Alleluia!

Greetings,

            At Easter services around the world the most used word is one which is virtually the same in all services regardless of language: Alleluia.  The only real difference is that the British, and some others, tend to spell it Halleluia.  In many of those churches the word was specifically withheld throughout the season of Lent.  Now, on Easter, it resounds loud and clear.  The following is an excerpt from Signs, Words, and Gestures by Balthasar Fischer, which is both a simple explanation and thought provoking.

            It is an unusual word that is not native to the English or ever the Latin liturgical vocabulary: the word “Alleluia.”  As a matter of fact, it sounds less like a meaningful word than the babbling of a child, and when it is sung with many notes for the final vowel, this impression becomes even stronger.

            “Alleluia” does, of course, have a meaning.  It is a Hebrew word, and down the centuries the church has brought it along with her, untranslated (like “Amen”), as a product of the Jewish soil from which she herself sprang and as a reminder of her earliest days.  The word is a cry of jubilation meaning “Praise the Lord,” and occurs frequently in the psalms...

            But the translation does not explain why the church chose and retained this word from the Hebrew language of prayer in order to express her Easter jubilation, even though in later centuries her own children did not understand the meaning.  I think the church meant to say: “In the presence of the mystery that we celebrate on Easter, the mystery of our redemption, our usual intelligible vocabulary is inadequate; when faced with the superabundant mercy of God we can only stammer in amazement like children.”

            That is how it is with us Christians: As we gaze at the Son that has risen high over the darkness and cold of our Good Friday, all well-chosen words are useless.  We can only stammer out our Alleluia of wonder and jubilation.

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      I would recommend listening to Mozart’s wonderful “Alleluia” from Exsultante Jubilate, K165.  I remember with great appreciation the Faith United Methodist Church Choir performing it at my retirement celebration.)  It will truly lift your soul.

Yours & His,

DED