliss till now was thine!<br \/>Yet, though despised and gory,<br \/>I joy to call thee mine.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<h2>History of the Poem<\/h2>\n<p>The original poem in Latin, <em>Salve mundi salutare<\/em>, was thought to be authored by the famous Abbot Bernard of <a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Bernard_of_Clairvaux,\">Clairvaux<\/a>, but more recent research names Arnulf of Louvain (1200-1251) as the author. His cycle of seven meditations focuses on each of seven wounds of the crucified Christ, one for each day of Holy Week.<\/p>\n<p>Paul <a href=\"https:\/\/hymnary.org\/person\/Gerhardt_Paul\">Gerhardt<\/a>, known as the \u201csweet singer of Lutheranism,\u201d was serving the parish at Mittenwald outside Berlin in 1651 when he translated the poem from Latin to the people\u2019s language of German. The hymn, \u201cO Haupt voll Blut und Wunden,\u201d focused on the seventh meditation \u2014 the sacred head of Jesus. (James Waddel Alexander, a Presbyterian pastor, translated the hymn into English in 1830.)<\/p>\n<p>Credited with more than100 hymns, Gerhardt ranks next to Martin Luther as the most gifted and popular hymnwriter of the Lutheran church. Gerhardt reworked the Latin poem into a more personal contemplation of Christ\u2019s death on the cross and how our sin caused his suffering.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote\">\n<p>What thou, my Lord, hast suffered<br \/>was all for sinners\u2019 gain.<br \/>Mine, mine was the transgression,<br \/>but thine the deadly pain.<br \/>Lo, here I fall, my Savior!<br \/>\u2019Tis I deserve thy place.<br \/>Look on me with thy favor,<br \/>and grant to me thy grace.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<h2>Tune\u2019s Origins<\/h2>\n<p>The tune, called \u201cPassion <a href=\"https:\/\/songsandhymns.org\/hymns\/tunes\/detail\/passion-chorale\">Chorale<\/a>,\u201d comes from a medieval love song, \u201cMy heart is distracted by a Gentle Maid,\u201d adapted by Lutheran composer Hans Leo Hassler \u2014 a common practice in writing \u201csingable\u201d hymns. In 1656, Gerhardt set the tune to his hymn for the first time. This arrangement was published in Johann Cruger\u2019s \u201cPraxis Pietatis Melica\u201d in 1656 and has been associated with the German and English translations ever since.<\/p>\n<p>J.S. <a href=\"https:\/\/songsandhymns.org\/hymns\/tunes\/detail\/passion-chorale\">Bach<\/a> used the \u201cPassion Chorale\u201d melody extensively in his work, including it five times in St. Matthew\u2019s Passion, twice in the Christmas Oratorio, and in five cantatas and an organ setting of his Miscellaneous Preludes. Johannes Brahms also used this tune among his 11 chorale preludes. <\/p>\n<p>Frederick William I, King of Prussia, requested in his will that a band play \u201cPassion Chorale\u201d at his funeral. Franz Liszt included it in his work on the Stations of the Cross. In the modern day, Paul <a href=\"https:\/\/youtu.be\/AE3kKUEY5WU\">Simon<\/a> used the Passion Chorale in his 1975 hit, \u201cAmerican Tune.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>While most <a href=\"https:\/\/wordtoworship.com\/song\/9454\">hymnals<\/a> list only four verses of the hymn, there are at least 10 verses published that give a full meditation for Good Friday. Lutheran scholar Richard <a href=\"https:\/\/www.hymnologyarchive.com\/o-haupt-voll-blut-und-wunden\">Kraemer<\/a> wrote, \u201cThroughout the hymn, a close relationship is fostered between the Savior and the saved. Faith looks up to the despised and suffering Christ and declares, \u2018I joy to call Thee mine.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Contemporary Christian artist Michael <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=pP7KcW0VRyU\">Card<\/a> pairs the hymn with artists\u2019 renditions \u2014 ancient and modern \u2014 of Jesus Christ\u2019s passion, an effective visual cue for the hymn\u2019s lyrics.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<span class=\"6q0zwFE5uUZbUW1CTRyxZoDjsL6Dk9F4aQBP8RPzGAhw3Xtiv2ynJtp7IgCH45VSSkp1vrO\"><\/p>\n[embedded content]\n<p><\/span>\n<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<p>\u201cO Sacred Head Now Wounded\u201d ends with Christians contemplating their own deaths, keeping their eyes on the cross, Christ\u2019s passion, and the \u201cliving <a href=\"https:\/\/www.biblegateway.com\/passage\/?search=1+Peter+1%3A3-5+&#038;version=ESV\">hope<\/a>\u201d of life eternal bought with His precious blood. As Christians prepare for the great celebration of Christ\u2019s resurrection on Easter morning, they do well to linger a bit longer on the cross.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote\">\n<p>\u00a0<br \/>Be Thou my consolation,<br \/>my shield when I must die;<br \/>Remind me of Thy passion<br \/>when my last hour draws nigh.<br \/>Mine eyes shall then behold Thee,<br \/>upon Thy cross shall dwell,<br \/>My heart by faith enfolds Thee.<br \/>Who dieth thus dies well.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator\" \/>\n<p>\n  Christine Weerts, author of &#8220;Heroes of Faith: Rosa J. Young,&#8221; is a researcher with the Alabama Black Lutheran Heritage Association. She won a commendation from the Concordia Historical Institute in 2020 for her historical writing on race. A freelance writer, she has degrees in music (BA) and religion (MA).<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>As Christians around the world prepare to celebrate the highlight of the church year \u2014 the resurrection of Jesus Christ \u2014 many stop their flurry of activities on Friday to<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":676,"featured_media":2315279,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1439686","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1439686","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/676"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1439686"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1439686\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2315279"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1439686"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1439686"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1439686"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}