Liturgy Lessons, December 18 – Fourth Sunday of Advent (Emmanuel)
Welcome/Announcements
Musical Introit – O Come, O Come Emmanuel
Call to Worship: Matthew 2:1-2, 7-11; Psalm 138:1-5
Hymns: What Child is This? (#213) and Angels We Have Heard on High (#214)
Confession of Sin: Isaiah 64:1-9 and “O Little Town of Bethlehem” (#201, vs. 4)
Assurance of Pardon: Romans 8:1-4
Song of Response: Thou Who Wast Rich (#230)
Advent Reading: Matthew 1:18-25
Congregational Prayers
Tithes & Offerings
Advent Doxology: The First Noel (last verse)
Sermon: Rev. Eric Irwin
Meditation
Supper: Once in Royal David’s City (#225, vs. 1,2,4); Thou Dost Reign on High (#241, vs. 1,2,4,5)
Closing Hymn: Hark! The Herald Angels Sing (#203)
Benediction
Sung response: “Gloria in Excelsis Deo”
Descent
by Malcolm Guite
They sought to soar into the skies, those classic gods of high renown
For lofty pride aspires to rise, but you came down.
You dropped down from the mountains sheer, forsook the eagle for the dove
The other Gods demanded fear, but you gave love
Where chiseled marble seemed to freeze, their abstract and perfected form
Compassion brought you to your knees. Your blood was warm
They called for blood in sacrifice, their victims on an altar bled
When no one else could pay the price, you died instead
They towered above our mortal plain, dismissed this restless flesh with scorn,
Aloof from birth and death and pain, but you were born.
Born to these burdens, borne by all
Born with us all ‘astride the grave’
Weak, to be with us when we fall,
And strong to save.
Angels We Have Heard on High
Text: Anonymous, Traditional French Carol Tune: GLORIA, Traditional French
Is there any more iconic setting of the angelic proclamation “Gloria in Excelsis Deo” than this one? We are indebted to the French culture for both text and tune. The sources of each are unknown, and yet the words and melody have always been paired together. Of course, it is the latter half of the tune, with its beautiful cascading “Glorias,” that we all know so well, and that is the part of the carol that feels the most French. Florid, decorative, elegant, it is very different than the first half, which could have easily been written by the Germans. I love the juxtaposition of these two halves of the song because it shows the contrast between Earth and heaven, between our human song and the unending chorus of the angels. Each verse begins with a conversational unfolding of the shepherd’s experience in very pedestrian melodic fragments, and then it is interrupted gloriously by a radical shift in tone and dialect. As we sing this iconic carol, it gives us a glimpse at the shepherd’s experience. Imagine. At one moment the head shepherd Harry Herder was telling his protégé Sammy Sheerer to close the gate behind him and make sure it was locked, when “GLORIA” erupted in a thousand overtones, and as yet unimagined light flooded the fields. If I had a time machine, that’s the one moment I would choose. To be there, with the shepherds, to hear that divine chorus, and then to run to the manger. I don’t care how many miles it would have been, or how breathless I would be, I would be singing the whole way, echoing that great heavenly refrain that I had just heard for the first time. If I were that shepherd, this refrain would enchant my heart for the rest of my days until I finally got my wings and was at last able to join the Angel choir’s tenor section. We would then belt out the “Gloria” in HD (Heavenly Dynamics). No rehearsal necessary.
Traditional Choir Recording: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7RlMuRYvndU
Original French (kids choir): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1HsQuCOouLM
Thou Dost Reign on High
Text: Emily Elliot (1864) Tune: MARGARET, Richard Matthews (1876)
Many of our older congregants may be familiar with the refrain of this hymn. Frequently excerpted on its own, the refrain is a stubborn four-measure earworm that has a sweetness and lilt that perfectly captures the childlike spirit of the text, “O come to my heart, Lord Jesus, there is room in my heart for thee.” But the real substance of the hymn is in the five verses, each of which focuses on a different aspect of Jesus’ glory and humility. The first three verses are clearly about the incarnation, while the latter two point toward the cross and the second coming. This focus on Jesus’ entire life means that the hymn is not in the Advent section of our hymnal; nonetheless, for many souls it is a familiar Christmas-time hymn.
Emily S. Elliott wrote this hymn in 1864 for St. Mark’s Church (Brighton, England), where her father was rector. After a few years of being printed in leaflets, it was later published in the Church Missionary Juvenile Instructor. Unlike so many of the 19th century hymns that were originally written for children, this hymn does not feel didactic nor saccharin, probably due to its second-person address of Jesus throughout. In many hymnals, the first line is “Thou didst leave thy throne,” which is more in line with the original text. I find this devotional hymn to be very accessible, a fitting attribute for a song that focuses on the wonder of Christ’s humility. May God’s spirit re-kindle in us a simple childlike faith as we seek to “prepare him room.”
Sheet Music: http://www.hymnary.org/hymn/TH1990/241
Recording: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RsDVvWKcnZo