Haugen: That You May Have Life

THAT YOU MAY HAVE LIFE:
Musical Stories from the Gospel of John

by Marty Haugen
© 2005 GIA Publications: CD-622

Marty Haugen
images from GIA Publications

. Song Title Length Scriptural Basis
1 Prologue 4:30 John 1:1-19
2 Nicodemus 6:31 John 3:1-21
3 The Woman at the Well 7:04 John 4:1-19
4 The Man Born Blind 10:53 John 9:1-41
5 Mary, Martha & Lazarus 6:48 John 11:1-44; 12:1-4
6 The Last Supper 5:13 John 13:1—17:26
7 The Passion 6:00 John 18:1—19:42
8 The Resurrection 6:02 John 20:1-31

Johann Weigel - In the Beginning Was the Word1) PROLOGUE (1:1-19)

Evangelist: Ἐν ἀρχῇ ἦν ὁ λόγος, In the beginning was the Word.
καὶ ὁ λόγος ἦν πρὸς τὸν θεόν, and the Word was with God.
καὶ θεὸς ἦν ὁ λόγος, and the Word was God.
He was in the beginning with God, and all things came to be through him,
and without him not one thing came to be.

Choir: (Refrain) Ἐν ἀρχῇ ἦν ὁ λόγος, καὶ ὁ λόγος ἦν πρὸς τὸν θεόν, καὶ θεὸς ἦν ὁ λόγος.

Evangelist: In him was life, and the life was the light of all people.
And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it. (Refrain)

Choir: He was in the world, and the world came to be through him, yet the world knew him not.
But to all who received him, to all who believed in his name, he gave pow’r to become children of God. (Refrain)

And the Word became flesh, and the Word dwelt among us.
We have seen his glory, a glory as the only Son of God,
and from his fullness have we all received grace upon grace. (Refrain)


2) NICODEMUS (3:1-21)

Evangelist: Now there was a Pharisee named Nicodemus, a teacher. He came to Jesus by night, looking for a sign.

Nicodemus: I have always tried to walk the true and righteous way,
a teacher wise and good, following the Law in all I say and do.
Studying the Scriptures thoroughly from day to day, the way a teacher should,
striving to become a just and faithful Jew.
And, when I don’t quite understand the reason for the Law’s command,
I simply try the best I can, and I learn from the holy people I meet.

So… when I heard about this Jesus and all he can do (changing water into wine?)
right away I wondered who this man might be.
Late at night I went to see him hoping it was true (perhaps I’ll see a sign!):
could a holy prophet come from Galilee?
And maybe Jesus holds the key to unlock all the doubt in me,
that I may know and finally see the God who is hidden in holy mystery.

(to Jesus) Rabbi, we know you are a teacher sent from God,
for no one could do the signs that you do apart from the presence of God.

Jesus: Truly I tell you, truly I tell you, no one can see the Reign of God without being born anew from above.

Nicodemus: How can one be born again?
We’re all born once, grow up, and then we can’t repeat the moment when our mother gave us birth.

Jesus: Truly I tell you, truly I tell you, no one can enter the Reign of God – you must be born of water and the Spirit.

Nicodemus: How can these things be? How can these things be?

Jesus: If I have spoken to you of earthly things and your heart cannot believe, how can you believe if I tell you of heavenly things?

Jesus / Choir: (Refrain) For God so loved the world, God gave the only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not die, but have life – so much God loved the world, so much God loves the world.

As Moses lifted up the serpent so that all who looked to it might live, the Son of Man must be lifted up so that all who believe, all who look to him may have eternal life. (Refrain)

God’s Son came not to condemn the world, but that the world may be saved through him, and all who believe in the Son of God shall come to the light and live in the light and dwell in the heart of God. (Refrain)


3) THE WOMAN AT THE WELL (4:1-19)

Jesus and the Samaritan WomanWoman: It seemed I had always been yearning, for something, for somewhere, for someone, where peace and love abide. The lesson I finally was learning: there was nothing and nowhere, and no one would welcome me inside. No more do I look for a savior, or a path or a light for my way. Enough now to make my own journey to the well in the heat of the day. He sat beside the lonely well – a single Jewish man. He watched me come, unsure and slow; he watched the water rise and flow; he watched me finally turn to go, and then he said:

Jesus: Give me a drink.

