Music of Advent - To a Maid Engaged to Joseph

Week 2, Tuesday—Luke 1:26-38

To a Maid Engaged to Joseph by Gracia Grindal

To a maid engaged to Joseph, the angel Gabriel came. 

“Fear not the angel told her, “I come to bring good news.”

“Fear not for God is with you, and you shall bear a child.

His name shall be called Jesus, God’s off-spring from on high.

And he shall reign forever, forever reign on high.”

Angels are crucial to the story of Advent.  Angels appearing to Mary and Joseph, to the shepherds and the magi, and to Zechariah herald the message: “fear not” and “good news!”

I find their initial statements of “fear not” to be both comforting and discomforting.  Comforting in that we are told we should not be afraid. Discomforting because it is likely we will be afraid of what they say.  This is like your child calling you and saying, “I’m alright,” before they break into the terrifying story of the accident they were just in. 

Messages of “good news” are kind of backhanded blessings found throughout the scriptures.  God’s favor tends to be coupled with something other mortals would hate to have to go through.  Mary’s predicament of being an unwed mother in ancient Jewish culture is one example.  This favor and promise of God’s presence do not eliminate the very real consequences of Mary’s situation.  But God’s favor and comfort probably got her through the tough times, at least with a little comfort and encouragement. 

What tough times are you facing?  Perhaps it is social or cultural, and you are ostracized by your peers or family.  Maybe it is simply having to endure unpleasant or downright awful circumstances.  Or you may have other forms of a backhanded blessing—a medical condition that reveals something more serious in the nick of time.  Know that there is a messenger from God telling you to fear not, no matter the circumstances.

And he came to her and said, ‘Greetings, favored one! The Lord is with you. 'But she was much perplexed by his words and pondered what sort of greeting this might be. The angel said to her, ‘Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God.

Luke 1:28-30

Music of Advent - Lo, How a Rose E'er Blooming

Week 2, Monday—Isaiah 35:1-2

Lo, How a Rose E’er Blooming 15th century German, trans. Theodore Baker

Lo, how a Rose e'er blooming from tender stem hath sprung!
Of Jesse's lineage coming as men of old have sung.
It came, a flower bright, amid the cold of winter
When half-gone was the night.

This particular Advent hymn is not usually a favorite with the congregations I have served.  I think maybe it is because it has no time signature.  Knowing little about the technicalities of music, what I do know is that the tune can be a little awkward.  Nevertheless, I like it and it has become one of my favorite Advent tunes, not in spite of the timing, but because of it.  It is haunting, and a bit nostalgic.  You can almost see the sepia tones coming up around your memories as you sing this hymn. 

Of course the rose to which this hymn is referring is Mary, mother of Jesus.  There is no end to tunes about Mary at Advent and Christmas.  But this one does not directly reference Mary of Nazareth, but a Rose of Sharon.  In the Isaiah passage, it tells of a crocus, but biblical scholars have attributed to the “crocus growing as a lily among the brambles” as the Rose of Sharon.  There are other ideas of this, but I think the lily among the brambles is a good image for this particular hymn. 

In Isaiah, without knowledge of Mary of Nazareth, the writer tells of a crocus that “shall blossom abundantly, and rejoice with joy and singing.”  Mary’s song in Luke 1:46-55 rejoices, singing of God’s glory and majesty.  In her expectant condition, Mary is a flower “in bloom” with the glory of God. 

As we prepare for the birth of the incarnate God, let us remember Mary who was the lily among the brambles of troubled Nazareth and Ceasar’s reign.  In spite of her circumstances, she rejoiced with song and pondered in her heart the things of God.

The wilderness and the dry land shall be glad,
   the desert shall rejoice and blossom;
like the crocus it shall blossom abundantly,
   and rejoice with joy and singing.

Isaiah 35:1

Music of Advent - Hail to the Lord's Anointed

Sunday, Second Week of Advent—Psalm 72

Hail to the Lord’s Anointed by James Montgomery, 1821

  Hail to the Lord’s anointed, great David’s greater Son!

Hail in the time appointed, his reign on earth begun!

He comes to break oppression, to set the captive free;

To take away transgression, and rule in equity. 

The prayer of confession came up during the service.  Since I had not been to a church with a liturgical style of worship before, this was foreign to me.  People of the congregation—even the pastor—were all confessing with one voice that we were less than perfect, that we were repentant and were seeking reconciliation with God and one another.  No one was claiming to be a better Christian than the other.  This was a radical and progressive thought for me. 

I was brought up in a church that seemed to have a congregation of the holier-than-thou folk and the poor degenerates.  I fell in the later category.  Of course, this was my perspective at the time and was perhaps a bit skewed by my age. I found in later years that various congregations regardless of denomination can have those divisions, but during my teen years I felt this acutely.  I could never be “saved” enough.  My rebelliousness in my late teens sealed the deal.  At the tender age of 19, I believed I was doomed to hell.  Yet, in spite of my damnation, here I was in a church that not only conveyed God’s grace in my life, they all said they needed it too.

This is my understanding of breaking oppression and taking away transgression—the unison prayer of confession.  The captivity to the constant reminder of my past failures no longer held me.  I was free, and although I had been raised in church and had attended my whole life, it was probably the first time I felt that freedom in Christ.  This is the kind of relief you feel when you do not know how heavy the burden on you is until it is lifted.  Then you feel awkward by the lightness of your spirit.  Of course, you want to shout “Hail!” and “Blessed be!”  It seems natural at that point. 

If you are one of those who feel that others have put you in the “poor degenerate” category, do not despair.  God doesn’t see you there.  God desires relationship with you and for you to know the pure freedom of forgiveness and the unburdening of your soul. 

