December 23rdFive Minutes on Friday #53
ADVENT
Dietrich Bonhoeffer compares life in a prison cell to the hope of Advent: “One waits, hopes, does this, that, or the other – things that really are of no consequence – the door is shut and can only be opened from the outside.” [Letters and Papers from Prison].
No longer confident of progress, no longer believing the world’s empty promises of peace, maybe we are ready again for the hope and wonder of Bethlehem. Hear once again, sounding over the Bethlehem hills, the angels hopeful song of the only peace worth trusting.
https://youtu.be/LDodhnk5lRg - Come, come, Emmanuel - VOCES8
Candlelight Carol
How do you capture the wind on the water?
How do you count all the stars in the sky?
How can you measure the love of a mother?
Or how can you write down a baby's first cry?
. . . .
Find him in Bethlehem laid in a manger
Christ our redeemer, asleep in the hay
Godhead incarnate and hope of salvation
A child with his mother that first Christmas Day
Candlelight, angel light, firelight and star-glow
Shine on his cradle 'til breaking of dawn
Gloria, gloria in excelsis Deo!
Angels are singing "The Christ child is born" [John Rutter]
CHRISTMAS PRAYER
As we are glad, Creator God,
when the dawn reveals the world to us,
innocent and fresh,
so may we discover the infant in the manger,
and in delight be ready to start anew.
[New Zealand Prayer Book]
LITTLE LAMB
Little Lamb who made thee
Dost thou know who made thee
Gave thee life & bid thee feed.
By the stream & o'er the mead;
Gave thee clothing of delight,
Softest clothing woolly bright;
Gave thee such a tender voice,
Making all the vales rejoice!
Little Lamb who made thee
Dost thou know who made thee
Little Lamb I'll tell thee,
Little Lamb I'll tell thee!
He is called by thy name,
For he calls himself a Lamb:
He is meek & he is mild,
He became a little child:
I a child & thou a lamb,
We are called by his name.
Little Lamb God bless thee.
Little Lamb God bless thee. [William Blake]
ADORATION OF THE SHEPHERDS (Gerhard von Hornthorst)
Notice how all the light comes from the child, falling specially on Mary’s peaceful, adoring face. She lifts the blanket to show her son’s little limbs. On one side stands Joseph, resting his hands on an ox who seems at home as anyone else in the picture. The kneeling shepherd’s face is a picture of reverence and awe while the young lad is laughing with delight, looking up at the other shepherd to share his joy.
There are so many ways to express adoration as shown in this painting: the motherly gaze of Mary, the yearning of the kneeling shepherd, the homage of the ox, and the grin of the boy. All are appropriate and all are accepted by the child.
The shepherds become the first evangelists as they share the good news they have both heard from the angels and seen at the manger. Is it any wonder that Jesus seems to have had a fondness for shepherds (see Luke 15.3-7 and John 10.1-10.
*Adapted from Jane Williams – The Art of Christmas.
https://music.youtube.com/watch?v=lFdCFakaWfI&feature=share –
‘Once in Royal David’s city’ – VOCES8