Music Notes: The 11th Sunday in Ordinary Time, June 14, 2026 Dr. John Michniewicz
The Eleventh Sunday in Ordinary Time presents readings that, taken together, have a deep connection: those whom God has chosen and loved, though they are imperfect, are sent out to continue Christ’s mission in the world. The First Reading, Exodus 19:2–6a, shows the Israelites at the foot of Mount Sinai. God speaks to Moses: “You have seen how I treated the Egyptians and how I bore you up on eagle wings and brought you here to myself.” This shows God’s covenant, given to those who “hearken to God’s voice,” who are named as God’s “special possession, dearer…than all other people.” God’s people are called “a kingdom of priests, a holy nation.”
The Responsorial Psalm, Psalm 100:1–2, 3, 5, is a joyful response to the announcement of God’s covenant. “Know that the Lord is God; he made us, his we are; his people, the flock he tends.” The psalm is a statement of praise, extolling God’s “faithfulness to all generations,” the imagery of the people of God as the shepherd’s flock are a preview of Jesus’ words about the shepherd and sheep in the Gospel.
The Second Reading, Romans 5:6–11, is a continuation of God’s covenant story. Paul writes to the Romans that “God proves his love for us in that while we were still sinners Christ died for us.” The Exodus reading shows God carrying Israel on “eagle wings;” Paul writes further that God provides reconciliation and salvation through the gift of the Son.
In the Gospel, Matthew 9:36–10:8, God’s covenant becomes a commission. Jesus looks at the crowds and is “moved with pity for them because they were troubled and abandoned, like sheep without a shepherd.” The shepherd imagery of Psalm 100, “the flock he tends,” is invoked before Jesus sends the Twelve Disciples out to serve: “Without cost you have received; without cost you are to give.” Those whom God has chosen and loved are the disciples whom God sends out. The musical selections reflect the themes in these readings.
Sunday’s Entrance Hymn is Praise to the Lord, the Almighty (Worship Hymnal, No. 616). This hymn has been called one of the great hymns of the Western Christian tradition, a paraphrase of Psalms 103 and 150 written by the German pastor Joachim Neander
(1650–1680). Neander found profound inspiration in nature and scripture, and wrote this text shortly before his death at the age of thirty. His hymn was first published posthumously in 1680. The joyful tune is likely based on a German folk melody, which Neander adapted for this text. The melody and triple meter work together to form a memorable declaration of God’s love and care. The hymn’s opening text: “Praise to the Lord, the Almighty, the King of creation!” directly echoes the covenant language of Sunday’s First Reading, in which God lovingly calls Israel “my special possession” and “a kingdom of priests, a holy nation.” The second verse, in its original translation, states: “Praise to the Lord, who o’er all things so wondrously reigneth, shelters thee under his wings, yea, so
gently sustaineth.” The text, with its imagery of sheltering, protective wings, speaks directly to Exodus 19:4, which states: “I bore you up on eagle wings and brought you here to myself,” a recollection of God’s covenant with Israel. The hymn tune, LOBE DEN HERREN, is drawn from a German chorale collection of 1665. Its broad, sweeping lines, and the final upward concluding phrase, make it among the most compelling hymn melodies.
Praise to the Lord, the Almighty
- Praise to the Lord,
the Almighty, the King of creation!
O my soul, praise him, for he is your health and salvation! All you who hear, now to his temple draw near.
Praise him in glad adoration!
- Praise to the Lord,
who o’er all things is wondrously reigning
And, as on wings of an eagle, uplifting, sustaining. Have you not seen all you have needed has been Met by his gracious ordaining?
- Praise to the Lord,
who will prosper your work and defend you;
Surely his goodness and mercy shall daily attend you. Ponder anew what the Almighty can do,
Who with his love does befriend you.
- Praise to the Lord!
O let all that is in me adore him!
All that has life and breath, come now with praises before him! Let the “Amen” sound from his people again!
Gladly with praise we adore him!