Woman: How could you, a Jew, a man, accept a drink from my own hand – a woman and a Samaritan?
You really are a strange one.

Jesus: Woman, if you only knew exactly who you’re talking to,
then you’d ask me, and I’d give to you the true and living water.

Woman: Where is your bucket, sir? You’ve nothing here to fill.
This well is Jacob’s legacy, who dug it for his family; are you a greater man than he to claim this living water?

Jesus: The water that I offer you is a wellspring full and free;
come and drink, and you will thirst no more, come and drink, and live in me.

Woman: Let’s have this water, sir, this water full and free, so I won’t have to sweat and strain,
and toil across this dusty plain. So make it shower, pour, and rain; and it’s no more thirst for me.

Jesus: Go, and bring your husband here.

Woman: There’s no husband home to bring.

Jesus: You speak the truth. You have no husband; you have had five, and the one you have is not your own.
You are alone, you speak the truth, you speak the truth.

Woman: I thought he talked of water, while he spoke to me of life.
And a spring leaped up, embracing me as a woman, daughter, wife.

(to Jesus) I know when the Messiah comes all things will be clear.

Jesus: I AM, I AM the one you look for. The one you seek is here.

Evangelist: The woman left her water jar and returned to the village.
She gathered all the townspeople to her and said to them:

Woman: Come and see, come and see a man who told me everything I have ever done.
Could he be the One we long for? Could he be the Messiah?

Woman / Choir: You give the water of life to all who are thirsting, all those who seek to abide in you;
O spring of your Spirit, dwell in our hearts and give us the Living Water.
If we but ask, the Spirit will come to us; welling up within us as a spring of eternal life.
If we believe, the Spirit abides with us, raining down upon us as a shower of love and grace.


4) THE MAN BORN BLIND (9:1-41)

Duccio - Painting of Jesus Giving Sight to the Man Born Blind (John 9)Evangelist: As Jesus walked along, he saw a man blind from birth.
He said to his disciples, “Through this man, the wondrous works of God shall be revealed.”
When he had said this, Jesus knelt down by the side of the road, he spat in the dust,
made mud with his saliva and spread it on the blind man’s eyes.

Blind Man: Years I had waited, unnoticed, forgotten;
no gentle touch, no healing word, the world passed by and never heard my cries.
Kneeling beside me, his presence around me, his gentle hands upon my face, and words of healing, hope, and grace:

Jesus: Go, and wash in the pool of Siloam.

Evangelist: The man went and washed, and he came back able to see. All the neighbors who knew him began to ask:

Neighbors: Is this not the one who used to sit and beg?
He’s the one we passed each day, sitting there beside the way.
No, that’s not him at all, he was in the dust, not standing tall.

Blind Man: I’m the one, I am he; why, oh why can’t you see?

Neighbors: How were your eyes opened?

Blind Man: Jesus made some mud, then he spread it on my eyes, sent me off to wash,
and then, much to my surprise, I was blind, but now I see.

Neighbors: Take him to the teachers, they will understand this; surely with their vision they can help us see.
Take him to the teachers, they are all enlightened, let the teachers tell us how this sign can be.

Evangelist: The neighbors took the man to the Pharisees.
Now it was a sabbath day when Jesus had made the mud and opened the man’s eyes.
The Pharisees began to ask how he had received his sight. The man said to them:

Blind Man: Jesus made some mud, then he spread it on my eyes, sent me off to wash,
and then, much to my surprise, I was blind, but now I see.

Pharisees: (Women) This man is a sinner for he heals on the Sabbath.
No one sent from God would reject the Law.
(Men) How could a sinner perform such signs? Surely God is with him.

Blind Man: Don’t you see?

Pharisees: What do you say about him? You are the one with opened eyes.

Blind Man: He’s a prophet.

Pharisees: Go and get his parents, they can explain this; go and get his parents and we’ll truly see.
Go and get his parents, we will discover what’s behind this mystery.

Evangelist: The Pharisees called the parents of the man, and said to them,
“Is this your son, who you say was born blind? How then does he now see?”

