Saturday, December 10, 2011


Third Sunday in Advent
Year B
December 11, 2011
Isaiah 61:1-4, 8-11
Psalm 126 BCP
1 Thessalonians 5:16-24
John 1:6-8, 19-28


           Make straight the way of the Lord is our admonition in this week’s Gospel.  We are often reminded to be like Christ, but we can also be like John the Baptist.  What is our equivalent of John’s shouting?  How can we openly, faithfully, unabashedly proclaim Christ’s coming?  This Sunday we will sing it in our opening hymn, Hark! A Thrilling Voice Is Sounding!  We will use our voices as the instrument to proclaim His coming 2000 years ago and His imminent second coming.  This early Latin Advent hymn, abounds in scripture references; indeed, every line in the Latin original can reasonably be associated with a passage from scripture, if not as a direct reference, at least as a reflection.  It is found in two tenth-century sources, being assigned to both Lauds (early morning services) and during Advent.

            Here’s an unabashed plug for the upcoming presentation of Advent Lessons and Carol’s service in Augustana Chapel on Wednesday, December 14, 7 PM. The text and tune of our processional hymn have gained greater acceptance and use in Anglican churches through their inclusion in a recording of Advent lessons and carols by the Men and Boys choir of King’s College, Cambridge.  Join us for Boise’s only L&C by the Renaissance Classical Chancel Choir for Boys and Men in this beautiful candle lit service in Augustana Chapel.
           
            Our sequence hymn, If Thou But Trust In God To Guide Thee, is an example of the intense and personal hymnody that developed and grew during and following the devastation of the Thirty Years War.  Both the text and melody were written by Gerg Neumark in the winter of 1640.  The tune is named after the composer and was used by Johann Sebastian Bach in eight cantatas and several organ chorales.

            Blest Be the King Whose Coming, the recessional hymn, was written in 1960 by the Uruguayan Bishop Federico J. Pagura.  You may find the familiar melody reminding you of Palm Sunday, as we sing the words, All Glory Laud and Honor, processing into the sanctuary waving our palm branches.  It is paired here with the Isaiah reading for the third Sunday of Advent.  The tune VALET WILL ICH DIR GEBEN was written by Melchior Teschner for the dying following the devastation of the plague of 1613 in his hometown of Fraustadt, Germany. 

            The singers in the Lofty Pews will sing an arrangement of the hymn in our hymnal of In the Bleak Midwinter.  Christina Georgina Rossetti first published her poem “A Christmas Carol” in January 1872.  It was printed as a hymn in the Episcopal Hymnal 1940, with this familiar tune.  Many have commented that, like certain visual artists, Rossetti has depicted the Christmas landscape in terms of her own familiar environment:  the English winter climate instead of the warmer Palestinian weather.

Panis Angelicus will be played on the flute by Gretchen in the loft during Eucharist. 


The angelic bread

becomes the bread of men;

The heavenly bread

ends all prefigurations:

What wonder!

The Lord is eaten

by a poor and humble servant.

Triune God,

We beg of you:

visit us,

just as we worship you.

By your ways,

lead us where we are heading,

to the light in which you dwell.

Amen.

Sacris solemniis, written by Thomas Aquinas begins with the words "Panis angelicus" (bread of angels) has often been set to music separately from the rest of the hymn. Most famously, in 1872 César Franck set it for voice, with the words you see printed here in Latin.  Here is a video recording of Panis Angelicus in Latin by the St Philips Boys’ choir, Norbury, UK:                                                                    http://youtu.be/esrinHesolk

 Psalm 126 will be sung in Anglican Chant by the singers in the loft.  May we remember, as we chant the refrain to this Psalm, that “The Lord has done great things for us, and we are glad indeed!”

              So, in this bleak wintery time of year, let us proclaim the message that Christ’s coming is near to our families, neighbors, friends and the world.  Invite them to worship with us at church to hear the Good News and get ready!  God calls us to use our varied voices to join the chorus of proclaimers that is ancient and ever new.  Awesome indeed is the power of a voice that answers the call to PREPARE THE WAY OF THE LORD!

Sources:          

Wikipedia.com                                      English Hymns and Hymn Writers

YouTube.com                                        Deacon Ronald Jutzy

Hymnal ’82 Companion

One Minute Devotions

Tune My Heart To Sing

O Come Emmanuel




No comments: