I, the Lord of sea and sky

Here I Am, Lord

I. Origins

Catholic composer Dan Schutte was for many years part of a group of liturgical singer-songwriters called the St. Louis Jesuits. He and John Foley, Bob Dufford, Roc O’Connor, and Tim Manion had met and bonded while pursuing ministerial degrees at St. Louis University in the early 1970s. After Schutte’s graduation from St. Louis University in 1973, he worked as a high school teacher in Pine Ridge, South Dakota, then relocated to Berkeley, California, to work on a Master of Divinity and Master of Liturgy at the Jesuit School of Theology (Graduate Theological Union). In spite of the diverging paths of the St. Louis Jesuits, the group had reconvened several times to record more albums and publish more songs, and Schutte continued to write. The song “Here I am, Lord” came as a rush request one day in 1979:

When I was a young Jesuit, studying theology in Berkeley, California, a priest friend asked for a favor. “Dan, I know this is late notice, but I’m planning the diaconate ordination ceremony and need a piece of music to set the text of Isaiah chapter 6.” He saw the look of shock on my face knowing, as well as I, that the ceremony was only three days away. I told him that I didn't know if I could compose something in that short a time. What I didn’t tell him was that I had come down with an awful case of the flu and was feeling terrible. He was happy just to know that I would try and trusted me to do my best.

I had always loved that particular passage in Isaiah where Isaiah is called to be God’s servant and messenger. Isaiah responds, “Here I am, Lord” and surrenders himself with a generous willingness to do what God asked. But Isaiah was not sure of his ability, and here was I, not sure that I could write a song for an ordination now just three days away.

I remember sitting there at my desk with a blank music score in front of me and asking God to be my strength. I also thought of the call of Samuel where God came calling in the middle of the night [1 Samuel 3:1–20]. I worked for two days on the piece and I remember being exhausted. I was still making last minute changes as I walked the piece over to my friend who lived several blocks away. I remember thinking that I hoped the piece would be ‘OK’ and be what he wanted for the ordination celebration. From the very first, people loved this hymn and were truly moved by the dialogue between God and us that the song embodies.[1]

The hymn thus had its premiere at the Oakland Cathedral in 1979. The following summer, he met with the St. Louis Jesuits in preparation for a new album, and he suggested this song for inclusion. They recommended one change.

When I presented it to them, they too loved the piece but their intuition told them that something was not quite right in it. After some dialogue, I learned that their discomfort had to do with the words to the refrain. My original lyrics were: “Here I am, Lord. Here I stand, Lord. I have heard you calling in the night.” They let me know in their gentle but frank way that the response to God’s call seemed too sure, too confident. In the story from Scripture, Isaiah responds with generosity but is surprised that God would choose him. Isaiah responds by saying: “Here I am,” but goes on to question God: “Are you sure you want me? I don’t have eloquent words to speak or wisdom to guide the people.” There is a glimmer of self-doubt and a quiet humility in Isaiah’s response. At first I resisted my colleagues’ suggestion to change what I had written, but I knew they were right in their perception. With their help, I decided to change that second phrase to a question, “Is it I, Lord?”, in order to capture that part of all of us that wants to respond generously to God’s call, but still feels inadequate and unworthy.[2]

II. Publication

The resulting album was called Lord of Light (1981), released as an LP and a songbook (Fig. 1a) through North American Liturgy Resources. An Organ Accompaniment Edition followed in 1985, using an arrangement by Michael Pope, Dan Schutte, and John Weissrock (Fig. 1b), which was copyrighted in 1983. On that first recording, Schutte provided lead vocals and acoustic guitar, with choral responses by the St. Francis Xavier College Church Choir (St. Louis, MO). This recording was later reissued on the compilation Lift Up Your Hearts (1996) and Here I Am Lord: Anthology 1970–1985 (2001).

“Here I Am, Lord” was included in the publisher’s compilation songbook, Glory & Praise, Vol. 3 (1982 | Fig. 2), then in the first Glory & Praise hymnal (1984). It entered Catholic hymnals and songbooks published by GIA via Gather (1988), then started to find a wider ecumenical audience in the United Methodist Hymnal (1989) and the Presbyterian Hymnal (1990).

III. Additional Recordings

The song’s popularity has led to it being recorded more than once by Schutte. It was included on You Are Near: Instrumental Music for Quiet Reflection (2003), within a medley arrangement by Tony Eiras called “Come Follow Me” (“Come with Me into the Fields” / “Before the Sun Burned Bright” / “Here I Am, Lord”). Schutte arranged an instrumental version for One Lord of All: Instrumental Music Based on the Songs of the St. Louis Jesuits (2006), featuring synthesized brass, piano, bass, flute, and strings. He recorded it with a choir and synthesized orchestra for Here I Am, Lord: 30th Anniversary (2009); this was reissued on Walking the Sacred Path (2009) and Coming Home (2019).

