Friday, December 20
by Paul Lang on December 20th, 2019
O Come, O Come Emmanuel [9th century Latin]O come, Thou Key of David, comeAnd open wide our heavenly homeMake safe the way that leads on highAnd close the path to miseryRejoice, rejoice, EmmanuelShall come to thee, o IsraelThe Old Testament reference to the phrase "Key of David" is Isaiah 22:20-22. There, the prophet tells the palace secretary Shebna that he will be replaced by Eliakim, "On that d...  Read More
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Thursday, December 19
by Paul Lang on December 19th, 2019
O Come, O Come Emmanuel [9th century Latin]O come, thou root of Jesse, freeThine own from Satan's tyrannyFrom depths of Hell Thy people saveAnd give them victory o'er the graveRejoice, rejoice, EmmanuelShall come to thee, o IsraelFor years I have been engaged in the hobby of family genealogy tracing back my ancestors to Europe with the help of a family tree.  The phrase "root of Jesse" simply poin...  Read More
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Wednesday, December 18
by Paul Lang on December 18th, 2019
O Come, O Come Emmanuel [9th century Latin]O come, o come, thou Lord of Might,who to thy tribes on Sinai's heightin ancient times didst give the lawin cloud and majesty and awe.Rejoice, rejoice, EmmanuelShall come to thee, O IsraelToday, we continue to focus on one of the "O Antiphons" which have been captured in the classic hymn, O Come, O Come Emmanuel.  Each verse of the hymn is about one of th...  Read More
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Tuesday, December 17
by Paul Lang on December 17th, 2019
O Come, O Come Emmanuel [9th century Latin]O come, thou Wisdom from on highWho orderest all things mightily:to us the path of knowledge show;and teach us in her ways to go.Rejoice, rejoice, EmmanuelShall come to thee, O IsraelStarting today, the devotions will each focus on one of the "O Antiphons" which have been captured in the classic hymn, O Come, O Come Emmanuel.  Each verse of the hymn is ab...  Read More
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Monday, December 16
by Paul Lang on December 16th, 2019
No Wind at the Window [John L. Bell 1992]No payment was promised, no promises madeNo wedding was dated, no blue print displayedYet Mary, consenting to what none could guessReplied with conviction, "tell God I say yes."It is truly inspirational that Mary found within herself enough trust and courage to say yes to the news Gabriel was bringing.  I think about how careful and calculating I am about m...  Read More
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Sunday, December 15
by Paul Lang on December 15th, 2019
No Wind at the Window       [John L. Bell 1992]Oh, Mary, Oh, Mary don't hide from my faceBe glad that you're favored and filled with God's graceThe time for redeeming the world has begunAnd you are requested to mother God's son.Mary is given a title very early in the Christian tradition.  She is named Theotokos - or "Mother of God,"  She is the one who bears God into the world and she is held in r...  Read More
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Saturday, December 14
by Paul Lang on December 14th, 2019
No Wind at the Window     [John L. Bell 1992]No wind at the window, no knock on the doorNo light from the lamp stand, no foot on the floorNo dream born of tiredness, no ghost raised by fearJust an angel and a woman and a voice in her ear.I suppose that many of us imagine the coming of Gabriel to Mary as a dramatic event, and perhaps it was, but John Bell offers a different imagination of the encou...  Read More
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Friday, December 13
by Paul Lang on December 13th, 2019
Now the Heavens Start to Whisper [Mary Louise Bringle 2005]Christ, eternal Sun of justice, Christ, the rose of wisdom's seed,come to bless with fire and fragrance hours of yearning, hurt and need.In the lonely, in the stranger, in the outcast, hid from view:child who comes to grace the manger, teach our hearts to welcome you. What if we brought to our hours of yearning, hurt, and need the virtues ...  Read More
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Thursday, December 12
by Paul Lang on December 12th, 2019
O Lord, How Shall I Meet You [Paul Gerhardt, 1653; Trans. Catherine Winkworth 1863]O Lord, how shall I meet you, how welcome you aright?Your people long to greet you, my hope, my heart's delight!O kindle, Lord most holy, a lamp within my breast,To do in spirit lowly all that may please you best.Love caused your incarnation, love brought you down to me;Your thirst for my salvation procured my liber...  Read More
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Wednesday, December 11
by Paul Lang on December 11th, 2019
Let All Mortal Flesh Keep Silence[from the liturgy of St. James (4th CE) Trans. Gerald Moultrie 1864]Let all mortal flesh keep silence,And with fear and trembling stand;Ponder nothing earthly minded,For with blessing in His hand,Christ our God to earth descenders,Our full homage to demand. This hymn, which tradition ascribes to James the Less was found in the liturgy of Jerusalem and begins by ack...  Read More
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Tuesday, December 10
by Paul Lang on December 10th, 2019
Come Thou Long-Expected Jesus [Charles Wesley 1744]Born Thy people to deliver,Born a child and yet a King,Born to reign in us forever,Now Thy gracious kingdom bring.By Thine own eternal SpiritRule in all our hearts alone;By Thine all sufficient merit,Raise us to Thy glorious throne.Wesley begins the first three lines with "Born."  † They move from why? (Thy people to deliver)† To a  paradox (a chi...  Read More
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Monday, December 9
by Paul Lang on December 9th, 2019
Come Thou Long-Expected Jesus [Charles Wesley 1744]Come, Thou long expected JesusBorn to set Thy people free;From our fears and sins release us,Let us find our rest in Thee.Israel's strength and consolation,Hope of all the earth Thou art;Dear desire of every nation,Joy of every longing heart. When Charles Wesley composed this first stanza of his hymn he hit all the theological high notes.  Perhaps...  Read More
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