Hark! Glory! Hail!
Merry Christmas! As you remain standing, Hymn 87, every verse, Hymn 87, “Hark! the herald angels sing.”
Hark! the herald angels sing,
"Glory to the new-born King!
Peace on earth, and mercy mild,
God and sinners reconciled."
Joyful, all ye nations, rise,
Join the triumph of the skies;
With th' angelic host proclaim,
"Christ is born in Bethlehem."
Hark! the herald angels sing,
"Glory to the new-born King!
Christ, by highest heaven adored:
Christ, the everlasting Lord;
Late in time behold him come,
Offspring of the favoured one.
Veiled in flesh, the Godhead see;
Hail, th'incarnate Deity:
Pleased, as man, with men to dwell,
Jesus, our Emmanuel!
Hark! the herald angels sing,
"Glory to the new-born King!
Hail! the heaven-born
Prince of peace!
Hail! the Son of Righteousness!
Light and life to all he brings,
Risen with healing in his wings
Mild he lays his glory by,
Born that man no more may die:
Born to raise the son of earth,
Born to give them second birth.
Hark! the herald angels sing,
"Glory to the new-born King !"
O God, you make us glad by the yearly festival of the birth of your Son Jesus Christ: Grant that we, who joyfully receive him as our Redeemer, may with sure confidence behold him when he comes to be our Judge; who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.
You may be seated.
Dearly Beloved, this is no joke: last Sunday morning, Fr. Steve expressed a longing for Christmas to be here already, and as he spoke I realized that Christmas Now is just what I need, and maybe you need as well,
!! Christmas the coming of God into my heart and life,
!! Maranatha: Come, Lord,
!! Christmas: the Peace of God,
!! Christmas to blanket chaos like new-fallen snow,
!! Christmas to cover the nightmare we are living in, and will for months or even years to come.
"There will be signs in the sun, the moon, and the stars, and on the earth distress among nations confused by the roaring of the sea and the waves.” Welcome, Advent, we’ve got news for you: it has already happened. This year we do not need ominous Advent threats and forebodings, because that roaring of the sea and the waves and the wind has already come upon us, the old world has ended, Eschaton, the End of Time-as-we-knew-it. We do not need Advent’s apocalyptic symbols to scare the hell out of us, we are transitioning Hell even as we live and breathe on a Sunday morning, and we are making it through. We are making it! So, I’m outa here, I’m not doing a pious Advent this year. This is our Morning with St. Nicholas: Ring the bells and Sing the carols and Praise the Lord. Lift high the cross and drive the devil away, this is OUR place, OUR home, this is the Florida Gulf Coast, heaven on earth, and Satan can go to Hell and gone!
We are not timid, cowering Advent creatures: we are survivors, I heard an old, old story, how a Savior came from glory: victory in Jesus, my Savior forever, we are not letting Satan put us in sackcloth and ashes to scratch angry sores with a piece of broken pottery like God’s servant Job. We are God’s servants too, but we are not Job, and unlike Job during his time in Hell, we already know the end of the story, that it’s even better than the beginning.
So, for December 2018 I’m playing Christmas Monopoly, I’m passing Go and collecting my two-hundred dollars and spending it. We are living through the dregs of Hurricane Michael, Advent is no threat to us, I’m skipping Advent this year, thumbing my nose at the Apocalypse, going direct to Christmas and celebrating the coming of Jesus all month long. To hell with Advent’s darkness, and the comorbidity of Hurricane Michael, and our stodgy tradition of never singing Christmas carols before Christmas Eve. To hell with all that - - Merry Christmas!
O come, all ye faithful!
Hark! the herald angels sing!
O little town of Bethlehem!
It came upon the midnight clear!
Love came down at Christmas
Love, a lovely love divine
Love was born at Christmas
Stars and angels gave the sign
Merry Christmas! Come to Lessons and Carols this coming Wednesday evening, December the 5th, Hear the good news and Sing the songs and Praise the Lord.
Joy to the world, the Lord is come,
Let earth receive her king.
Let every heart prepare him room,
and heaven and nature sing, alleluia, Merry Christmas! Alleluia, Amen. Alleluia!
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Sermonette of sorts, Holy Nativity Episcopal Church, Sunday, December 2, 2018. The Rev Tom Weller.
Pic pinched online