Parents: This man, indeed, was once our son, our very flesh and bone;
but we don’t see him all that much since he’s been on his own.
So we suggest you have him tell his story for himself, for we no longer get involved, since he is fully-grown.

Evangelist: A second time they called the man, and said to him:

Pharisees: Give your glory to God, give your glory to God, for we know this man is a sinner.

Blind Man: I cannot say if this man sins, great the love he showed to me.
One thing is true, one thing I know, I was blind, but now I see.

Pharisees: But how did he open your eyes?

Blind Man: I have told you already, and still you will not see.
Well… Jesus made some mud, then he spread it on my eyes, sent me off to wash,
and then, much to my surprise, I was blind, but now I see.
Why do you keep asking me to give you back this litany?
Would you like to come and see this prophet and his signs?

Pharisees: Who knows this ‘prophet’s’ pedigree, this man come down from Galilee?
For we are the authority of Moses and his line.

Blind Man: And here it is, the final word, the strangest thing I ever heard:
that you, who claim the honored place, cannot discern God’s holy face.
Your eyes are shut to mystery, your hearts will never truly see how God breaks through all doubt and sin
in those who turn and welcome in the one God sent to save us.

Pharisees: Who are you to preach to us and tell us what to do?
We will never hear the truth from sinners such as you.

Evangelist: And they drove him out of their sight.
When Jesus heard that everyone had abandoned him, he went and found the man, and said to him:

Jesus: Do you believe in the Son of Man? Do you believe in the Son of Man?

Blind Man: Tell me who he is, sir, and I will believe.

Jesus: I AM the One. I AM the Light of the world.

Blind Man: Lord, I believe. Lord, I believe.

Blind Man / Choir: (Refrain) Open my eyes, O God, help me to see,
break through the shadows, heal the blindness in me.
Come, dawn on my darkness, make me holy and wise,
O Light of the world: come, open my eyes.

Soloist: Just as the blind man that Jesus gave sight, I want to live as your child of the light;
awaken this sleeper, from death set me free, so that Christ shines upon me, and I truly might see. (Refrain)

Blind Man: Grant me the joy of abiding in you, a life that is holy, a heart that is true,
proclaiming your mercy, my joy and delight, you who called me from darkness into wonderful light. (Refrain)


5) MARY, MARTHA & LAZARUS (11:1-44; 12:1-4)

Caravaggio - Jesus Raises Lazarus from the Dead (John 11)Evangelist: In the village of Bethany lived two sisters, Mary and Martha, and their brother, Lazarus.
Jesus loved them, so when Lazarus fell ill, the sisters looked to Jesus to save him.

Mary: We had followed him.

Martha: We had learned from him.

Mary / Martha: And, with our brother, we broke bread with him, and he fed us with his Word.
So we trusted he would come to us when his friend, our brother, Lazarus, lay dying.

Martha: Surely he would come.

Mary: Surely he would come.

Martha: We sent a message to him, pleading:

Mary / Martha: Lord, the one you love is ill. Come quickly, oh, come quickly, gracious friend.

Mary: Do not forsake the ones who love you.

Mary / Martha: Oh, come quickly, and fulfill your promise of a life that will not end.

Martha: And we waited for an answer.

Mary: And we yearned to see his face.

Mary / Martha: And we hungered for his healing and his grace.

Martha: When our brother breathed his last breath, and he lay there, cold and still,
I wondered what our gracious God can will.

Mary / Martha: And when he finally came, we cried out in our grief:
(to Jesus) Why did you make us wait so long, to comfort us, to bring relief?

Mary: Lord, if you had been here;

Martha: Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died,
and even now, I believe God will give you whatever you ask.

Jesus: Your brother will rise again.

Martha: On that final day, so far away? I need a resurrection now.

Jesus: I AM the resurrection and the life, all who believe in me, though they die, they shall live,
and everyone who lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?

Mary / Martha: Yes, Lord, we believe that you are the Messiah.

Mary: But still our brother is dead.

Jesus: Where have you laid him?

Martha: Come and see.

Mary: Come and see.

Evangelist: Jesus began to weep. Some of the mourners said, “See how he loved Lazarus.”
But others said, “He opened the eyes of the blind man. Could he not have kept this man from dying?”
Jesus came to the tomb, and said to Martha:

Jesus: Roll away the stone.