Here is an inspiring performance of Praise to the Lord by the Tabernacle Choir at Temple Square, arranged by the Choir’s Director, Mack Wilberg: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mve4JNnQK28
Sunday’s Presentation Hymn is All People That on Earth Do Dwell (Worship Hymnal No. 837) with its hymn tune, OLD HUNDREDTH. Psalm 100 was recast in a metrical, poetic form by the Scottish clergyman William Kethe in 1561. Escaping persecution, Kethe took refuge in
Geneva, Switzerland, where John Calvin led the religious community. Calvin sought the exclusive use of Psalms and other scriptural songs for worship. Kethe contributed twenty-five metrical psalm settings to the Genevan Psalter published in 1562. His celebrated paraphrase of Psalm 100 is a jubilant declaration of universal praise: all people are summoned to “Sing to the Lord with cheerful voice; Him serve with mirth, his praise forth tell.”
The refrain for Sunday’s Psalm: “We are his people, the sheep of his flock” is also reflected in Kethe’s original second verse, which reads: “Know that the Lord is God in deed, Without our aide he did us make; We are his flocke, he doth us feede, And for his sheepe he doth us take.” The text also highlights the shepherd imagery in Matthew 9:36, where Jesus looks at the crowds and sees them “like sheep without a shepherd,” preceding his sending of the Twelve. The hymn tune itself, OLD HUNDREDTH, is attributed to the French composer Loys Bourgeois (c. 1510–1560), who served as music director in Geneva, writing straightforward, accessible melodies for the metrical Psalm paraphrases. This melody became permanently associated with Psalm 100 when Kethe’s translation was paired with it. It is thought to be among the first sacred songs sung by the Pilgrims on the American coast, carried across the Atlantic in the Ainsworth Psalter. Five centuries later, it is highly recognizable, featured in nearly every Church hymnal.
All People That on Earth Do Dwell
- All people that on earth do dwell, Sing to the Lord with cheerful voice;
Him serve with mirth, his praise forth tell; Come we before him and rejoice.
- Know that the Lord is God indeed; Without our aid he did us make.
We are his folk, he does us feed, And for his sheep he does us take.
- O enter then his gates with praise; Approach with joy his courts unto; Praise, laud, and bless his Name always, For it is seemly so to do.
- For why? The Lord our God is good: His mercy is for ever sure;
His truth at all times firmly stood, And shall from age to age endure.
- To Father, Son, and Holy Ghost,
The God whom heav’n and earth adore, From us and from the angel host
Be praise and glory evermore.
Here is a performance of All People That On Earth Do Dwell as elegantly sung by the Choir of Trinity College, Cambridge: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2g8dxYNJ80Q
At the 11:30 Mass, the Choir’s Presentation Anthem is A Jubilant Song by Allen Pote. The text draws from Psalms 90 and 96, both songs of praise to God’s eternal sovereignty, stating “Lord, you have been our refuge from one generation to another. Before the mountains were made, or the land and the sea were born, from age to age you are God.” The anthem’s text then continues, “We pray for the coming of your Kingdom,” which highlights the goal of the disciples’ call in Jesus’ instructions: “As you go, make this proclamation: ‘The kingdom of heaven is at hand.’”
Allen Pote (b. 1945) was born in Halstead, Kansas, and educated at Texas Christian University in Church Music. A Fulbright Scholar, he studied in Brussels with the distinguished Belgian organist and composer Flor Peeters, and later continued his studies at Union Theological Seminary in New York. He served as Director of Music in major churches in Houston and Dallas for twenty-two years before settling in Pensacola, Florida, where he and his wife Susan co-founded the Pensacola Children’s Chorus, an organization of more than 300 voices that achieved national recognition. He has more than 113 published compositions. The exuberance of A Jubilant Song, with its rhythmic energy and bright harmonies, highlight the text: “great is the Lord and greatly to be praised.” The selection serves as a distinct musical bridge between the covenant language of Exodus and the proclamation in the Gospel. The anthem has become one of the most widely performed sacred choral works published in the latter decades of the twentieth century.
