by the Rev. William P. McLemore
SCRIPTURE REFLECTIONS: The first reading is from Isaiah 61:10-62:3 and the prophet predicts that God will vindicate Israel. The Epistle is Galatians 3:23-25; 4:4-7, Paul refers to the birth of Jesus as God’s act of adopting us as Children. The Gospel according to John opens with an image of God’s Word having been integral to the creation on the universe (John 1:1-18). This passage is a beautiful statement of incarnation.
THE HYMNS:
PROCESSIONAL HYMN: . No. 93. “Angels From the Realms of Glory.” This hymn was written by James Montgomery, a Scottish son of a Moravian minister. His poetry was fiercely liberal and often got him in trouble with the establishment. This hymn covers most aspects of the nativity story—angels, shepherds, wise men, and even the faithful worshippers around the altar. More than a dozen of his hymns are in our hymnal. The tune “Regent Square” was composed by Henry Smart for a British Presbyterian Hymnal.
THE SEQUENCE HYMN: No. 632. “O Christ the Word Incarnate.” This hymn was written by William Walsham How and is based on Psalm 119:105. “Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.” This hymn has been in the Hymnal of the Episcopal Church since 1874 but in our current volume, the first line has been changed from “O Word of God Incarnate” to “O Christ the Word Incarnate.” The tune “Munich” is taken from a quartet piece in Felix Mendelssohn’s “Elijah” (1847).
PRESENTATION HYMN: No. 82. “Of the Father’s Love Begotten.” This hymn can be traced back to the Anglo Saxon church music of the 11th century, but it’s origin lies with Marcus Aurelius Clement Prudentius (c348-410 AD). It was translated from Latin into English by John Mason Neale. The tune is set to an adapted plainsong version entitled “Divinum Mysterium.”
COMMUNION HYMN: No. 324, “Let All Mortal Flesh Keep Silence.” The is an ancient hymn from the Liturgy of St. James of Jerusalem as used in the Eastern Orthodox Churches—possibly as early as the fifth century. It was sung as the sacred elements were brought to the sanctuary at the beginning of the liturgy. “Picardy” is a folk song from the French region with the same name.
RECESSIONAL HYMN: No. 105, “God Rest You Merry Gentlemen.” This is an 18th century English carol found in the 1770 ‘Roxburghe Ballads.’ The words are based on Luke 2:8-14. The tune is “God Rest You Merry,” a melody from the ‘Little Book of Christmas Carols,” c. 1850.
