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Lift Us to the Joy Divine

Posted in christmas, WONDER, tagged #advent, #andreabocelli, #birthofchrist, #christmas2021, #joy, #liftustothejoydivine, #odetojoy, #untousachildisborn on December 19, 2021| Leave a Comment »

For unto us a Child is born,
Unto us a Son is given;
And the government will be upon His shoulder.
And His name will be called
Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God,
Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
Of the increase of His government and peace
There will be no end
Isaiah 9:6-7

This is the week!

Not just Christmas, but, for those of us in the Northern hemisphere, the darkest day of the year is this week. Therefore, we can now look forward to days gradually getting longer, filled with more light.

It is not lost on me that we begin to see the days lengthen during the week of Christ’s birth, the week following the fourth advent Sunday … when the JOY candle is lit and we celebrate that One who brings. who is hope, peace and love.

unto us a Child is born

Six words, that changed the world. The promise from Isaiah that was anticipated centuries before the arrival of the king of kings in a humble stable, to humble parents, in humble circumstances.

This babe, the gift and Son of the God of creation … born so that we might not die to eternity, but that we might have the hope of the presence of the spirit of peace, that we might know and be known by love himself.

There is no other song that can produce the experience of joy like Joyful, Joyful We Adore Thee. Though Beethoven, in his creation of his 9th Symphony, never knew of the lyrics Henry van Dyke would construct when he wrote Joyful, Joyful we Adore Thee, he did know of the original poem, written by german poet, Johann Christoph Friedrich von Schiller. It is the final stanza that, I believe, may have inspired both Beethoven and van Dyke:

Brothers, above the starry canopy
There must dwell a loving father.
Do you fall in worship, you millions?
World, do you know your creator?
Seek Him in the heavens;
Above the stars must he dwell.

May we, this day, everyday, know the joy of the child who will lift us to the joy divine.

Ode to Joy (Joyful Joyful We Adore Thee)

Joyful, joyful, we adore Thee,
God of glory, Lord of love;
Hearts unfold like flow’rs before Thee,
Op’ning to the sun above.

Melt the clouds of sin and sadness;
Drive the dark of doubt away;
Giver of immortal gladness,
Fill us with the light of day!

All Thy works with joy surround Thee,
Earth and heav’n reflect Thy rays,
Stars and angels sing around Thee,
Center of unbroken praise.

Field and forest, vale and mountain,
Flow’ry meadow, flashing sea,
Singing bird and flowing fountain
Call us to rejoice in Thee.
Thou art giving and forgiving,
Ever blessing, ever blest,
Wellspring of the joy of living,
Ocean depth of happy rest!

Thou our Father, Christ our Brother,
All who live in love are Thine;
Teach us how to love each other,
Lift us to the joy divine.

Mortals, join the happy chorus,
Which the morning stars began;
Father love is reigning o’er us,
Brother love binds man to man.

Ever singing, march we onward,
Victors in the midst of strife,
Joyful music leads us Sunward
In the triumph song of life.

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The Weary World Rejoices

Posted in christmas, tagged #christmas2021, #cometomeallwhoareweary, #Iwillgiveyourest, #thewearyworldrejoices, #weareweary, #weary, hecamefortheweary on December 17, 2021| Leave a Comment »

While it truly is the most wonderful time of the year, it is also the most wearying for many.

Even in this time of caution due to the Covid pandemic, there are concerts, church services, special dinners, presents to purchase and wrap, decorations to get out, lights to be strung, a tree to be cut down/put up and trimmed, goodies to bake and magic to create.

And it can all be so, so wearying.

Even though we know, we know that we do not have to make busy so as to make merry and celebrate the reason for this season … we still get pulled in, convinced that if we do not make our own shortbread cookies, from great grandma’s recipe, Christmas will simply not be Christmas.

I have been noticing a certain demographic this year. It’s the moms of littles, sneaking what will become stocking stuffers, among the green beans and broccoli in their carts. Their littles mesmerized by the lights and the toys. The moms looking like their plates are overloaded and their souls unnourished.

They are weary.

Weary of the regular daily life with littles. Weary of bills to pay, of meals to make, of toilets to clean. All while trying to do it all right, doing it all with a social media worthy smile. All while a million voices whisper, yell into their ears and hearts …

do more! do better!

