Wesley Joseph, organist and choir director at Hopewell, here with my first ever Constant Contact email.

Some of you my have noticed that the organ music of Johann Sebastian Bach gets a lot of airtime around here. It's not because he's one of my favorite composers for the organ (he is) or because he wrote so much music for the organ (he did) or even because the New York Times recently named him the greatest composer of the Western tradition (they did, really!).

No, the reason I play so much Bach is simpler than that. Bach is actually a colleague of mine. He spent the last 23 years of his career and his life as the music director at St. Thomas Church in Leipzig, Saxony. There he directed several choirs, taught music to children, played the organ and harpsichord for services, and composed much choral and instrumental music for worship.

Bach was, in short, a church musician. He did not live in a great cultural center, or see his music performed by the best musicians of his day (besides himself, that is). His children, all musicians themselves, thought his music a little old-fashioned. And indeed, most of it was forgotten until almost 100 years after his death. None of this really mattered much to Bach, who loved his work and more importantly, recognized its importance. At the end of every piece he wrote, he signed "SDG:" Soli Deo Gloria, To God Alone Be the Glory.

Bach understood and lived the Reformation doctrine of vocation, the truth that every Christian's occupation, whether music, science, education, or business, is an offering given to God. The reason I play so much Bach is to remind myself of this truth.

On this Reformation Sunday, my prelude will be a Bach fantasia. It's a little long (about 5 minutes), so be sure to get there at 10:27 to hear the whole thing. When you hear this piece, and whenever you hear any music by Bach again, remember that Bach lived his life and did his job SDG: for the Glory of God Alone. Any time you hear Bach, remember that your life can also be lived your work can also be done SDG: for God's Glory Alone.

Soli Deo Gloria,

Wesley