Phos Hilaron
O gracious Light
pure brightness of the
everliving Father in heaven
O Jesus Christ, holy and blessed!
Now as we come to the setting of the sun,
and our eyes behold the vesper light
we sing thy praises, O God:
Father, Son, and Holy Spirit
You are worthy at all times
to be praised by happy voices
O Son of God, O Giver of Life
and to be glorified through all the worlds.
The darkening days grow colder and wetter. We wear sweaters and slippers and blankets knitted by the great-grandmas. We keep the duraflame logs going in the fireplace and gather in our little bear den together in the evenings. December is upon us and yesterday we celebrated St Nicholas’ feast day, when we remember the pastor from Myra who loved Jesus with his whole heart and poured out that love and generosity by giving to those in need and being a gatekeeper and defender of Biblical teaching. What a fun day to celebrate!
I want to wish you a Happy New Year! Wait, you say, its not even Christmas yet! Well, let me explain. This past Sunday was the first Sunday of Advent, and in the liturgical Christian calendar, Sunday was the first day of a New Christian Year! The Church calendar begins in the darkest time of the northern hemisphere, and it begins with Advent. Advent is the first season of the new Christian year, a season of waiting and watchfulness, a season of hope and anticipation, expectation that the Light is coming.
We remember the first coming, the Incarnation of Jesus, the Son of God, and we wait with joyful hope and comfort for His second coming one day, when He will return as He said, and He will dwell forever with the Church, His Bride, and all things will be made new on Earth and in Heaven. The Consummation of all things will be accomplished, and we will feast as the temple of living stones with Jesus, the Bridegroom. I hope that these selections of music and meditations will be like a little digital gift from me to you. Thank you so much for popping on here every once in a while this year and reading. I am thankful for every passerby, who might stop and read and ponder for a little while here. I hope these words are seeds the Lord uses to bring Truth into your life, His goodness to fill your days, and to point you to His Word to light your path and surround you and fill you with His holy love. It is only His Word that matters. So that is my prayer that my words point your gaze to His Word, the living Word that brings light and life!
As music is played in our home daily and hourly, (I like to put on Chopin for our dog when we leave the house), it is obvious that music is like food for the soul. I need gentle music in my life. Soft, soothing, nourishing melodies and harmonies, truthful light-filled words that comfort my soul from the darkness of this world. Psalm 119:130-132 says, “The unfolding of your words gives light; it imparts understanding to the simple. I open my mouth and pant, because I long for your commandments. Turn to me and be gracious to me, as is your way with those who love your name.”
In our church, my husband preaches through every book in the Bible. There is not a passage of God’s Word that is ignored (2 Timothy 3:16-17). Every Sunday, we gather as a church to hear the Scriptures read and taught, skillful teaching of a learned theologian. The unfolding of God’s Word gives light. Jesus, the Word made flesh, came to bring us Light. It mattered that much to Him, to be made one of us. On us a light has shone. (Matthew 4:12-17) May the beauty of this seasonal music usher you into a hope and light-filled new calendar year, as soon the light will grow physically in the northern hemisphere. As the Kingdom of God advances throughout the world, the now and the not yet, the redeeming of God’s creation is happening. He is reaching into the lives of lost people to bring them into His fold of grace. May these songs bring this great hope to flourish in your hearts.
May Jesus’ words in this scripture reading be our joy!
Jesus said, “Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. For truly, I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not an iota, not a dot, will pass from the Law until all is accomplished. Therefore whoever relaxes one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever does them and teaches them will be called great in the kingdom of heaven.”
Matthew 5:17-19 ESV
Until all is accomplished! What a beautiful hope to dwell on every day He gives us breath.
Music
Arise & Look to the Skies by Craig Harris
Hark What Music Fills the Sky by Craig Harris
Once in Royal David’s City by Voces8
In the Bleak Mid-Winter by John Van Deusen
Behold the Lamb of God by Andrew Peterson
Brightest & Best by Keith & Kristen Getty & Ricky Skaggs
Christmas by Sandra McCracken
The Bells of Dublin by The Chieftains
A Celtic Family Christmas by Natalie MacMaster & Donnell Leahy
Meditations
On the Incarnation by St Athanasius of Alexandria
From the Cradle to the Cross by The Keeping Company
Heaven and Nature Sing by Hannah Anderson
Sacred Seasons: A Family Guide to Center Your Year Around Jesus by Danielle Hitchen
The Art of Advent: A Painting a Day from Advent to Epiphany by Jane Williams
“The Savior is working mightily among men, every day He is invisibly persuading numbers of people all over the world, both within and beyond the Greek-speaking world, to accept His faith and be obedient to His teaching. Can anyone, in face of this, still doubt that He has risen and lives, or rather that He is Himself the Life? Does a dead man prick the consciences of men, so that they throw all the traditions of their fathers to the winds
and bow down before the teaching of Christ?”― St. Athanasius, On The Incarnation
“I will praise the LORD as long as I live; I will sing praises to my God while I have my being.”
Psalm 146:2