Liturgy Lesson: January 5, 2020 (Epiphany)
Prelude
Welcome/Announcements
Call to Worship: Isaiah 60:1-6; Ps. 72:11-13, 17-19
Prayer of Invocation
Hymn of Adoration: As with Gladness Men of Old (#226)
Prayer and Song of Confession (Lord Have Mercy)
Words of Assurance: from 1 Peter 2:9-10 and Col. 1:12-14
Hymn of Assurance: Great is Thy Faithfulness (#32)
Catechism/Prayers
Reading of the Word: Col. 1:21-23
Doxology: #731
Sermon: “Your Identity in Christ,” Tom Greene
Tithes and Offerings
The Lord’s Supper: Joy Has Dawned; O Splendor of God’s Glory Bright
Closing Hymn: O God, Our Help in Ages Past (#30)
Benediction
Year’s End
From Valley of Vision
O Love beyond compare,
You are good when you give,
When you take away,
When the sun shines upon me,
When the night gathers over me.
You have loved me before the foundation of the world,
And in love did redeem my soul;
You love me still, in spite of my hard heart, ingratitude, distrust.
Your goodness has been with me during another year,
Leading me through a twisting wilderness,
In retreat helping me to advance,
When beaten back making sure headway.
Your goodness will be with me in the year ahead;
I hoist sail and draw up anchor,
With you as the blessed Pilot of my future as of my past.
I bless you that you have veiled my eyes to the waters ahead.
If you have appointed storms of tribulation, you will be with me in them;
If I have to pass through tempests of persecution and temptation,
I shall not drown;
If I am to die, I shall see your face the sooner;
If a painful end is to be my lot,
Grant me grace that my faith fail not;
If I am to be cast aside from the service I love,
I can make no stipulation;
Only glorify yourself in me whether in comfort or trial,
As a chosen vessel meet always for your use.
Happy New Year! With the start of another western calendar year, we enter the season of Epiphany. The word “epiphany” is derived from the Greek word meaning “to appear.” The classical use of the word was to signify the dawn, as well as announcing either an enemy in war or the manifestation of a deity (theophany). For the liturgical calendar, Epiphany is the period directly following Christmastide that leads all the way up to Lent (roughly six or seven weeks, depending on the year).
In the modern western world, Epiphany has become synonymous with Three Kings day, to commemorate the arrival of the Magi to the manger. This is understood more broadly to represent the appearance of Christ to the gentiles, and the spreading of the light of the gospel to all corners of the world. In some traditions the kings represent the three regions of the ancient world: India, Arabia, and Persia. Although the Bible never really mentions the exact number of Magi, most assume there were a trio based on the fact that they brought three gifts. Not sure what church council came up with that slapdash reasoning, but thanks to innumerable paintings, stories, songs, and endless pageants, the image of three kings is etched firmly in our imagination. Caspar, Melchior, and Balthazar are forever riding their camels through the desert underneath a full moon on their way to Bethlehem.
For those of you who want to refresh or awaken your imagination to a different angle on these ancient astrologers, I suggest reading T.S. Eliot’s Journey of the Magi. Better yet, listen to the poet himself read it. Both text and recording of that can be found here.
The purpose of Eliot’s poem, and my intro, is not historical curiosity or academic inquiry into the Magi themselves. It is to invite us into their journey, to come alongside them to witness the birth of Christ. According to Eliot, this birth also signifies a death, two deaths in fact. The savior came to die, and bids us come and die as well, for he who seeks to save his life will lose it, but he who loses his life for Christ’s sake will find it (Matt. 16:25).
If the Lord of all the universe leapt into time and space, if the wisest men of the ancient world rode across barren landscape to greet him, then we, too, should come, behold, and adore. Could there be any better way to start a New Year? Brothers and Sisters, this Sunday as we gather at his cradle, kneel before his cross, and bow down around his throne, all of our glorious future flashes before our eyes as we hear again the loud voice from Revelation declaring,
“Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God. He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.”
– Rev. 21:3-4
As with Gladness Men of Old
Text: William Chatterton Dix, 1858
Tune: DIX, Conrad Kocher, 1838
A few weeks ago we were introduced to William Dix, author of “What Child is This?” A businessman by trade, but a poet at heart, Dix uses the five verses of this hymn to connect the journey of the Wise Men to our own Christian pilgrimage. There is a regular pattern in these stanzas: “as they…so may we.” As they followed the star, and sought out the Christ child, so may we be led by His spirit and kneel in humility before Him. As they offered gifts most rare, so may we bring our own costliest treasures. As they journeyed long and far, so may we endure the “narrow way” that will bring us to paradise, where Christ will be our Light and we will perfectly praise with “Alleluias to our King.”
I love how the story of the Wise Men is personalized here. There is a real sense of longing and expectation that is expressed, and an understanding that the arrival is not a place, but Christ himself. Dix wrote this while recovering from illness, and perhaps this informed his writing of prayerful phrases like “so, most gracious God, may we evermore be led to Thee.” This, of course, is the truest purpose of all music and art, indeed any beautiful thing. It is not window dressing for mere adornment or spectacle, but an actual window through which we can glimpse the beauty of Christ.
This hymn is always sung to the tune DIX. Conrad Kocher (meaning “cooker” or “chef”), a German composer and church musician, originally wrote a longer version of this tune for a German chorale in 1838. William H. Monk, editor of the 1861 edition of Hymns Ancient and Modern, altered the original chef’s recipe a bit by omitting one phrase and changing a few notes to fit “As with Gladness” for that edition. It is interesting to note that William Chatterton Dix did not like the choice of this tune. However, it pairs well with his hymn, and it has become standard fare to serve up at Epiphany. Now this tune bears his name.
