Hebrews 2:19 -Our reading is the inspiration for the hymn, “The Head that Once was Crowned with Thorns.” As the Church year comes to
a close, we recall that He who Ascended will return in glory. If we are
prepared to receive Him on the last great day, we will be ready to celebrate
at the time of His birth. The baby in the manger, the death of the man on
the cross, and the king who comes in triumph are all one in the same – Jesus
our Savior.
The head that once was crowned" fills in the gaps of the scriptural account
by describing Christ's presence in heaven and the glory of those who "dwell
above" (stanza three) with him in "heaven's eternal light" (stanza two).
Thomas Kelly (1769-1855), born in Lellyville, Ireland, was a fine poet and
musician. He was known for giving away his substantial wealth to help the
poor and to build churches. The son of a judge, he trained to be a lawyer.
Convicted of his sin by The Life, the Walk, and the Triumph of Faith,
treatises by William Romaine (1714-1795), an evangelical in the Church of
England, he became an ordained minister in the Church of Ireland. Because of
his powerful preaching and support of the rising evangelical movements,
Kelly was banned from preaching in the Church of England and joined the
ranks of "dissenting" ministers.
British hymnologist J. R. Watson notes that in spite of being banned in
1794 by the Archbishop of Dublin from preaching in churches in the diocese,
Kelly "continued to preach in chapels and churches outside the Archbishop’s
jurisdiction, and in 1802 he founded the Kellyites, an independent sect of
his followers. He had married a very wealthy woman; and in the years after
1802, he was able to build chapels in a number of towns, most of which
closed in the years following his death."
Kelly, who was considered a good musician, wrote 765 hymns. Of these, "The
Head that once was crowned" was published in the fifth edition of Kelly’s
Hymns on Various Passages of Scripture (1820). It first appeared in a
Methodist hymnal in 1849, but with only five stanzas. The current hymnal
includes all six stanzas.
The hymn text is based on Hebrews 2:9-10 which speaks of Christ’s glory and
the universal message of grace that is available because of Christ’s
suffering: "But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels
for the suffering of death, crowned with glory and honor; that he by the
grace of God should taste death for every man. For it became him, for whom
are all things, and by whom are all things, in bringing many sons unto
glory, to make the captain of their salvation perfect through sufferings."
(KJV)
Thomas Kelly may have been inspired by a poem composed by the famous John Bunyan (1628-1688), author of Pilgrim’s Progress (1678), in the poetic collection One Thing is Needful, or Serious Meditations upon the Four Last Things, Death, Judgment, Heaven and Hell (c. 1664). The 37th stanza of the poem "Of Heaven" contains the lines that probably stimulated Kelly’s imagination as he penned the incipit of the hymn. Note not only the similarity of words, but also the same metrical pattern:
Shall now with glory shine;
That heart that broken was with scorns
Shall flow with life divine.
Appropriate for the Easter season and Ascension Sunday, the hymn links Christ’s suffering with his risen glory, and the evangelical message of grace can be found within each stanza. Because of the sacrifice of Jesus Christ, grace and love are manifest to all. Kelly’s love for the oppressed is evident as he addresses those who are now wearing a crown of thorns because of their devotion to the Lord. They are reminded that they, too, will reign in heaven next to Christ. Kelly ends the hymn with the paradoxical theme of Christianity: Christ’s death and suffering is the eternal hope for all people.
Kelly published three volumes of hymns in Dublin: A Collection of Psalms
and Hymns Extracted from Various Authors (1802), Hymns on Various Passages
of Scripture (1804), and Hymns by Thomas Kelly, not before Published (1815).
J. R. Watson notes, "Kelly himself was a man of considerable learning and
great energy. . . His finest hymns have a rare impetus and power that
suggest that his strong evangelical preaching must have indeed been
memorable."
C. Michael Hawn is the University Distinguished Professor of Church Music at Perkins School of Theology, SMU.[1]
A Prayer for responsible citizenship – Lord keep this nation under Your care. Bless the leaders of our land that we may be a people at peace among ourselves and a blessing to the other nations of the earth. Help us provide trustworthy leaders, contribute to wise decisions for the general welfare, and thus serve You faithfully in our generation to the honor of Your holy name.[2][1] https://www.umcdiscipleship.org/resources/history-of-hymns-the-head-that-once-was-crowned-with-thorns
[2] Collect for responsible citizenship, Lutheran Service Book © 2006 Concordia Publishing House, St, Louis
Image of Christ the King copyright © Ed Riojas, Higher Things
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