Martha: O my Lord, he has been dead now four days.

Jesus: Did I not tell you that if you believed you would see the glory of God?

Evangelist: So they rolled the stone away. And Jesus cried out in a loud voice:

Jesus: Lazarus, Lazarus, come out! Lazarus, Lazarus, come out!

Evangelist: The dead man came out, his feet and hands bound with strips of cloth, and his face wrapped in a cloth. Jesus said to them all:

Jesus: Unbind him and let him go free.

Choir: (Refrain) Loving Shepherd, you call back to life your lost and fallen sheep.
Loving Shepherd, in your mighty arms you comfort all who weep.

Lazarus: O wondrous hope! O sweet relief that sets my soul aflame when,
through the night of fear and grief, your voice cries out my name. (Refrain)

Martha: Your Word of life now breathe in me, that I may rise and sing:
O grave, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?

Mary: And then, in the midst of the feasting and dancing and rejoicing,
I knew that the Shepherd who calls his sheep home would lay down his own life for those sheep.
And I brought my oils to prepare him for that journey.
Gentle Shepherd, in your love you lay your life down for your sheep.
Gentle Shepherd, is there any voice to wake you from that sleep?


6) THE LAST SUPPER (13:1 – 17:26)

Evangelist: Before the festival of the Passover, Jesus knew that his hour had come.
Having loved his own who were in the world, he loved them to the end.
During supper, Jesus got up from the table, took off his robe, and tied a towel around himself.
Then he poured water into a basin and began to wash the feet of his disciples. Simon Peter said to him:

Peter: Lord, are you going to wash my feet?

Jesus: You do not know what I am doing, but later you will understand.

Peter: You will never wash my feet.

Jesus: Unless you are washed, you have no share in me.

Evangelist: After Jesus had washed their feet, he put on his robe and returned to the table. He said to them:

Jesus: Do you know what I have done to you? You call me ‘Teacher’ and ‘Lord,’ and so I am.
And if I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, so should you wash the feet of one another.
Do not let your hearts be troubled. Believe in God, and believe also in me.
I go to prepare a place for you. I will come again and take you to myself, so that where I am, you shall also be.

Thomas: Lord, we do not know where you are going. How can we know the way?

Jesus: I AM the Way, the Truth, and the Life. No one comes to the Father except through me, except through me.
I AM the vine and you are the branches, abide in me as I abide in you and you will bear much fruit, fruit that endures.
A new commandment I give unto you: Love one another, love one another as I have loved you.

Jesus / Choir: (Refrain) There is no greater love than this, to lay down your life for your friends.
There is no greater love, no greater love than this.

As the Father has loved me, so I have loved you.
Remain in my love, remain in my love just as I remain in my Father. (Refrain)

You are my friends if you do what I say:
No longer servants, no longer servants, for I name you ‘friends.’ (Refrain)


7) THE PASSION (18:1 – 19:42)

Evangelist: After supper, Jesus went out with his disciples across the Kidron valley to a garden.
While they were there the soldiers came. They arrested Jesus, bound him, and led him away.

Choir: A blameless lamb led off to death, a sheep in silence shorn.
Rejected, scorned, yet undeterred, they led him off without a word.
Afflicted, still no curse was heard when he from life was torn
and, lifted up from earth, he drew all people to himself.

Mary Magdalene: But I remember how he said, “I AM the Good Shepherd.
I know my own and my own know me, and I will lay down my life for my sheep.”

Evangelist: Jesus was brought before Pilate. Pilate asked him, “Are you a king?”
Jesus answered, “My kingdom is not from this world.
For this I was born, and for this l came into the world, to testify to the truth.”

Choir: Though he was in the form of God, he counted power as loss
and, emptied, humbled, chose to be a slave to our humanity.
Obedient to death was he, to death upon the cross
and, lifted up from earth, he drew all people to himself.

Mary Magdalene: But I remember how he said, “I AM the Light of the World.
Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness but will abide in the light of life.”

