My own parish has jettisoned this hymn at Mass in favour of a "song of praise" inserted into the liturgy. I am convinced that this is simply another instance of dumbing down and making the liturgy more understandable and therefore less edifying. This "song of praise" is just a modern song from Mission Praise and just doesn't point out into the infinite in the same way as the traditional texts which have stood a greater test of time, and inspired a good many Christians from all walks of life - not just the bishops, saints and theologians.
Hmm, in considering the Gloria bit by bit, I feel rather like Francois Couperin.
Let's start at the beginning.
Gloria in excelsis Deo.
Δόξα ἐν ὑψίστοις Θεῷ
Glory be to God on High.
The word "Glory" fascinates me. Gloria and Doxa both translate the Hebrew word כבוד (chabod) which itself derives from a Hebrew word meaning weight, substance and honour. To me, this suggests that Glory is about the impact that something makes on the world around. The more substantial a body is, the greater its impact. Compare the glory that a ping-pong ball, a cricket ball and a foot ball possess bouncing off the top of one's head!
A sunrise is glorious precisely because it thrills the heart to see such resplendent colours first thing in the morning across a snowy landscape - that is its impact on our lives. Of course, Kings and Queens have their glory, as do presidents, but can one properly talk about the glory of a terrorist? The impact that they have on people's lives is devastating. That the terrorist's community will applaud his actions and honour him suggests that he does possess glory, but clearly not for the innocent victims of his actions.
There seems to be a subjective element to glory - an impact on people's lives which we deem to be honourable, and we recognise this impact with awards, peerages, honorary doctorates, pats on the back and a box of chocolates with a "thank you" card on it. Such is the glory that man gives to man, yet doesn't it soon cloy? Our media likes nothing more than to exaggerate the glory of one person, and then revel gleefully as it takes it away again.
In saying "Gloria in excelsis Deo", we are making a very definite statement that God has made an impact which has benefitted everything that exists. This is our statement of faith; it is practically credal in what is says.
It is You, O God, to Whom we attribute the greatest achievements that Creation has experienced.
In the Te Deum it is "Heaven and Earth are full of the Majesty of thy Glory". Again, just as my friends and I discussed and as I posted below, we are faced with not a vacuum of space, but a plenum filled with God.
In the cosmological award ceremony (which, thankfully, is unlikely to be hosted by Billy Crystal), we give to God all the trophies, all the accolades, all the medals when we say or sing this little phrase on a Sunday morning (if we are lucky enough to have a traditional liturgy).
It is also a plea. Brother Lawrence was aware that he was full of the glory of God as he practiced the Presence of God, and it is this glory that is indelible in each human being though many are not fortunate to see it. Thus in singing our Gloria, our plea is that as we attribute to God all glory, He would make us more and more aware, that He would impact Himself more and more on our lives so as to call us into His presence.
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