After a bit, assured of my life in Christ, the relationship with God (as many relationships go) became stale.  Shouting God’s praises seemed rehearsed and trite.  I looked around at others who seemed to be going through the motions as well.  I realized then this is how “holier-than-thou” starts.  Rather than being authentic about the ups and downs of our faith, we fake it.  If you are in this demographic, I just want to let you know you are not fooling anyone, and no one can fool God.   

It was in an intentional act on my part to remember the joy felt at that first act of radical belief that God’s grace was in my life regardless of what others may think about me.  I found this re-connection once again in the unison prayer of confession.  Only this time I was the pastor leading the congregation.  At this time, it was the words of the assurance of pardon that I get to say, knowing without question that the God I fell in love with, was the God that was in love with me and my congregation.  I fell renewed once again. 

I would invite us all to pray a Prayer of Confession this Advent, recognizing that we often fail God, but God never fails us. 

PRAYER OF CONFESSION:
Lord we confess that we suffer today because of sin, both the sins we have chosen and the sins committed against us. We have done things we should not have done, and we have neglected to do those things we should have done. Save us from ourselves; save us from the forces of Evil in this world.

We do not have the power to undo what has already been done, so grant us grace to bear present burdens and courage to change things that can be changed. Teach us how to live as those prepared to die and dwell eternally with you and your Boy Child, our Savior, Jesus Christ.

SILENT CONFESSION (offer personal prayers of confession)

WORDS OF ASSURANCE
Jesus has, indeed, come to save us and show us the way to experience God's love. Jesus will strengthen us to the end, so we may be blameless on the day of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Hear the good news: you are forgiven!

Music of Advent - Toda la Tierra (All Earth is Waiting)

Week 1, Saturday Isaiah 40:3-5

Toda la Tierra (All Earth is Waiting) by Alberto Taule, 1972

All earth is waiting to see the Promised One,

And the open furrows, the sowing of the Lord.

All the world, bound and struggling seeks true liberty

It cries out for justices and searches for the truth.

It hadn’t rained.  The earth was parched and cracked.  Most wheat didn’t make it to the ground.  Much of what did dried up and blew away.  It was pretty bleak. 

I look around today and see a world bound and struggling.  Listen carefully, and you will hear the cries for justice and truth, which is growing louder every day.  How do we proclaim “Joy to the World” at such a time in human history?  How do we explain peace on earth good will to all humankind to our children?

It hadn’t rained.  The earth was parched and cracked.  Most wheat didn’t make it to the ground.  Much of what did dried up and blew away.  It was pretty bleak.  Then came the glorious summer rain blessing the earth, kissing the ground.  It was warm and sweet and lasted for hours.  Children were dancing in it.  Birds were bathing in puddles.  Farmers, with hats off, lifted their faces to it, their tears mingling with the drops hitting their faces.  The dried furrows were filled with life-giving water from heaven.

All the earth is waiting.  How are you giving hope and courage?  How are you like the rain that blesses the earth?  Do you fill up the low places with life-giving speech?  Or do you dig the trenches deeper and drier?  Do you bless and give life?  Or do you crush and oppress?  There cannot be a somewhere in the middle in this current climate.

All the earth is waiting to see the Promised One.  The world, bound and struggling, desire freedom, justice and truth.  Do you bear the child of promise?  Or do you bear the curse of Herod on the world?  We are waiting.

Every valley shall be lifted up,
   and every mountain and hill be made low;
the uneven ground shall become level,
   and the rough places a plain. 

Isaiah 40:4

Music of Advent - View the Present Through the Promise

 Week 1, Friday--Isaiah 40:3-5

View the Present Through the Promise by Thomas Troeger, 1994

View the present through the promise,

Christ will come again.

Trust despite the deepening darkness

Christ will come again.

Lift the world above its grieving

through your watching and believing

In the hope past hope’s conceiving

Christ will come again.

There was a time when the religious powers-that-be thought the best course of action was a “scared straight” approach to the divine.  That same idea has repeated over time with faith being the beautiful beginning to relationship with God devolving into religion (in the worst sense of the word) being the ultimate ending of that faith.  I do not mean to say that I believe that churches or denominations are bad, I don’t.  I think ecumenical cooperation among denominations is important to being able to see how vast and diverse God truly is.  I just mean when suddenly those that follow the Christ begin to look like the Pharisees and the empire that crucified Jesus, we have gone astray. 

In this passage of Isaiah, we are told of a solitary voice crying out.  We have often skipped the punctuation though.  It does not say that a voice in the wilderness is crying out, it reads that the message of that voice is that the way of the Lord should be prepared in the wilderness.  This gives us a whole new meaning.  The divine is coming not in the bustling city or the fertile farmlands, but in the desert wilderness.  Barrenness.  Of course!  Where else should God come first, but to the barren places.  

Our faith begins with waiting, hoping, and watching for an appearance of the divine in our world.   We often lose sight of this faith as our waiting is not realized.  Then we turn to law and penalty as opposed to the grace with which we first began.  Holding on to the waiting without becoming discouraged is important, so we must be renewed.  Where do we look for the Lord?  We look in the desert places of our lives and in our world.  Where do we see God at work, while we watch and wait?

This hymn allows us to lift up our voices with confidence proclaiming Christ will come again!  It is in the very darkness that the light shines brightest.  Let us renew our faith, trusting that we are here in this place for such a time as this watching and waiting.  Watching for God’s work in our world.  Waiting for the revelation of the divine in our lives.  Even if we never see what we believe to be a triumphal return, if we watch for the smallest things in the barren places we will not miss the Advent of the divine. 

A voice cries out:

In the wilderness prepare the way of the Lord,
   make straight in the desert a highway for our God. 

Isaiah 40:3