The myriad angels raise their song.  O saints, sing with that happy throng!

Lift up one voice. Let heaven rejoice in our Redeemer’s song!  

(From the beloved Norwegian hymn “Behold the Host” – as translated by Gracia Grindal.)

I’m sure that most of us who gathered at Decorah’s First Lutheran Church on Thursday night would have never said that we were a happy throng or that we were happy to be there.  After all, we had been drawn there to mourn the death of our treasured mentor, teacher, friend and guiding light,  Weston Noble.  It is not that a heavy veil of sorrow hung over the proceedings.  We were there to celebrate his amazing life and his extraordinary legacy.  But we were celebrating with heavy hearts, bearing the inescapable sadness of knowing that a rich and wonderful life had come to a close.   And while there is nothing remotely tragic about death coming at the age of 94,  it was still a moment that none of us was ready for- and a reality that most of us could scarcely take in.

And yet, for all the sadness that all of us were feeling,  it was an amazing blessing to be able to share that sadness together.  It reminded me of something said many years ago at Carthage College when the community bade farewell to a beloved member of the psychology faculty, Larry Hamilton.   It was an equally beloved member of the Carthage family, Dudley Riggle, who delivered the sermon on that occasion, and he began with these words:  I do not want to be here today …..  but there is no other place I would rather be.  In other words,  he mightily regretted the circumstances which brought us there that day,  but if we had to mourn the untimely death of our beloved colleague and friend,  at least we could come together as a community and bear that sorrow together.

That is what happened Thursday as hundreds of people from the Luther College community – plus many people from the community of Decorah – streamed into First Lutheran Church.   We were there not only to pay our respects on our own behalf but also on behalf of the thousands upon thousands of others who could not be there.  It was gratifying to see so many different generations represented; it potently underscored the scope of Weston’s far reaching legacy.  And it was so good to be able to look into the eyes of other people and see the grief we ourselves were feeling.  But beyond that,  it was good to look around and see people smiling and even laughing,  because it meant that we could embrace the feelings of joy and gratitude that were leavening our sorrow.  It was, after all, supposed to be a celebration of a life splendidly lived.   And that’s exactly what it was.   (And by the way,  up until now I have always referred to him as Mr. Noble – in conversation and in the blogs I’ve written about him.  He has never been ‘Weston’ to me.  Until now. I don’t even know why I suddenly feel comfortable referring to him as Weston- but I do.)

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Almost from the moment Weston’s inner circle of friends and caregivers first learned of his death, planning began both for the visitation as well as for the prayer service that would follow.   Since the funeral the next day was a private service, essentially for family and a tiny handful of others,  this prayer service would be an important opportunity for the rest of us to gather and draw strength from what Martin Luther called the two greatest gifts given to human beings:  the Word of God …. and Music.   This would be an opportunity to pray together, to hear scripture passages that had been important to Weston,  and to sing hymns.  An incredible amount of care was taken to make sure that every moment of this service would be a vivid reflection of who he was, of how he lived his life, and of what was most important to him.  It is never easy to accomplish that with anyone’s life, but it’s especially challenging when one is talking about a life as long, rich, and full as Weston’s.  How does one sum up and celebrate such greatness? Such goodness?

Well, if any prayer service could possibly be a worthy summation of Weston’s life and legacy, it was this one.  Those closest to Weston, but especially Kathy and George Gentes,  could not have been more sensitive and caring in constructing the service and especially in the choosing of the congregational hymns, which they wanted to be just right.   And somehow – although I can still scarcely imagine how such a thing was possible – I was asked to serve as organist for the service.  I was thrilled and honored to be offered such a responsibility – but also scared, knowing that it was such an important occasion …  that I’m not really a properly trained organist … and that I would have no opportunity to practice on First Lutheran’s organ,  an instrument I had only played twice before – and not at all in the last thirty years.   What helped me say yes to such an intimidating challenge was knowing that I would be among friends – even if many of those friends would be people I had never met.   But knowing that all of us would be there to honor and remember Weston was a source of powerful comfort and reassurance for me.

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The service opened with “Behold a Host,” a radiant Norwegian hymn that may be the most exquisite and moving of all funeral hymns – and one of Weston’s personal favorites.  As I began the introduction,  I knew that a church full of Nordic Choir alumni would raise the roof, but I was truly not prepared for the outpouring of mighty, magnificent sound as they began singing  ….. a torrent of tone that seemed to make the whole church tremble!  I’m not sure I have ever heard anything quite so moving- and I had to literally pull out all of the stops on that organ just to keep up.  But it was not just the sound of all of those voices- but that those voices were raised in such gorgeous music and in these poignant words:  “Behold the host arrayed in white – like thousand snow-clad mountains bright ….   They now serve God both day and night – They sing their songs in endless light ….  O blessed saints, now take your rest – a thousand times shall you be blest ….”  I’m not sure I’ve ever heard anything quite so beautiful as the singing of this hymn by this remarkable gathering of saints on earth.