IV. Analysis

The original song book for Lord of Light (1981) offered this summary of the song’s overall meaning and potential use:

“Here I Am, Lord” is simultaneously a hymn of God’s compassion and of Christian ministry, making it appropriate for vow profession, ordination, and commissioning liturgies. Its length and mood make it an effective communion meditation song.[3]

Schutte has also said of the song, “For me the story of ‘Here I Am, Lord’ is about God giving a power to our stumbling words and the works of our human hands, making them into vehicles of grace for people, with power far beyond what we could have planned or imagined.”[4]

The songbook’s commentary also noted the unique structure of the song and how it potentially impacts the performance:

The verses should be sung by a soloist if at all possible; this enables the dialog between the Lord (verses) and His people (refrain) to unfold without confusion. [5]

Other practitioners have made similar observations. British hymn writer and scholar Elizabeth Cosnett summarized the hymn in the following way:

Both words and music of “I, the Lord of sea and sky” are by the American Jesuit Daniel Schutte. Some might categorize it as a worship song, yet it has strictly metrical stanzas with regular, if limited, use of rhyme. Dramatic in form, it represents a dialogue between God and the believer, and within each verse the creator God responds as saviour to the people’s appeal. Though not a direct paraphrase it is full of biblical reference, particularly to the call of Isaiah and of Samuel. Key patterns of words, especially of strong, monosyllabic verbs, are emphasized by the shape of the melody, and this excellent match surely has contributed much to the hymn’s popularity.[6]

Lutheran scholar Paul Westermeyer also touched on the challenges of the song’s structure:

Although the distinction may seem obvious because of the quotation marks around the stanzas, it is blurred unless different groups sing the two parts—choir, for example, on the words of God in the stanzas, and assembly on the human response in the refrain. Hymnal: A Worship Book (1992) approaches the problem by printing only the refrain with music and the stanzas in small print without music at the bottom of the page, suggesting they will be sung by a small group and the refrain as the people’s response.[7]

Some musicians would rather avoid the scenario altogether. Clive Young, in describing a confirmation service he attended, wryly opined:

For confirmation services candidates are sometimes invited to choose their favourite hymn. It’s their day and the Lord’s, so why not. It makes for a songs-of-praise medley though. Reminiscent of the bring-and-share lunch, the unbalanced diet again, no fresh fruit, no new recipes, and too much of everything. “Jerusalem” stands uncomfortably alongside “I, the Lord of sea and sky.” Why do I have a problem with hymns that put words into the mouth of God? If it were a top ten poll, “I, the Lord of sea and sky” would be number one. But fashions change.[8]

For Carlton R. Young, the hymn was a study in contrasts, but in a different way:

Schutte’s setting contrasts the Hebrew psalmic transcendent characterizations of God as Lord of sea, sky, snow, rain, wind, and flame with compelling prophetic and pietistic themes of the caring God who is intimately involved in the struggles of the poor and oppressed and is concerned for the well-being of each member of the human family—the witness of that struggle and concern being those, like Isaiah, who positively respond to the call . . . “Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?” . . . Its lack of Christian rhetoric makes the hymn an ideal song for use in interfaith worshipping communities and similar occasions.[9]

The editors of the Companion to Church Hymnal noticed a Trinitarian outline in the stanzas:

The three stanzas of this hymn very delicately portray the Trinitarian nature of God. St. 1 highlights God as Creator: “I, the Lord of sea and sky . . . I, who made the stars of night.” St. 2 is a reference to our Lord’s crucifixion: “I have borne my people’s pain. I have wept for love of them.” In the next line of that stanza the words “They turn away” is a direct reference to the fact that at Christ’s passion, “they all forsook him and fled” (Mark 14:50, AV). The last stanza, in describing “the Lord of wind and flame,” is using the symbols of Pentecost to portray God the Holy Spirit. Thus, each person of the Godhead is referred to in turn in the three stanzas of the hymn.[10]

by CHRIS FENNER
for Hymnology Archive
13 September 2022

Footnotes:

1. Dan Schutte, “Here I am, Lord,” Music & Liturgy, vol. 33, no. 1 (Spring 2007), p. 11.

2. Dan Schutte, “Here I am, Lord,” Music & Liturgy, vol. 33, no. 1 (Spring 2007), p. 11.

3. St. Louis Jesuits, “Here I Am, Lord,” Lord of Light (Phoenix, AZ: NALR, 1981), p. 21.

4. Dan Schutte, “Here I am, Lord,” Music & Liturgy, vol. 33, no. 1 (Spring 2007), p. 11.

5. St. Louis Jesuits, “Here I Am, Lord,” Lord of Light (Phoenix, AZ: NALR, 1981), p. 21.

6. “Act of Praise 2000,” Bulletin, Hymn Society of Great Britain and Ireland, vol. 16, no. 5 (Jan. 2001), p. 127.

7. Paul Westermeyer, “Here I Am, Lord,” Hymnal Companion to Evangelical Lutheran Worship (Minneapolis: Augsburg Fortress, 2010), p. 413.

8. Clive Young, “Hymns on my travels no. 4,” Bulletin, Hymn Society of Great Britain and Ireland, vol. 16, no. 12 (October 2002), p. 285.

9. Carlton R. Young, “Here I Am, Lord,” Companion to the United Methodist Hymnal (Nashville: Abingdon, 1993), p. 397.

10. Edward Darling & Donald Davison, “I, the Lord of sea and sky,” Companion to Church Hymnal (Dublin: Columba, 2005), p. 764.

Additional Resources:

LindaJo H. McKim, “Here I Am, Lord,” Presbyterian Hymnal Companion (Louisville: Westminster John Knox, 1993), pp. 355–356.

Marilyn Kay Stulken, “I, the Lord of sea and sky,” With One Voice Reference Companion (Minneapolis: Augsburg Fortress, 2000), pp. 103–104.

“Here I Am, Lord,” Sing! A New Creation: Leader’s Edition (Grand Rapids: CRC, 2002), no. 268.

C. Michael Hawn, “Here I Am, Lord,” History of Hymns, United Methodist Discipleship Ministries (19 June 2013): https://www.umcdiscipleship.org/resources/history-of-hymns-here-i-am-lord

Carl Daw, “I, the Lord of sea and sky,” Glory to God: A Companion (Louisville: Westminster John Knox, 2016), pp. 69–70.

“Here I Am, Lord,” Hymnary.org: https://hymnary.org/text/i_the_lord_of_sea_and_sky