Singing the Gospel
December 24, 2006
Fourth Sunday of Advent
Reformation, Media
Larry V. Smoose
And Mary sang “My soul magnifies the Lord and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior . . .” Mary was not the first to sing God’s praise, she follows a noble lineage of women and men who have used songs to express their wonder and praise at God’s mighty power of salvation. The first one included in scriptures was Miriam’s song when the people of Israel were on the safe side of the Red Sea during the Exodus – “Sing to the Lord for he has triumphed gloriously, horse and rider he has thrown into the sea.”
It’s possible that the strains of that ancient hymn were coursing through Mary’s mind as she sang “God has put down the mighty from their thrones and exulted those of low degree.” Or maybe it was the song of Hannah, rejoicing when God heard her prayer after years of barrenness and gave her a child – “My heart exults in the Lord, . . . there is no Holy One like the Lord, there is no rock like our God . . . The Lord makes poor and he makes rich, he makes lowly and he exults. . .”
Mary’s song may be the best known, but in Luke’s Gospel Zechariah sings God’s praise when John the Baptist is born, “For you my child shall be called a prophet of the most high for you will go before the Lord to prepare his way.” Angels sing “Gloria to God in the Highest and on earth peace, good will toward all,” announcing Christ’s birth and the old man Simeon lifts up heart and voice in a song when he is able to gaze upon the Christ child – “Lord, now you let your servant go in peace, your Word has been fulfilled, my own eyes have seen the salvation you have promised . . .”
Through liturgy and hymnody the church has preserved these songs through the ages and added countless others to them, as we use God’s gift of music to help proclaim the Gospel! That’s what I want us to think about this morning. Yes, this is one of those feel good services of lessons and carols. The old familiar songs that are among the best known in the church are the hymns and carols sung at this time of the year. But that is also the danger.
It can be like long married partners who know each other so well and have become so accustomed to their habits and manner that they begin to take each other for granted. They don’t take the time to pause and remember those qualities that first caused the spark and flame of their relationship, they hum the tune of life together so easily that the early thrill of their initial harmony has faded. Sometimes, just like we need to remember and renew our closest relationships, we need to take time to feel the energy, the pathos, the longing, the wonder or the joy that inspired the writers of these familiar tunes.
So let’s take just a moment to hear some of these songs again – as if it were the first time, and to appreciate anew how God has used music to proclaim the Gospel. Perhaps we should travel to Darfur, to a Sudanese refugee camp and listen as the people sing –
“O Come, O Come Emmanuel, and ransom captive Israel
That mourns in lonely exile here, until the Son of God appear.
Rejoice, Rejoice, Emmanuel shall come to you O Israel.
O Come strong Branch of Jesse – Free your own from Satan’s tyranny;
From depths of hell your people save and give them vict’ry o’er the grave,
Rejoice, Rejoice, Emmanuel shall come to you, O Israel.
Or for the people in Iraq and Palestinians, and still for Israeli’s to whom Isaiah originally wrote, we could sing,
Comfort, comfort now my people: tell of peace! So says your God.
Comfort those who sit in darkness, mourning under sorrow’s load
To God’s people now proclaim that God’s pardon waits for them!
Tell them that their war is over; God will reign in peace forever.
As those words are sung in longing for the Prince of Peace, we can begin to understand how Mary’s song begins to voice the longing and needs of all who are oppressed and all who want their children to have a secure future. It merges human longing and God’s promise into a wondrous hymn of hope and praise.
O Little town of Bethlehem how still we see thee lie,
Above thy deep and dreamless sleep the silent stars are nigh
Yet in thy dark streets shineth the ever-lasting light
The hopes and fears of all the years are met in thee tonight.
Mary will give birth to a holy, eternal Child. A Child Herod could not slaughter and the Roman Empire could not bury. (Yet in thy dark streets shineth, the everlasting light ) This is God’s Son. The Child who was to be born is the One who may be born again even in us.
O holy Child of Bethlehem, descend to us, we pray; Cast out our sin, and enter in, be born in us today. We hear the Christmas Angels the Great glad tidings tell; 0 come to us Abide with us, Our Lord Emmanuel!
On this Sunday before Christmas Day as we move closer to the manger at Bethlehem in our journey of Advent let’s remember that Bethlehem will not be the end of the journey, only the beginning – the beginning of a lifelong journey with the child named Jesus. And along the way, we still sing the songs that proclaim the wonder and greatness of his name.
Listen carefully to the Words of the songs you sing this Christmas.
Amen.