Music of Advent - Prepare the Way of the Lord

(Because I originally prepared this for print, I have forgotten the brilliance of the internet for information at our finger tips!  I have put in links to the scripture and other information in this one and will go back later to put them in previous posts.)

(For the beginning of this series of readings go here.)

Week 1, Thursday—Isaiah 40:1-5; 52:10

Prepare the Way of the Lord by Jacques Berthier

Prepare the way of the Lord.

Prepare the way of the Lord,

And all people will see the salvation of our God.

On a trip to Israel and Palestine, our group of fairly sedentary Americans, were struggling with walking the streets of the villages and towns in which we stayed.  Every step was either uphill or downhill and rocky, so much so that to step into a flat surface was quite a relief.  One particular literal uphill struggle we had stopped to rest halfway up, and as we were resting we see a little boy running and kicking a soccer ball up the hill, seemingly without effort!  The ease with which he moved was quite the cause of conversation among our little group.  One of us remarked that she wished nothing more at that moment than the valleys had been lifted up and the mountains brought low in preparation for the Lord, so that we who visited the area later might enjoy it.    

The prophet Isaiah speaks of preparing the way of the Lord so that all people will see the redemptive glory of the Lord.  After experiencing the terrain of the land, I appreciated more fully the “valleys and mountains of the scripture.  I thought not only of the ease of movement, but also the ability to see for a distance, which only happened at mountaintop moments. What if we could see clearly without any obstruction all the time the salvation of God?  

This hymn from the Taizé community is a repeated chant, and after singing it a couple of times through becomes so deeply rooted in our hearts and minds that we recognize that we are to prepare the way of the Lord so that all people see the salvation of our God.  What can we do this season while we watch and wait for the Advent of the Christ to prepare the way for God’s salvation for all people?  How have we either with or without intention caused those places that people struggle and stumble, and we block the way of the Lord, rather than prepare the way for God’s salvation to be known?  Wherever we have caused hardship for others, we have caused it for ourselves and have kept ourselves from fully seeing God’s salvation as well.  How can you remove obstacles so that you too may experience God’s salvation?

Then the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all people shall see it together, for the mouth of the Lord has spoken.’  Isaiah 40:5

Music of Advent - I Want to Walk as a Child of the Light

(For the beginning of this series of readings go here.)

Week 1, Wednesday—John 1:9-18

I Want to Walk as a Child of the Light by Kathleen Thomerson, 1966

I want to walk as a child of the light, I want to follow Jesus.

God set the stars to give light to the world. 

The star of my life is Jesus. 

In him there is no darkness at all. 

The night and the day are both alike. 

The Lamb is the light of the City of God. 

Shine in my heart, Lord Jesus.

One time, to explain to youth the biblical truth about light and darkness, I took the opportunity to turn off the lights in a completely windowless room.  It was pitch black and you could not see your hand in front of you.  Of course, there was the ruckus you might imagine from the kids, but then I lit a candle.  This one candle changed the complete darkness of the room to one of light and shadows.  I explained that the light is Christ coming into the world.  The shadows in the corners of the room were those places where the light had not yet reached.  Then I gave them all candles and we lit them.  With the glow of the additional candles, almost the entire room was lighted.  They each bore the light of Christ wherever they went, and so do we.

This simple illustration helps us to see what it means to be disciples.  Each follower of Christ takes this light into the world and illuminates the darkness wherever we go.  The youth and I then listened the song “Go Light Your World” made popular again by Chris Rice in 2004. 

We who follow Christ all have this light burning within us, but sometimes we do not shine; sometimes we do not light other’s candles; sometimes we allow our candles to be snuffed out by situations and then we feel overcome by the darkness around us.  We need to tend this flame and keep it burning within us that we may walk as children of the Light carrying this light to everyone around us.  We do this by being continually in the light of the Christ—the light of Christ found in true relationship with the Light of the World, through the flames of other children of the Light around us, and through our desire to be light-bearers to the world. 

This Advent as we look at the coming of the Light of the World into the darkness of human lives, let us sing this Advent hymn as a prayer.  “I want to walk as a child of the light, I want to follow Jesus...Shine in my heart, Lord Jesus.”  And then let us go light our world.

But to all who received him, who believed in his name, he gave power to become children of God . John 1:12

Music of Advent - Send Your Word

(For the beginning of this series of readings go here.)

Week 1, Tuesday—John 1:3b-5

Send Your Word by Yasushige Imakoma, 1965

Send your Word, O God, like rain falling down upon the earth.

Send your Word.  We seek your endless grace,

with souls that hunger and thirst, sorrow and agonize. 

We would all be lost in dark without your guiding light.

