A Hymn for Martyrs

"A Hymn for Martyrs"

By Nelson Koscheski

“How Long, O Lord?” your Martyrs ask
Beneath your altar stone.
While victory is clear in heav’n,
Here evil claims the throne.

The Holy Ghost upholds your saints,
Gives courage to the weak.
“Trust me, dear souls, you will yet find
The Edenland you seek.”

The Liar whispers in their ear,
“How can you be so sure?
Has God been seen, or heard or touched
By anyone impure?”

But Jesus is the Victor still,
The Spirit surety.
For God has sent his only Son
To be our purity.

Father Nelson Koscheski was an Episcopal priest for nearly half a century. He was the lyrical arm of the Liturgical Folk music project from 2015 until he died in 2019. This is one of the first poems he sent me, which I promptly set to music. When I asked him what inspired the poem, he shared with me how his 12-year-old grandson asked him how a good God could allow twenty-nine Coptic Christians in Egypt to be beheaded for their faith. (This was in the news at the time.) Instead of explaining the problem of evil to his grandson, he wrote him this poem.

In January of 2017 the Dallas Morning News published the story of our hymn-writing partnership. Elizabeth Hamilton beautifully captured the spirit behind Nelson's work and this poem in particular.

Poetry is a way to address questions about meaning which science and reason cannot always answer adequately, says Koscheski. As an example, he points to a poem he wrote for his grandson, who asked him how a good God could allow evil. "Of course, there's no rational answer," says Koscheski. "There's a cute little way of saying, 'Well, God knows. It will all come out in the end.' And that's true. But it's not very meaningful." 

 Poetry has a way of reaching into the deepest parts of our humanity and drawing out hidden truths.

Allhallowtide is a mini-season in the liturgical year in which Christians contemplate human mortality and break bread with the dead. It begins on October 31st, All Hallows' Eve (commonly called Halloween), "hallow" meaning holy, sacred, or saint-like. November 1st is All Saints' Day, in which Christians honor the saints of the Church. And November 2nd is All Souls' Day, in which we remember the faithful departed. Christian martyrdom is a major theme of Allhallowtide, it being one of the primary qualities of so many saints.