First
Sunday in Advent
Year
B
November 27, 2011
Isaiah
64:1-9
Psalm
80:1-7, 16-18 from BCP
1 Corinthians 1:3-9
Mark 13:24-37
O Come, O Come
Emmanuel!
Redeem thy
captive Israel,
That into exile
drear has gone
Far from the face
of God’s dear son
Rejoice! Rejoice!
Emmanuel
Shall come to
thee, o israel
As has become our tradition at Grace Anglican Church, we will open
our Advent Sundays with the above ancient call to worship, adding a verse each
Sunday. It is believed that this
traditional music stems from a 15th Century French processional for
Franciscan nuns but it may also have 6th Century Gregorian
origins. It is one of the most solemn of
Advent hymns.
Is
Advent a time of somber yearning or one of joyful anticipation? It is surely both, and our worship at Grace
Anglican Church and our music reflect the duality. We contemplate and celebrate both, the first
and second Advents of our Lord, Jesus Christ.
We will sing for our opening processional hymn Charles Wesley’s
Lo!
He comes with clouds descending…
Alleluia! Christ the Lord returns to reign.
“Lo!
He Comes with Clouds Descending”
How Firm a Foundation will be the hymn
we sing to surround the reading of the Gospel.
This hymn is chosen to highlight the reading of 1 Corinthians. This hymn has been a favorite for over a
century and a half….and has been sung to many different tunes. The words were written by Charles Wesley and
published as 14 six-line stanzas in John and Charles Wesley’s Hymns and Sacred Poems in 1742.
Rejoice, Rejoice Believers our
recessional hymn is paired with the Gospel reading of Mark. This Advent text has been in the Hymnal since 1871. It appears here with the Welsh hymn tune LLANGLOFFAN. The text has been called one of the
finest hymns written by Laurentius Laurenti, a leading hymn writer of the
German Pietistic school and first published in 1700. The
hymn has been suggested to be sung the First Sunday of Advent in Years A
and B. We are now entering Year B in our
liturgical practice. We sang this hymn
recently when the Gospel reading was the
story of the Bridegroom approaching and the lamps of the virgins had no
oil.
The choir will sing the first two
verses of Remember, O Thou Man during the Offertory, calling us to remember
God’s promise to send His Son to redeem the world. The
words and lyrics of this old Advent/Christmas carol were written by Thomas
Ravenscroft ( 1592-1635). He started his
career as a chorister at Chichester Cathedral and then moved to London to serve
in St. Paul’s Cathedral. It was an
exciting time in London as the Theatres were hugely popular and showing plays by
such noted playwrights as William Shakespeare.
Ravenscroft grew to know many of the actors and writers of this era and
wrote music to accompany some of the plays that were produced at the Globe
Theatre. Here is a link to the Advent
verses:
During Advent at Grace Anglican Church
we will strive to set a reflective mood during Eucharist. Contemplate the Isaiah scripture and the somber
words to the flute music from the loft of this familiar spiritual:
My Lord what a morning,
When the stars begin to fall.
1.
You’ll
hear the sinner mourn,
2.
You’ll
hear a sinner pray
3.
You’ll
hear a Christian shout,
4.
You’ll
hear a Christian sing,
To
wake the nations underground!
Looking to my God’s right hand
When the stars begin to fall.
“My Lord, What A Morning”
The season of Advent is a time to call
to mind all the “comings” of God. Jesus
came and will come again. He wants us to
be a part of that new world, and He helps us and leads us on that journey to
the kingdom. When we are confident that
Christ will come again we can live as if it has already taken place. We are prepared when we live under the reign
of God—even now before its fulfillment.
Do we prepare for Christ’s return by
attempting to figure out when it will take place? That would surely help us be better
prepared. No, we are told to be ready at
all times for we do not and we cannot know the time of God’s choosing. We are the “inter-Advent” people, those
living between Jesus’ first and second coming.
Most people misunderstood or missed Him completely the first time. Will we be ready the second time?
Sources:
Wikipedia.com
Hymnal ’82 Companion
Deacon Ron Jutzy
Tune My Heart to Sing
English Hymns and
Hymn Writers
YouTube.com
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