This Japanese song is slow and somber—set in a mood more like Lent than Advent.  Its tune is contrary to the unwritten score for the song of John playing around in my head.  The prologue to the gospel of John has trumpets and fanfare, or maybe flowing, earthy, harp music with a babbling brook behind it.  Never in my mind has In the beginning was the Word, been a dirge.  Now that I think about it though, perhaps it should be.

This beginning to the gospel sets the stage for a tragic drama.  The hero, an ill-fated figure who the audience knows dies at the end, is foretold.  This cannot be the triumphant fanfare or the soothing meditation music that I first thought.  It is too important to be taken lightly.

Jesus, the child of Bethlehem, of Egypt, and of Nazareth is the promised Messiah in Matthew, Mark, and Luke.  This is the Jesus that sweats and cries, sleeps and eats, and has a need for companionship.  Jesus in the Gospel of John, however, is the very divine, light, God, the Word spoken in creation.  This gospel’s  Jesus shows us God incarnate (in flesh), light in a world of darkness.   The Jesus of John is the divine who touches earth and brings all of creation to a single point—the Word, the Light of the World, the Christ.

This Advent let us look for those like us who need such a hero.  Those whose lives are in darkness and those whose lives are in shadow.  The light shines in the darkness, and the light triumphs. This is good news.

The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overcome it. John 1:5

Music of Advent - Of the Father's Love Begotten

(For the beginning of this series of readings go here.)

Week 1, Monday – John 1:1-14

Of the Father’s Love Begotten by Aurelius Clemens Prudentius trans. 1859

Of the Father’s love begotten ere the worlds began to be,

he is Alpha and Omega — he the source, the ending he,

of the things that are, that have been,

and that future years shall see evermore and evermore.

While we are busily looking at the manger, the shepherds, the magi, and the virgin this time of year, let us not overlook the nativity story found in John 1.  In the beginning reflects the beginning of Genesis, the story of divine creation.   God’s love for creation began at the very beginning.

Much like the love of a mother for a child long before the child takes his or her first breath in the world, so is God’s love for us.  God does not love us because we are perfect, but because God is perfect—not because we are good, but because God is good.  The idea of the Christ, the salvation of humanity, came at the very beginning because of God’s great love for us. 

This extraordinary love of God in spite of our humanness, even toward the worst of humanity, does not give us carte blanche, to be able to do whatever we want.  God also gave us the ability to respond to the divine love with love of our own.  Our response in love to the God who dreamed us into existence is the only way we can truly appreciate the salvation of Christ during the Christian year, beginning with Advent.

As we look for mangers and nativity sets with Christmas tunes playing in the background, let us not forget to look for signs of the creation around us and remember that in the beginning we are God’s beloved. 

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things came into being through him, and without him not one thing came into being. John 1:1-3a

The Music of Advent - 1st Sunday - Come Thou Long-Expected Jesus

First Sunday of Advent – Psalm 65

Come, Thou Long-Expected Jesus by Charles Wesley, 1744

Come, thou long-expected Jesus,

born to set thy people free;

From our fears and sins release us,

let us find our rest in thee.

Israel’s strength and consolation,

hope of all the earth thou art;

Dear desire of every nation, joy of every longing heart.

We begin the Advent journey with a prayer—a plea for the coming of the One who would free God’s people, heal the sick and liberate the oppressed, the fore-told Messiah.  God enfleshed and living among us and with us that we may come to know God in a human way—a God who can relate to humanity as we never understood before.  This prayer is the inhalation of breath just before we hold it for a moment.  It literally takes our breath away.

As you begin Advent, do you find that you are holding your breath?  Waiting.  Perhaps the waiting is one of anticipation of good things to come—family gatherings, church activities, communities events, parties.  Or perhaps the waiting is one of dread—memories of loved ones gone, of bouts of depression or anxiety, fear of the future, pain.  Maybe we even have a little of both anticipation and dread as the Advent season begins. 

Advent is a time of prayer, a prayer of petition for all that troubles us and a prayer of praise for all that blesses us.  This prayer has been echoed throughout all time, from the beginning of Creation to the end of our existence—Come, Lord come. Show us the Divine, that we may reflect God’s glory, even in the midst of troubled or joyous lives.

The psalmist, the singer of songs of praise and petition, writes in Psalm 124, a tale of remembrance of God’s provision of salvation in the turmoil of life.  Much like we anticipation the saving work of God through the Christ, the one who delivers.  Let us remember as we begin this season of waiting...

By awesome deeds you answer us with deliverance, O God of our salvation; you are the hope of all the ends of the earth and of the farthest seas.  Psalm 65:5