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Pastoral Helps
H Y M N N O T E S : A D V E N T , C H R I S T M A S , A N D A N G E L S
Rev. Kantor Richard C. Resch
The world does not really understand readiness. The world does not really understand Christmas. The world would shut out the voice of John the Baptist or anyone else drawing attention to the main problem with the world-sin. The world would say that such subjects are not appropriate in a season of celebration. The church, however, sees things differently. The church sees the profoundly beautiful appropriateness of singing these words before Christmas: On Jordan's bank the Baptist's cry announces that the Lord is nigh; The church knows that repentance followed by the certain, gracious gift of forgiveness is the way to prepare for everything in this life. So she sings: Stretch forth Your hand, our health restore, and make us rise to fall no more; The church sees repentance as a prelude to joy, comfort and peace. "Comfort, comfort these my people, speak of peace!" so says our God. How do we prepare in these last days? We seek mercy and help from the One who loved us enough that He would come down, down into the darkness of a womb to become man in obedience to His Father. We cling with confident belief to the One who suffered wrath, was stripped of all His honor and was led to slaughter in obedience to His Father-all to make us heirs of His kingdom. The reason that all of this is so important is that the kingdom spoken of by John the Baptist, and later by Christ Himself, is a kingdom of the heart. It is not seen with eyes. It is a spiritual, invisible kingdom which God establishes in the hearts of men. Repentance is how the heart is prepared for the kingdom and in the kingdom. The beautiful and rich season of Advent is about the Lord who was and is and is to come - the Lord in a manger, the Lord in means of grace, and the Lord as Bridegroom carrying home His bride. Preparation for this Lord is summed up best in the ancient Latin hymn: See, the Lamb, so long expected, comes with pardon down from heaven. + SDG +Hymns and Christmastide The very Son of God came down to a womb and a manger, and the angels rejoiced. The heavens were full of song over the fact that God had set His plan in motion-a plan of love-to save the world. Evidence of this was now lying on straw among the animals in Bethlehem. Of the Father's love begotten ere the worlds began to be, Words and music celebrating this amazing birth are still an important part of the annual festivities surrounding the Nativity of our Lord. Songs from virtually every country and every period of Christian history are sung-and we dearly love them. They let us join the angel's song in confessing what a great and mighty wonder happened in this lowly birth. I would like to suggest that you take a few minutes in the quiet days following Christmas to sit down with your hymnal. Turn to the Christmas section-then read from and meditate on a deep well of devotional material found there. Most of what you will discover is rarely, if ever, used in parishes. This is because words that are not wed to a well-known and loved tune are often unused words. I am suggesting that you read what perhaps you have never had the opportunity to sing. Wonderful words like these of Paul Gerhardt and Martin Luther: O Jesus Christ, Thy manger is my paradise at which my soul reclineth. This is but a sampling of what awaits you in your prayerbook, your hymnal. Christmastide is the continuation of a celebration. It is a quiet, peaceful time for the believer to reflect on what God in a manger really means. + SDG +Hymns and Angels The doctrine of angels is one of the most comforting of all doctrines. While Scripture does not reveal all that we would like to know about these creatures, it does reveal that they are further evidence of just how gracious God is to His children. They are a beautiful part of creation whose work it is to serve and adore the Lamb-with a large part of that service being the guardianship of man. Are they [angels] not all ministering spirits sent forth to minister for those who will inherit salvation? (Heb. 1:14) The earthly pilgrimage of "those who will inherit salvation" is greatly blessed by this divine gift of guardianship. In the same way that angels surrounded our Lord in his earthly life (Luke 1:31; Luke 2:9-11; Matt. 2:13; Matt. 4:11; Luke 22:46; Matt 28:25; Acts 1:10; Matt. 25:31), they surround the earthly life of His children. Philipp Melanchthon wrote of this in a hymn about angels: They never rest nor sleep as we; Their whole delight is but to be The earthly pilgrimage is also the subject of Hans Brorson's hymn "I Walk In Danger All The Way." This stanza is about the angel's guardian presence in that walk. I walk with angels all the way, They shield me and befriend me; Usually our singing about angels has to do with their lofty, glorious hymns and worship. We know that the vault of heaven rings with their sublime praise. We know that our humble, yet fervent "Holy, Holy, Holy" joins their grand "Holy, Holy, Holy" during the "Sanctus" of the liturgy. In fact, angels have taught us much of what we know about the worship of our God. They have taught us that the highest act of worship is to simply confess, to say or sing back, what God has, through faith, enabled His creatures to say. The sung confession of the angels is about who God is and what He has done. This is worship and it fills the heavens at all times. Hark! the glad celestial hymn Angel choirs above are raising; As servants of God, angels are swift and important messengers throughout Scripture. Many of our hymns speak of their messages: [LW 37; LW 55; TLH 208: 3; LW 130:3; TLH 212:3; LW 149: 3, etc.]. But one of the most comforting facts about angels has to do with their role in the last moments of the Christian's life. As angels carried the soul of Lazarus into the bosom of Abraham, so also will angels surround us ready to carry our souls to the mansions that have been prepared. (Luke 16:22) Angels have the joyful task of bringing us home. Lord, let at last Thine angels come, To Abram's bosom bear me home, + SDG + |
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