Scripture References:
vs. 1-3 = Matt. 2:1-12
vs. 4-5 = Rev. 21:23, Rev. 22:5
– Sheet music
– Recording (suggested for children)
– Congregation with organ
O Splendor of God’s Glory Bright
Text: Ambrose of Milan, 340-397; Translated by Louis Benson, 1910
Tune: PUER NOBIS NASCITUR, anon. 15th-cent.; attr. Michael Praetorius, 1609
St. Ambrose, bishop of Milan(c.340-397), is often called “the Father of Latin Hymnody.” Besides being a mentor to Augustine of Hippo (354-430), Ambrose was a savvy political advocate for the burgeoning Christian faith within the Roman Empire. His impetus for writing hymns was to combat heresy, specifically the threat of Arianism (the belief that Christ was not co-eternal or equal to the Father). With his hymns, Ambrose beautifully clarified the doctrine of the Trinity (and more specifically, the nature of Christ). His hymns were essentially fight songs for the Christian faith.
Arianism was the major talking point at the Council of Nicea (C.E. 325), and it sparked the writing of several polemical hymns during that era. A few of these are among the oldest hymns that we have in our canon: Corde Natus Ex Parentis (“Of the Father’s Love Begotten”) and Splendor Paternae Gloriae (“The Father’s Glorious Splendor), in modern translation known as “O Splendor of God’s Glory Bright.”
Given the theological context in which this hymn was written, it is not surprising that it dwells on the nature of the Trinity and the deity of Christ. The major theme is light. In the hymn’s verses, Ambrose seems to be expounding upon the biblical imagery and symbolism that declares Jesus as the Light of the world. Compare the following two verses with their respective hymn texts, and you will see how they serve as the twin pillars of this hymn:
“In him was life, and that life was the light of men.” (Jn. 1:4)
O splendor of God’s glory bright,
From light eternal bringing light,
O Light of light, light’s living Spring,
True Day, all days illuming. (Stanza 1)
“He is the image of the invisible God.” (Col. 1:15)
Dawn’s glory gilds the earth and skies,
Let him, our perfect Morn, arise,
The Word in God the Father one,
The Father imaged in the Son. (Stanza 6)
The other verses in the hymn achieve Ambrose’s goal of theological education, but they do more than that. These verses are devotional prayers directed toward Father, Son, and Holy Spirit for illumination, sanctification, protection from sin, and guidance. Ambrose closes the hymn with a simple yet brilliant final verse that is both doxological and trinitarian.
All praise to God the Father be,
All praise, eternal Son, to Thee,
Whom with the Spirit we adore
Forever and forevermore.
PUER NOBIS NASCITUR (unto us is born) is a melody from a 15th-century German manuscript from the region of Trier. The tune probably dates from an earlier time and may even have folk roots. However, we have Michael Praetorius to thank for it, since he was the first to preserve the tune for future use by putting in on paper. Praetorius was a German composer, organist, and music theorist, and was a devout Lutheran from a militantly Protestant family. He was something of a bridge-builder in his musical life. As a good Lutheran he wrote theological treatises and contributed greatly to the development of the vernacular liturgy. But he was also a prolific composer who wrote in a florid, Italianate style, which was, at the time, a more catholic aesthetic. His significant contributions (which would help pave the way for Bach a century later) were therefore at the intersection of these two seemingly incompatible worlds. Praetorius developed musical forms based on reformation hymns, many of which were written with the explicit intent to improve the relationship between Protestants and Catholics. Praetorius composed the familiar harmonization of “Es ist ein Ros entsprungen” (“Lo, How a Rose E’er Blooming”) in 1609.
– Score and piano accompaniment
O God, Our Help in Ages Past
Text: Isaac Watts, 1714
Tune: ST. ANNE, William Croft, 1708
This hymn text was written by Isaac Watts during a time of great anxiety and turmoil in England. In 1714 Queen Anne was on her deathbed, and a successor was as yet undetermined. Among the Protestants there was fear of a monarch who would reinstate real and lasting persecution. Fortunately, King George I prevented such a reality, but certainly before Anne’s death there was great wringing of hands in prayer throughout the kingdom. This was the context in which Watts wrote his powerful and much-lauded hymn, which is a brilliant and faithful paraphrase of Psalm 90.
In the ESV the title that is given to Psalm 90 is “From Everlasting to Everlasting.” It is a prayer of Moses, and it famously starts by declaring that God “has been our dwelling place in all generations.” It is a Psalm that affirms both the awesome omnipotence of God and the frailty of humans. Before the earth and the worlds were formed, God was there. Under His all-powerful gaze, mankind is as grass, which is renewed in the morning, and fades and withers in the evening. Isaac Watts’ rendering of this is faithful to this juxtaposition. He bookends the hymn with these near-identical verses:
O God, our help in ages past
Our hope for years to come:
Our shelter from the stormy blast,
And our eternal home.
O God, our help in ages past,
Our hope for years to come:
O be our guard while troubles last,
And our eternal home.
There is perhaps no better text to sing at the start of a New Year, and this beloved hymn has become something of a standard for our inaugural worship service every January. It celebrates the reality that our hope is not in temporal things, but rooted in the steadfast love of the Lord, which never fails. His strong arm saves us, protects us, holds us, and we will not be abandoned. Isaiah 41:9-10 says this:
“I took you from the ends of the earth, from its farthest corners I called you. I said, ‘You are my servant’; I have chosen you and have not rejected you. So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God.
I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.”
This week is the beginning of another decade, and none of us know what the coming months and years will hold. However, no matter our situation or our struggles, no matter our doubts or fears, we can take courage, for God is our help, our hope, and our eternal home.