“Out of the West Came Pilate” Hymn for Sunday of the Passion/Palm Sunday 2022
For those congregations that observe the Sunday of the Passion with the Procession of Palms at the beginning of the liturgy followed by the reading of the Passion for the Gospel, this brilliant text by James Hart Brumm (b. 1962) contrasts the job description of Pilate with the mission of Jesus in alternating stanzas and concludes with the question, “What convoy might we follow?,” the “strength and certainty” of Pilate or “the path of brave surrender . . . by taking up our cross?” The hymn would work well this year as a response to the reading of the Passion According to Saint Luke. To date no tune has been composed especially for this text, but several familiar tunes are suggested, any of which would allow this new text to be sung by most every congregation up to the challenge of the message of the text.
Brumm, who holds degrees from Westminster Choir College, New Brunswick Seminary, and Drew University, all in New Jersey, is an ordained minister in the Reformed Church in America. He is an active author, editor, scholar, and hymn writer serving as pastor and teacher for Blooming Grove Reformed Church in DeFreestville, New York. His three volumes of hymns published by Leupold Editions include Out of the Ordinary (2001), Rhythms of Praises (2009), and Alleluias All Our Days (2014).
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.