But, here is what I hear when I see these ladies doing their level best to love and provide for their littles,

“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”
Matthew 11:28-30

This is the call of Jesus for each of us. He came for the weary moms of littles, for the dads tired from trying to be both strong and vulnerable, for the lonely who are weary of the quiet, for those worn out from fighting for their health, for those exhausted from their life, their job of caring for others (in so many areas from health care, to senior care, to child care), for those drained from the constant pivots required due to the pandemic (such as educators, business owners … restaurant owners).

He came for the weary, for we are all weary.

Weary of the burden of life that has been hard since things went awry in the garden … and toil became our reality.

He came for the weary … he came for you.

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The Holy Child of Earth and Heav’n

Posted in christmas, WONDER, tagged #ahuroncarol, #ahuroncarole, #christmas2021, #christmascarols, #relevantstories, #theholychildofearthandheavn, #tomjackson on December 14, 2021| Leave a Comment »

A carol I did not grow up listening to at Christmas time is the oldest known to have been written in Canada (1642). It was written by a Jesuit missionary, Jean de Brébeuf, who wrote it in the language of the Huron/Wendat people of the area on the North Shore of Lake Ontario. Brébeuf immersed himself in the learning of the language, the culture and the spiritual practises of the Iroquois people.

His life’s end came when captured and killed, after the smallpox epidemic claimed so many of these First Nations peoples. Though he and another priest were tortured and killed, so were those of the Huron nation who had followed in the waters of baptism.

A Huron Carol, like his learning of the local language, was to give cultural context to the Christmas story for these people. It was, I think, an expression of love and respect for them. Isn’t this how we explain Christ and the Christmas story to all who do not know? We make it relevant, we show the fruit that is available to taste … in a way that the listener might hear and understand.

No one sings this carol better than Tom Jackson, of the Cree First Nations Band, in Saskatchewan.

“My favourite line from the Huron Carole is

The Holy Child of earth and heav’n
Is born today for you

because the power in helping others is to know the power of the gift and to understand we do not know whether or not the child we are helping is “The Child”… peace tom j.”

The Huron Carole

Twas in the moon of wintertime

When all the birds had fled

That mighty Gitchi Manitou

Sent angel choirs instead

Before their light

The stars grew dim

And wandering hunters

Heard the hymn

Jesus, your King is born

Jesus is born

In excelis gloria

Within a lodge of broken bark

The tender Babe was found

A ragged robe of rabbit skin

Enwrapped his beauty round

And as the hunter braves drew high

The angel song rang loud and high

chorus

The earliest moon of wintertime

Is not so round and fair

As was the ring of glory on

The helpless infant there

The chiefs from far before

Him knelt

With gifts of fox and beaver pelt

chorus

O children of the forest free

O sons of Manitou

The Holy Child of earth and heav’n

Is born today for you

Come kneel before the radiant boy

Who brings you beauty, peace,

And joy

chorus

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Love Came Down

Posted in christmas, tagged #advent2021, #christinarossetti, #christmas2021, #godislove, #godslove, #godssacrifice, #love, #lovecamedown, #lovecamedownatchristmas, #susanaglukark on December 12, 2021| 2 Comments »

We humans are a bit cra cra (crazy). We use words that simply do not make sense, or, more specifically, we use words in different situations which makes the word not make sense.

Let’s talk love.

We love our mummy.
We love our hubby.
We love pizza.
We love British Crime Dramas.
We love taking a walk.
We (or I) love math.

So … what does love mean, when we use it to describe how we feel about so many varied things?

Today marks week three of our advent season. The week we begin to anticipate the love that came to us from heaven, through the birth of Jesus.

This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him. This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins.
1 John 4:9-10

This is love …

not that we loved God … so our kind, or version or use of love is subservient to God’s. This is a really important truth to consider. And our love for God cannot undo our human condition, it cannot save us.

but that he loved us … when God says that he loves you and me (the world), he uses the word love in no other instance. His love is the ultimate love. It is the ultimate in sacrificial. It is simply the ultimate. We cannot out-love God.

and (He) sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins … God’s love for us is defined in how far he was willing to go to prove it, to rescue us. His redemption of us was through the substitute of Jesus for our good, our eternity.

I think Christina Rossetti said it best,

Love was born at Christmas

First published in 1893, Love Came Down at Christmas began as a poem by Christina Rossetti.

