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OPENING VOLUNTARY Come, Thou Long-Expected Jesus arr. Cathy Moklebust
St. Mark's Ringers
St. Mark's Ringers
GATHERING HYMN Rejoice, Rejoice, Believers (Haf trones lampa färdig)
ELW 244
This hymn's ending is a perfect beginning to today's service of music. With hearts and hands uplifted, we plead, O Lord, to see the day of earth's redemption that sets your people free. This line reminds us, as Pastor Daniel did last year, that Advent is about so much more than preparing to celebrate the birth of Jesus.
And now, on to our service of Advent Lessons and Carols!
Our service is based on the "O Antiphons." These eighth century antiphons are commonly paired with the fifteenth century tune Veni, Emmanuel. In ancient times, each antiphon was sung on a specific day, beginning December 17th, until the last antiphon was sung on the day before Christmas Eve. In today's version, the choir sings the antiphon and the assembly joins on the refrain - until we all stand to sing the final antiphon together. It becomes a gospel acclamation as we proclaim the gospel of Jesus Christ.
Even though it's Advent, this service contains four "whispers of Christmas." See if you can spot them. They'll be revealed at the end of this post!
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| "O Key of David" as printed in a liturgical book |
First Antiphon: O come, O Wisdom from on high. . .
Hymn Creator of the Stars of Night (Conditor alme siderum) ELW 245
Second Antiphon: O come, O Lord of might. . .
HYMN Joy to the World (Antioch) ELW 267
Third Antiphon: O come, O Branch of Jesse. . .
HYMN Lo, How a Rose E'er Blooming (Es ist ein Ros) ELW 272
Fourth Antiphon: O come, O Key of David. . .
HYMN O Lord, How Shall I Meet You (Wie soll ich dich empfangen) ELW 241
Fifth Antiphon: O come, O Dayspring. . .
HYMN The Night Will Soon Be Ending (Llangloffan)
This is the only hymn not found in ELW. The text is by Jochen Klepper (1903-1942), a writer, poet, and journalist in Germany. Klepper was married to a Johanna Stein, whose family was Jewish. Even though German citizens married to Jewish persons were not supposed to be drafted, he was anyway - perhaps because Johanna was baptized just before their marriage. He was released from the army in 1942. After a visa was denied for their second daughter, the three of them committed suicide.
Klepper's text is paired with a stalwart Welsh tune. I borrowed it from Lutheran Service Book, the hymnal of the Lutheran Church, Missouri Synod.
Klepper's text is paired with a stalwart Welsh tune. I borrowed it from Lutheran Service Book, the hymnal of the Lutheran Church, Missouri Synod.
Sixth Antiphon: O Come, O King of Nations. . .
HYMN Savior of the Nations, Come (Nun komm, der Heiden Heiland) ELW 263
Seventh Antiphon: O come, O come, Emmanuel. . .
HYMN The Angel Gabriel from Heaven Came (Gabriel's Message) ELW 265
This becomes our hymn of the day, recalling the annunciation as told in Luke's gospel.
The carol originated in the Basque region which includes parts of Spain and France.
MUSICAL OFFERING And Christ Shall Be Our Peace K. Lee Scott
COMMUNION HYMNS
Let All Mortal Flesh Keep Silence (Picardy) ELW 490
What Feast of Love (Greensleeves) ELW 487
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| Communion prepared for one of our Saturday evening services |
SENDING HYMN Come, Thou Long-Expected Jesus (Jefferson) ELW 254
Our final hymn is also where we began! Just like next year when we will find ourselves on another Advent journey.
CLOSING VOLUNTARY People, Look East
Matthew Mechemer
Did you catch the four "whispers of Christmas?" Here they are:
Joy to the World - people are often surprised when I tell them this is an Advent hymn, and perhaps even more suited to the "End Times" section of the hymnal. If you read it without the trappings of Christmas, it becomes obvious that this hymn is about the second coming!
Lo, How a Rose E'er Blooming - it's equally at home for Advent and Christmas. ELW places it in the
"Christmas" section. Since it speaks of Isaiah's foretelling, it is often sung when the Isaiah text is read.
The Angel Gabriel - how can this refrain not remind you of the refrain from Angels We Have Heard on High, or Ding Dong Merrily on High ?
What Feast of Love - The tune Greensleeves is a lush vehicle for Delores Dufner's communion text, but you can't convince me that somewhere in your head you aren't also singing What Child Is This.
Joy to the World - people are often surprised when I tell them this is an Advent hymn, and perhaps even more suited to the "End Times" section of the hymnal. If you read it without the trappings of Christmas, it becomes obvious that this hymn is about the second coming!
Lo, How a Rose E'er Blooming - it's equally at home for Advent and Christmas. ELW places it in the
"Christmas" section. Since it speaks of Isaiah's foretelling, it is often sung when the Isaiah text is read.
The Angel Gabriel - how can this refrain not remind you of the refrain from Angels We Have Heard on High, or Ding Dong Merrily on High ?
What Feast of Love - The tune Greensleeves is a lush vehicle for Delores Dufner's communion text, but you can't convince me that somewhere in your head you aren't also singing What Child Is This.
Sources:
Image in the banner: Swanson, John August. The Procession, from Art in the Christian Tradition, a project of the Vanderbilt Divinity Library, Nashville, TN. https://diglib.library.
(Image from liturgial book) By Castorepollux.Ordre des prêcheurs - Gallica(Original text: Own work), CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=45447332
Wikipedia
The Hymnal Companion to Evangelical Lutheran Worship (Paul Westermeyer)
The Hymnal Companion to Evangelical Lutheran Worship (Paul Westermeyer)
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