Evangelist: Pilate took Jesus and had him flogged.
His soldiers wove a crown of thorns and put it on his head.
Then Pilate handed Jesus over to be crucified.
They took Jesus. Carrying the cross by himself, he went out.
At Golgotha they crucified him.

Choir: Unless a grain of wheat shall fall into the earth and die,
it shall forevermore remain a small and solitary grain;
but dying, life abundant gain when fruitful fields arise
and, lifted up from earth, he draws all people to himself.

Mary Magdalene: And I remember how he said, “I AM the Vine, and you are the branches;
Abide in me as I abide in you, and you will all bear the fruit that endures.”

Evangelist: Joseph of Arimathea, who was a disciple of Jesus,
received permission from Pilate to take away the body of Jesus.
So he came with Nicodemus, who had first come to Jesus by night.
Nicodemus brought a mixture of myrrh and aloes,
and they wrapped the body of Jesus with the spices in linen cloths, according to the burial custom of the Jews.
Now there was a garden in the place where he was crucified, and in the garden there was a new tomb.
And they laid Jesus there.

Choir: We cannot follow where he goes, we do not know the way.
Our hearts, bereft and battered, bow to see how hope is shattered,
how like orphans we are scattered now, like sheep we go astray
till, lifted up from earth, he draws all people to himself.


8) THE RESURRECTION (20:1-31)

Evangelist: Early on the first day of the week, while it was still dark,
Mary Magdalene came to the tomb and saw that the stone had been removed. She began to weep.
As she wept, she bent down and looked into the tomb and she saw two angels. They said to her:

Angels: Woman, why are you weeping?

Mary Magdalene: They have taken him away, they have taken away the body of my Lord.
Oh where, oh where have they laid him?

Evangelist: Mary turned away and saw Jesus, but she did not recognize him. He said to her:

Jesus: Woman, why are you weeping? Whom are you looking for? What do you seek?

Mary Magdalene: Sir, if you have taken him, tell me where to find him, tell me where he lays.

Jesus: Oh, Mary, why are you weeping? What do you hope to see? Whom do you seek?

Mary Magdalene: My Teacher, in death’s sleep no longer, for God’s love is stronger than we dare to hope.

Jesus: Mary, do not cling to this body, but go and proclaim to my sisters and brothers
that I am alive and I go now to open the way, for life has conquered this day.

Evangelist: Mary ran, and she was singing:

Mary: I have seen the Lord!

Evangelist: Told all those disciples:

Mary: I have seen the Lord!

Evangelist: All who hide in fear and sorrow:

Mary: I have seen the Lord!

Evangelist: Stand up now, and face tomorrow.

Mary: I have seen the Lord!

Evangelist: Jesus came, and stood among them:

Choir: We have seen the Lord!

Jesus: Peace, my friends, to all of you.

Choir: We have seen the Lord!

Evangelist: Thomas did not see the Savior.

Choir: We have seen the Lord!

Thomas: I will not believe he’s risen.

Choir: We have seen the Lord!

Jesus: Thomas, look and see your Savior.

Thomas: O my risen Lord!

Jesus: Blessed are those with eyes of faith.

Disciples: We have seen the Lord!

All: (Refrain) He came that we may have life, that we may have life abundantly.
Oh, come, abide in the Living One.

Mary Magdalene: Come and see.

Evangelist: Come and see.

All: That you may believe.

Evangelist: Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of his disciples that are not recorded here,
but we have sung these stories that you may believe that Jesus is the Messiah
and that, through believing, you may have life in his name.

Nicodemus: Come, and learn to be born anew.

Woman at the Well: Come, and drink of the Living Water.

Blind Man: Come, abide in the Light of the World.

Mary Magdalene: Shine as God’s holy sons and daughters.

Mary: Come, and know death is not the end.

Martha: Come, believe in the resurrection.

Evangelist: Know the Shepherd who leads you to life –

Mary Magdalene: – loving guide, and our strong protection.

Jesus: Come, abide in the True Vine.

Evangelist: Come, and share in the Living Bread.

Jesus: Come, and know the Way and the Truth.

Mary Magdalene: Know the One who is raised from the dead.

All: (Refrain) He came that we may have life, that we may have life abundantly.
Oh, come, abide in the Living One, that you may believe.

 


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This page was last updated on November 21, 2016

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