A Jubilant Song
Sing to the Lord a jubilant song. Rejoice and sing and let the earth be glad, Let the heavens be filled with joy, and a jubilant song.
Sing alleluia to the Lord, alleluia, alleluia; Tell of His salvation from day to day.
Shout His marvelous works among the people,
For great is the Lord, great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised.
Lord, you have been our refuge from one generation to another. Before the mountains were made, or the land and the sea were born,
From age to age you are God, and we pray for the coming of your Kingdom.
We shall rejoice, we shall be glad all the days of our lives.
Sing to the Lord a jubilant song. Rejoice and sing and let the earth be glad, Let the heavens be filled with joy, and a jubilant song.
Sing to the Lord, a jubilant song.
Here is the choir of Second Presbyterian Church in Memphis, Tennessee, in an inspired performance of A Jubilant Song: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AKWLJTOwu0M
Sunday’s Communion Hymn is Take, O Take Me As I Am (Worship Hymnal No. 767), written by John L. Bell (b. 1949) of the Iona Community. Bell was born in Kilmarnock, Scotland, studied theology at the University of Glasgow, and has spent his career as a Resource Worker with the Iona Community. Through writing, lecturing, and broadcasting, Bell emphasizes a “primary passion for congregational song.” He is the author of more than two hundred hymn texts and choral works, including his most famous hymn: The Summons (Will You Come and Follow Me).
Take, O Take Me As I Am features a simple refrain that holds a profound truth in its text: “Take, O take me as I am; summon out what I shall be; set your seal upon my heart and live in me.” This text reflects the posture of the Disciples who, when called by name in Matthew 10, answered Christ’s call and followed in his mission. The phrase “summon out what I shall be” speaks to the ongoing formation that is the heart of discipleship, guided by the Spirit through God’s covenantal faithfulness. Bell set the words to a straightforward melody that is accessible and singable, yet memorable.
Here is a prayerful performance of Take, O Take Me As I Am: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RhXxhlIrwAo
At the 11:30 Mass, the choir will sing as the communion meditation My Song Shall Be Alway of the Loving Kindness of the Lord by Godfrey Sampson. Godfrey Sampson (1902–1949) was born in Gloucester, the son of a clergyman, studying composition at the Royal Academy of
Music. In 1932 he became a professor of composition at the Royal Academy, one of the most distinguished teaching appointments in British music, and continued to compose regularly for Church and for the concert hall. Sampson died at age forty-seven, leaving behind a catalog of short choral works regularly published by Novello that remain staples of the English cathedral and parish choir tradition.
The text is drawn from Psalm 89:1: “My song shall be alway of the loving-kindness of the Lord: with my mouth will I ever be shewing thy truth from one generation to another.” The Hebrew concept of hesed, steadfast covenant love, is declared in Exodus 19 when God speaks to Moses: “I bore you up on eagle wings and brought you here to myself.” Paul highlights this covenantal love in Romans 5; it is given freely to all. The disciples whom Jesus sends out in Matthew 10 are charged with carrying that truth forward. Sampson’s setting of Psalm 89 reflects God’s eternal covenant faithfulness, shown from one generation to another.
Sunday’s Final Hymn is Go to the World! (Worship Hymnal No. 532). The text was written in 1985 by Sylvia G. Dunstan (1955–1993), a minister of the United Church of Canada who served simultaneously as a parish minister and prison chaplain. She was, by all accounts, a woman of fierce commitment and formidable gifts: a gifted teacher of liturgy, a passionate advocate for those on the margins, and a writer who came to hymn poetry after spending nearly three years of intentional reading and studying hymn texts. This resulted in her writing 57 published hymns of striking scriptural precision. Sadly, Dunstan died of liver cancer at the age of thirty-eight, leaving behind a remarkable collection of hymns.