Love came down at Christmas,
Love all lovely, Love Divine,
Love was born at Christmas,
Star and Angels gave the sign.
Worship we the Godhead,
Love Incarnate, Love Divine,
Worship we our Jesus,
But wherewith for sacred sign?
Love shall be our token,
Love be yours and love be mine,
Love to God and all men,
Love for plea and gift and sign.

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A Scrawny Seedling

Posted in christmas, WONDER, tagged #ascrawnyseedling, #byhisstripeswearehealed, #isaiah53, #servantsavior, #servantsongs on December 10, 2021| Leave a Comment »

Isaiah 53 is a dearly held biblical text, outlining the prophesy of the Messiah to come, in the person of Jesus. It is the fourth of the Servant Songs of Isaiah (preceded by chapters 42, 49 and 50). It is not necessarily a warm and fuzzy read, for it describes and details the suffering of this Savior/Servant.

Some writings say this passage (like the other Servant Songs) is referring to the Jewish people, the Jewish nation as the servant. But, there is a distinctive difference in this passage, from the others … the first three are talking to a community the third is talking about a person.

I love this passage (especially verses 1-6) as written in the Message, for it is in your face gritty. There is no fluff … caution in the use of words to describe the Servant/Savior is thrown to the wind.

The Servant/Savior (who is Jesus) is described in quite unflattering terms :

a scrawny seedling
a scrubby plant
nothing attractive about him
nothing to cause a second look
looked down on
passed over
a man who suffered
who knew pain firsthand
one look at him and people turned away
looked down on him
thought he was scum

… and that is just the first impressions!

This passage reminds me who I am, as a human.

I look at the outer, the obvious. I am judgemental. I am quick to judge based on what I can see. I am BLIND to the truth! And aren’t we all?

What follows in this passage is what this Servant/Savior does for me, for those of us who judge him so cruelly.

it was our pain he carried
our disfigurements (he carried)
all the things wrong with us (he carried)
he was ripped (because of our sins)
he was tore (because of our sins)
he was crushed (because of our sins)
he took our punishment
he was bruised for our healing
our sins, everything we’ve done wrong … piled on him

This is Christmas …

And God
has piled all our sins,
everything
we’ve done wrong,
on him,
on him.

Isaiah 53:1-6 (Message)

Who believes what we’ve heard and seen?
Who would have thought God’s saving power would look like this?

The servant grew up before God—a scrawny seedling,
    a scrubby plant in a parched field.
There was nothing attractive about him,
    nothing to cause us to take a second look.
He was looked down on and passed over,
    a man who suffered, who knew pain firsthand.
One look at him and people turned away.
    We looked down on him, thought he was scum.
But the fact is, it was our pains he carried—
our disfigurements, all the things wrong with us.
We thought he brought it on himself,
    that God was punishing him for his own failures.
But it was our sins that did that to him,
    that ripped and tore and crushed him—our sins!
He took the punishment, and that made us whole.
    Through his bruises we get healed.
We’re all like sheep who’ve wandered off and gotten lost.
    We’ve all done our own thing, gone our own way.
And God has piled all our sins, everything we’ve done wrong,
    on him, on him.

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Evermore and Evermore

Posted in christmas, tagged #christmascarol, #evermore, #evermoreandevermore, #newscottishhymnsband, #ofthefatherslovebegotten, #oldestcarols on December 8, 2021| Leave a Comment »

Evermore … always, endless, perpetually, everlasting … forever.

A melodic word like evermore denotes permanence, security. We humans need such words, experiences, realities in our lives.

I recently discovered the one of the two oldest Christmas Carols is one that I remember hearing at band concerts at this time of year when our daughter played flute.

Maybe not a carol sung at our more ‘relevant’ worship services, it is one that we are more likely to hear in Catholic or the traditional mainline churches.

The tune (Divinum Mysterium) is a plainsong or chant (I imagine the hauntingly beautiful sound that would be in an ancient stone cathedral). But the words (lyrics) were written by a Roman Christian poet Aurelius Prudentius Clemens … who was born on or about 348AD. In 1852, Of the Father’s Love Begotten was first written in a song book (hymnal).

This means this poem was written over 1700 years ago!

Though an exaggeration, this song would seem to exist evermore and evermore.

