Justin Appel

Dear Friends,

Today’s Old Testament reading involves the prophet Isaiah’s vision of God ‘high and lifted up; and his train filled the temple.’ (Read Isaiah 6:1-13)

This utterly terrifying look at the refulgence of God’s glory goes parallel with the angelic hymn, sung, as described in the Liturgy of Saint John Chrysostom, by ‘thousands of archangels, and tens of thousands of angels’ along with the ‘Cherubim and Seraphim, six-winged, many-eyed, soaring aloft upon their wings; singing the triumphal hymn, exclaiming, proclaiming, and saying:

Holy, holy, holy Lord God of Hosts, heaven and earth are full of your glory. Hosanna in the highest. Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord. Hosanna in the highest.’

We can thus see that Isaiah’s vision became combined with the image of Christ coming as King – an appropriate picture during this Advent season.

Over all of this, the Holy Spirit clearly emerges as God’s power and activity fills the scene, with foundations rumbling and smoke filling the air.

This undeniably Trinitarian angelic hymn forms the introduction (or Preface) to our Eucharistic service. Our liturgy of Communion participates in the actual heavenly vision. In the Christian ‘hagiography’, there are even traditional stories that involve individuals who get caught up in a trance, are brought into heaven itself where they hear the angelic hymn in person.

The vision of God terrifies Isaiah, and ostensibly it might render any of us unconscious with fear. Perhaps this reality doesn’t make its way into liturgies very often. When I think of musical settings of the ‘Sanctus’ text, they are largely comforting, pleasant, sanguine sorts of music.

Here are three alternatives that get closer to what Isaiah actually saw:

Frank Martin, Mass for Double Choir

Arvo Pärt, Sanctus

James MacMillan, Mass (Click on the notes icon next to track 6. Unfortunately, you can only hear a minute-long sample.)

This last setting is perhaps the best. I’ve heard well-meaning folks refer to this Sanctus as ‘evil’ or demonic, noting their own discomfort. On the other hand, an accurate artistic depiction of God’s holiness can and even should be unsettling, perhaps very much so, and MacMillan manages this effectively.

Justin