The text of Go to the World! is a direct setting of Matthew 28:19–20, the Great Commission, whose impulse also drives Matthew 10, captured in the hymn’s opening: “Go to the world! Go into all the earth. Go preach the cross where Christ renews life’s worth, baptizing as the sign of our rebirth.” The second verse speaks of going “into every place” to “live the Word of God’s redeeming grace.” The third verse sends the Church out as a “servant Church” that follows “Christ’s own way.” Dunstan notably wrote the hymn for an ordination service under a deadline of only a few days.
The tune is SINE NOMINE, composed by Ralph Vaughan Williams (1872–1958) for the 1906 English Hymnal, where it was paired with William Walsham How’s For All the Saints. SINE NOMINE, meaning “without a name,” was Vaughan Williams’s modest label for a tune he considered mostly functional. It has proven to be one of the most beloved and enduring hymn tunes of the twentieth century, its march-like momentum and repeated alleluias making it almost impossible to sing without feeling that one is being propelled into something larger than oneself. Dunstan’s lyrics transform the tune’s memorial sensibility into a joyful hymn with a missionary charge.
Go to the World!
- Go to the world! Go into all the earth.
Go preach the cross where Christ renews life’s worth, baptizing as the sign of our rebirth. Alleluia. Alleluia.
- Go to the world! Go into ev’ry place.
Go live the Word of God’s redeeming grace.
Go seek God’s presence in each time and space. Alleluia. Alleluia.
- Go to the world! Go struggle, bless and pray; the nights of tears give way to joyous day,
As servant Church, you follow Christ’s own way. Alleluia. Alleluia.
- Go to the world! Go as the ones I send, for I am with you ’til the age shall end,
When all the hosts of glory cry ‘Amen!’ Alleluia. Alleluia.
Here is the choir of First-Plymouth Church in Lincoln, Nebraska, with Organist and Director Tom Trenney, singing Go To The World: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FDXtb6omS3Q
Sources
United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB), Eleventh Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year A: https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/061426.cfm
Hymnary.org, Praise to the Lord, the Almighty: https://hymnary.org/text/praise_to_the_lord_the_almighty_the_king
Wikipedia, Praise to the Lord, the Almighty: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Praise_to_the_Lord,_the_Almighty
Wikipedia, Joachim Neander: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joachim_Neander
Discipleship Ministries (UMC), History of Hymns: Praise to the Lord, the Almighty: https://www.umcdiscipleship.org/resources/history-of-hymns-praise-to-the-lord-the-al mighty
Wikipedia, Catherine Winkworth: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catherine_Winkworth Hymnary.org, Catherine Winkworth: https://hymnary.org/person/Winkworth_C
Hope Publishing Company, Allen Pote biography: https://www.hopepublishing.com/136/
HeBu Musikverlag, Allen Pote biography:
https://www.hebu-music.com/en/musician/allen-pote.65481/
Choristers Guild, Allen Pote composer profile: https://www.choristersguild.org/document//256/
Sheet Music Plus, A Jubilant Song (Pote): https://www.sheetmusicplus.com/en/product/a-jubilant-song-21500466.html
Hymnary.org, Take, O Take Me As I Am: https://hymnary.org/text/take_o_take_me_as_i_am
Wikipedia, John L. Bell: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_L._Bell
Wikipedia, Godfrey Sampson: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Godfrey_Sampson Hal Leonard, My Song Shall Be Alway of the Loving-Kindness (Sampson):
https://www.halleonard.com/product/14022503/my-song-shall-be-alway-of-the-loving-kindness
Hymnary.org, Go to the World!: https://hymnary.org/text/go_to_the_world_go_into_all_the_earth
Wikipedia, The Summons (hymn) / John L. Bell: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Summons_(hymn)
Church of Scotland, Go to the World! Go into all the earth: https://music.churchofscotland.org.uk/hymn/683-go-to-the-world-go-into-all-the-earth
GIA Publications, Go to the World! (choral setting, Chepponis): https://www.giamusic.com/store/resource/go-to-the-world-print-g5133