Let no tongue on earth be silent,
ev’ry voice in concert ring
evermore and evermore.

Of the Father’s love begotten
ere the worlds began to be,
he is Alpha and Omega,
he the source, the ending he,
of the things that are, that have been,
and that future years shall see
evermore and evermore.

Oh, that birth forever blessed
when the virgin, full of grace,
by the Holy Ghost conceiving,
bore the Savior of our race,
and the babe, the world’s Redeemer,
first revealed his sacred face
evermore and evermore.

This is he whom seers and sages
sang of old with one accord,
whom the voices of the prophets
promised in their faithful word.
Now he shines, the long-expected;
let creation praise its Lord
evermore and evermore.

Let the heights of heav’n adore him,
angel hosts his praises sing,
pow’rs, dominions bow before him
and extol our God and King.
Let no tongue on earth be silent,
ev’ry voice in concert ring
evermore and evermore.

Christ, to thee, with God the Father,
and, O Holy Ghost, to thee
hymn and chant and high thanksgiving
and unending praises be,
honor, glory, and dominion
and eternal victory
evermore and evermore.

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Peace … not as the world can give

Posted in christmas, tagged #advent, #christmas2021, #notastheworldgives, #peace, #peaceinthestorm, #peacenotastheworldcangive on December 5, 2021| Leave a Comment »

Peace …

a word that ignites images of a dove, an olive branch, the three lined peace symbol, paper cranes, an image of a lion and a lamb.

Today, this second Sunday in advent, it is peace that we consider, but …

not peace that the world gives

When we think of peace we immediately think of an absence of war, or conflict. This is garden peace. Peace that existed only in the Garden of Eden, prior to the entry of sin into the world, into the human condition.

The peace that the Messiah gives, this is not an absence of conflict or war, brutality or abuses. It is the presence of peace in the midst of conflicts, wars, brutalities, abuses and storms.

It is peace beyond our human understanding, for who can fathom a sense of peace while in the thick of struggle?

This is peace that comes from the knowledge that we are not alone in the storm. This is the peace that Jesus brought to the world, to us. Once he arrived and fulfilled his mission (which he is still fulfilling … in, through and in spite of us) he left us the Spirit, so that we would carry His peace with us.

What was promised in the Old Testament:

“Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the LORD your God goes with you; he will never leave you or forsake you” (Deuteronomy 31:6).

Was given in the New Testament:

“The Spirit of God, who raised Jesus from the dead, lives in you” (Romans 8:11).

As Jesus was speaking to his disciples on the night before his death (John 14), it is clear that they were feeling anxious about his communications that he was going away. It was clear too, that he wanted them to know that they would be okay (he was offering them peace apart from his physical presence). He was consoling them, encouraging them, equipping them for what was to come.

He was also doing the same for you and I today, reminding us that his death opened the door to the Spirit to be with us, at all times, in all circumstances.

Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.
John 14:27

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Prepare Him Room

Posted in christmas, tagged #advent, #christinourhearts, #christmas2021, #liveinastateofongoingpreparedness, #preparehimroom, #prepareourhearts on December 3, 2021| Leave a Comment »

This week we moved into our new home. A bit of a whiplash feeling hit me last night, as only two months before (to the day) we decided to just check out a place. Now, here we are in a new location, surrounded by boxes and disorder.

As I have been unpacking the kitchen I have been working hard to fit our goods into less cupboard space than we had previously. It has been a bit like playing Tetris to provide room for our stuff in this smaller kitchen. Believe me, this place has ample space, with a fantastic storage closet down the hall, I just need to prioritize what will take up precious room in the kitchen.

Odd, though it might sound, this process has encouraged me to be focused on a familiar phrase at Christmas and a song from church last Sunday.

prepare him room

This morning I was reading from the Gospels about Mary and Joseph, expecting to read about their preparations for the birth of their son. I am certain that they did prepare, but … they were on a road trip up until the time of the birth of their son. There was nothing noted about baby clothes (or cloths) gathered, prenatal classes, the construction of a cradle, or doctor visits. They simply followed the path that was laid out for them.

As if the preparations were within and completed over the years of their lives.

In this season we are preparing for the celebration of the birth of the Christ child. But, what preparations are taking our time and energies?

Decorations? Baking? Shopping and gift wrapping?

