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![]() Old Testament Reading: Isaiah 61:10-62:3 Gospel: Luke 2:21-40 According to Professor C. Michael Hawn, a professor of sacred music at Perkins School of Theology, Christmas and other liturgical season Carols originated in Europe as a way to share Biblical stories through an oral tradition, particularly for the non-literate in the medieval era and they were often shared outside of a church service. Christmas hymns were sung in church and they date even further back to the 4th Century during the Council of Nicea (325 A.D.) and subsequent councils, where the adoption of the Nicene Creed defined the nature of Christ in what became orthodox theology. Early Latin hymns from this time were polemical statements that explained the doctrine of the Incarnation in opposition to Arianism, a concept that asserted that Jesus Christ, the Son of God, was created by God at a specific point in time and was an entity distinct from God the Father, and therefore subordinate to the Father. “Corde natus de Parentis” (“Of the Father’s love begotten,” The United Methodist Hymnal, 184) is one of the most famous hymns from this era that is still sung. Since that time, telling the story of the birth of Christ in song has been an important tradition, especially in the Western Church. Let’s get warmed up in our journey of singing praises with the 1743 hymn O Come, All Ye Faithful written by John Francis Wade, a Roman Catholic layperson who taught music and was a copyist of musical scores at the Roman Catholic College and Ministry Center in Douay, France. It was originally written in Latin and translated into English 100 years later by Catholic Priest Reverend Frederick Oakley. Hymn #234 O Come, All Ye Faithful, verses 1, 3 & 5 Looking at today’s scriptures, our Isaiah scripture speaks of rejoicing because God is present. God is clothing God’s people in salvation and righteousness. The people have been rescued again. How fitting that this comes right after we celebrate the birth of Jesus - the Messiah. While he is just a baby, there is still hope just as a child born into any family brings hope. Think of the excitement of hearing that someone has a child, grandchild, niece or nephew on the way. Niece Abby’s announcement. The expectation of the pregnancy, the wonder of the birth and then the wonder of each first: smile, baptism, step, word etc. Mary and Joseph were rejoicing in God’s child as well, but even though Jesus was fully human and fully divine, he went through all of the normal firsts. In our Luke scripture today, some of those firsts were his circumcision, official naming, and his dedication to God, which included a sacrifice of two turtledoves or pigeons. Mary and Joseph also get more confirmation of Jesus’ divinity through Simeon who holds Baby Jesus and says as he prays to God, “Master, now you are dismissing your servant in peace, according to your word; for my eyes have seen your salvation which you have prepared in the presence of all the peoples, a light for the revelation to the Gentiles and for glory to your people Israel.” Here we have a true message of inclusion. Jesus is salvation for all people: Jews and Gentiles or non-Jews. The scripture says that “the child’s father and mother were amazed at what was being said about him”- they too are learning but they are also learning that Jesus’ path will not be easy as Simeon says he is destined to be opposed. The 84-year-old prophet Anna also came to see Jesus in the temple that day noting that all were looking to him for redemption. Despite all of this pressure, we next hear that the “child grew and became strong, filled with wisdom; the favor of God was upon him.” What child is this is a hymn of wonder and praise of this new born king. According to Dr. Hawn, it was written by William Chatterton Dix (1837-1898), an Anglican layman, who was the son of a surgeon in Bristol, England. He spent most of his life as a businessman, working as a manager for the Maritime Insurance Company in Glasgow, Scotland. We know of his church affiliation only through his hymns that were published in Altar Songs, Verses on the Holy Eucharist, and A Vision of All Saints. The hymn was likely written to the tune of the 17th century melody Greensleeves. Stanza two makes fleeting reference to the less than ideal conditions—“mean estate”—under which the idyllic scene of the previous stanza is situated. Like stanza one, the poet begins with a rhetorical question, “Why lies he in such mean estate?” In essence, he asks why the Christ Child should be in such a humble setting “where ox and ass are feeding.” The original second half of this stanza, not found in the hymnal, provides a more complete response to this question: Nails, spear shall pierce him through; The cross he bore for me, for you; Hail, hail the Word made flesh, The babe, the Son of Mary! Dix’s answer to the reason for the “mean estate” under which Christ was born lies in his future suffering on the cross. Let’s sing this hymn of wonder and praise: Hymn #219 What Child is This? Take a minute and open your hymnal to Hymn #240 Hark! The Herald Angels Sing Choose a few words or a line that sticks out to you - in a moment we will share them. This is one of 6000 hymns written by Charles Wesley. This was prompted by Luke 2:10: “Then the angel said to them (the shepherds) do not be afraid, for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy which shall be to all the people. “ Wesley wrote this when he was 32 in 1739. Although it originally began “Hark, how all the welkin rings” welkin was an old English term for “the vault of heaven” and Wesley did not like people to change his verses, but his friend evangelist George Whitfield did change this one to Hark, the Herald Angels Sing.” This is probably why we still sing it today. Let’s sing #240, Hark the Herald Angels Sing. We end our musical journey sermon today with “The First Noel”. Noel comes from the French and is believed to be related to natalis in Latin, which means birth but some also say it derives from nouvelle in French, which means new. “The First Noel” has its roots in the fifteenth century in its oral form, and it appeared on eighteenth-century broadsides in Helston, near Cornwall (Keyte and Parrott, 1992, 482). It was published first in the revised edition of Some Ancient Christmas Carols (1823), edited by Davies Gilbert. Its publication in the famous Christmas Carols Ancient and Modern (1833), compiled by William Sandys in London (Sandys, 1833, 74–75) increased the carol’s prominence. Originally in nine stanzas, five are commonly used in most hymnals today. Though the angels’ appearance to the shepherds (Luke 2:1–20) is the subject of the first stanza, most of the carol focuses on the journey of the magi (Matthew 2:1–12), giving the carol an Epiphany focus. British hymnologist Erik Routley (1917–1982), never one to mince words, noted: “But may we not whisper that THE FIRST NOWELL, beloved though it is, is really a terrible tune?” He noted the extreme repetition as part of the problem and the belief is that it may have evolved from a kind of sing-song oral tradition where the story was more important than the melody. Pastor Michelle Fountain
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