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A member of the Luther music faculty suggested (as did my sister Randi)  that the middle hymn perhaps should be “My God how Wonderful Thou Art” –  a sturdy Lutheran hymn that could also serve as a delightful little inside joke for all of the past members of the Nordic Choir.  At the start of every school year,  Weston would take time to carefully place each singer within their particular section, believing that such specific placement of singers would be of immeasurable benefit to the choir as a whole.  And almost always, the hymn he would use for that placement process would be this one – typically just the first phrase or two, sung over and over and over again as he traded each singer in and out of every possible position within the section.   By the time a Nordic Choir member would graduate from Luther,  the first two phrases of this hymn would be imprinted into the very fabric of their soul – most likely for the rest of their life!  For whatever reason, this hymn is rather seldom sung nowadays,  and it was an immense pleasure to sing it in this service in the company of such a stupendous chorus.  And just to underscore the fun of it,  I transposed up a half step between all five verses – beginning in C major and ending in E major.  I was smiling the whole time and I would like to think that Weston was looking down and smiling as well. “My God how wonderful Thou art – Thy majesty how bright!  How beautiful Thy mercy seat in depths of burning light!”

The final hymn,  “Great is Thy Faithfulness,”  was chosen because it echoed a scriptural passage that was quite important to Weston and one that he would quite often recite when he first awoke:  “The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases.  His mercies never come to an end. They are new every morning.  Great is Thy Faithfulness.”  Ironically enough, these joyous and hopeful words come from the book of Lamentations (most likely written by Jeremiah, known as the “weeping prophet”)  so their original context was not against a backdrop of lavish blessing but rather of misery and heartache, which is what gives these words their real meaning.  As for the hymn inspired by this scripture passage,  it’s not a Lutheran hymn at all (although it is found in the ELCA’s current hymnal) but has its roots with the Moody Bible Institute and became still better known through the Billy Graham Crusades.  And this is part of why I loved that it was chosen- because although Weston was a grateful member of First Lutheran Church in Decorah – graduated from Luther College – and taught at Luther for more than a half century – he did not grow up Lutheran, and the profile of his personal faith embraced far more than standard Lutheran doctrine. Weston was one of the most ecumenically-minded people I have ever known,  and this hymn was a lovely reflection of that. But beyond that,  the hymn carried a marvelous message of encouragement:  “Great is Thy Faithful, O God my Father.  There is no shadow of turning with Thee.  Thou changest not. Thy compassions they fail not.  As Thou hast been,  Thou forever will be.  Great is Thy Faithfulness!  Morning by morning,  new mercies I see!”   Words to live by.  Words by which Weston lived through both good and challenging times.

That may have been the final hymn,  but the final singing of this “happy throng” came during the postlude which, by request,  was the Hallelujah Chorus from Handel’s Messiah.   As many of you know,  Weston presided over annual performances of Handel’s masterpiece at Luther, meaning that it is he who introduced this work to thousands upon thousands of Luther students over the generations.  Nothing could have been a more ideal and emphatic exclamation point for the evening than for everyone present to rise and join in the singing of this marvelous music.  None of the people singing had the musical score in front of them, and neither did I – but somehow this music has become such a part of us that we didn’t need it.  And as we offered it up, we were both praising God and thanking Weston for making it possible for all of us to experience musical mountaintops like this.   What a gift he gave to so many of us, again and again.  And what a blessing and joy to be able to thank him and remember him in song – and to celebrate the beautiful bonds of friendship and love that he helped bring into being.

A Happy Throng?

Absolutely.

(pictured below: Following the prayer service,  Nordic Choir alumni enjoy some fellowship and fun at Mabe’s Pizza.  These are singers who were frequent participants in the Weston Noble Alumni Choir. I feel so fortunate to count them as friends.)

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(pictured below:  The prayer service ends with words of commendation.  The presiding pastors were Rev. Mike Blair,  Luther’s campus pastor – and Chad Huebner,  Senior Pastor at First Lutheran Church.  The service also included a beautiful performance of Mary McDonald’s setting of “Lord, make me an instrument of Thy peace” by Jennaya Robison and Andrew Last, two current members of Luther’s music faculty.)

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