What if the past 365 days have been all the preparing that has been required of us? What if, each day of our lives, our hearts have been open to hearing God’s voice, his call on our lives. What if, like Mary and Joseph, simply living in blind trust of God was all the preparing we did?

“The question, you see, is not to prepare but to live in a state of ongoing preparedness …”
Henri Nouwen

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Church Bells

Posted in christmas, WONDER, tagged #christmas21, #churchbells, #dingdongmerrilyonhigh, #littlewomen, #ringthebells, #singpraisestohim, #worshipthelord on November 30, 2021| Leave a Comment »

I fondly remember the bell being rung at the church I attended as I was growing up.

Each Sunday morning at a specified time, someone would knock at the door of my Sunday School class. When the door was opened an apology for interrupting would be whispered as the man would walk toward the spot where the bell was rung.

bong, bong, bong …

I do not remember how many times it was rung, just how it’s sound reverberated in my heart.

Church bells are not rung in cities, towns or villages as they once were. Alerts to the time of day, time to worship, have been replaced by watches, clocks, phones.

Yet, when I hear church bells (the real ones, that require a human ‘ringer’) today they take me back to that Sunday School class, as though the lessons learned were burned into my heart with each strike of the clapper on the inside of the bell. Lessons about submitting our life to Christ, loving one another, caring for others, honesty, commitment.

Those bell ringing memories hold another lesson …

Worship the Lord! Sing praises to Him.

That lesson reverberates in my mind in a song I remember, from when our kids were younger and we would be curled up on the sofa, with blankets and popcorn, lights out, to watch Little Women. Somehow this song, this carol written over 200 years ago, has stuck with me as one that herald’s the season of advent … with great and simple joy.

Ding dong, merrily on high
In heaven the bells are ringing
Ding dong, verily the sky
Is riven with angel singing
Ding dong, dong, ding dong, dong, ding dong, dong
(Gloria, Hosanna in excelsis)
Ding dong, dong, ding dong, dong, ding dong, dong
(Gloria, Hosanna in excelsis)
E’en so here below, below
Let steeple bells be swungen
And io, io, io
By priest and people sungen
Gloria, Hosanna in excelsis
Ding dong, dong, ding dong, dong, ding dong, dong
(Gloria, Hosanna in excelsis)
Pray you, dutifully prime
Your matin chime, ye ringers
May you beautifully rime
Your eve time song, ye singers
Gloria, Hosanna in excelsis
Ding dong, dong, ding dong, dong, ding dong, dong
(Gloria, Hosanna in excelsis)
GloriaDing dong, dong, ding dong, dong, ding dong, dong
(Hosanna in excelsis)
Ding dong, dong, ding dong, dong, ding dong, dong
(Gloria, Hosanna in excelsis)
Ding dong, dong, ding dong, dong, ding dong, dong
(Gloria, Hosanna in excelsis)

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The Most Anticipated Wish

Posted in christmas, WONDER, tagged #advent, #christmas, #godwithus, #hope, #themostanticipatedwish, #thewishbook on November 28, 2021| Leave a Comment »

A blogger friend recently wrote about the Sears Christmas Wish Book and her memories had me drifting off into Christmas past.

What a delight it was each year when that shiny paged catalogue arrived. I remember gazing longingly at each page, dreaming of how much better life would be if I could have everything I wanted from it’s pages.

I remember staring longingly at the Barbie’s and all of their available possessions, the science kits, the board games and, as I got older, the clothing.

The anticipation was real!

Anticipation … that’s a word that adequately describes hope.

Hope … that is a theme as we anticipate what Christ brings to the world, during this time of advent.

Why hope?

Well, when sin entered into the human experience in the garden, it tarnished us, leaving us in need of a Savior, one to redeem us from sin. For when Adam and Eve sinned, they made a choice that, let’s face it, we all would have chosen, for we all want what God has and we forget that He has a plan, that we can rest in his wisdom.

But Jesus, he was the anticipated Messiah, the hoped-for Savior.

The oft spoken verse from Isaiah 7:14 will be read in this advent season,

Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel (which means God with us).

Immanuel … God with us.

There is not greater hope, than to have the presence of Immanuel, the Savior, Redeemer and King with us. It is the guarantee that we will not be alone, ever. He is with us! The most anticipated wish come true.

“May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace, as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit” (Romans 15:13).

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