Love has come a light in the darkness! 
Love shines forth in the Bethlehem skies. 
See, all heaven has come to proclaim it: 
hear how their song of joy arises: 
Love! Love! Born unto you, a Savior! 
Love! Love! Glory to God on high. 
- Ken Bible

My heart shall sing of the day you bring. 
Let the fires of your justice burn. 
Wipe away all tears, for the dawn draws near, 
and the world is about to turn. 
- Rory Cooney

I often think about the title of the poem "13 Ways of Looking at a Blackbird" and how the music in worship should similarly explore several ways of looking at our scripture readings.

For this week, our reading is the Magnificat -- Mary's song we find in Luke 1:46-55. Mary has a lot to sing in this song that really hits at the heart of our world today.

The gathering hymn, "My Soul Gives Glory to My God," is worded in such a way that it emphasizes the God keeping promises and calming fears while paired with a gentle Appalachian tune, MORNING SONG. Later in the service there will be an arrangement of this tune that infuses it with some urgency.

"My Soul Proclaims" is a much more reflective setting that comes from Behold Our Light, one of my favorite settings of music for evening prayer that runs the gamut from a psalm setting that sounds like it could be straight from the band Muse at their heaviest (such as some of the songs on their Absolution album) to this reflective setting of the Magnificat that focuses on the ways God has delivered us in the past.

"Canticle of the Turning" focuses more on the aspects in the Magnificat of overturning power structures.... "From the halls of pow'r to the fortress tow'r, not a stone will be left on stone."

Then we get to "O For a Thousand Tongues to Sing," which may seem like a strange choice; but that second verse calls on God to assist us in proclaiming God's glory in all these ways in which God turns the world around.

And the postlude is based on the hymn "Hark! A Thrilling Voice Is Sounding," which references the words of prophets like Isaiah, but I think gives us an opportunity to reflect on the prophetic voice of Mary and the joy that comes from different aspects of the Magnificat that we have heard in the 4 different ways throughout worship. 

Marshall

In deepest night Christ's coming shall be, 
when all the world is despairing, 
as morning light so quiet and free, 
so warm and gentle and caring. 
One without voice breaks forth in song, 
a lame one leaps in wonder, 
the weak are raised above the strong, 
and weapons are broken asunder. 
- Marty Haugen

We managed to skip the planned hymn "Awake! Awake! and Greet the New Morn" this past week. Never fear, however: as we go through Advent, we are adding a verse each week. We started with the second verse, and on the last Sunday of Advent we will finish up by adding that first verse, with its references to Jesus being born. The images of Isaiah that are used in this text are rich with contrasts to what would be expected. The Pharisees would have expected the pomp and circumstance of brass and festivities at an event where everyone is putting their best foot forward. Yet here we hear about Christ's coming into the point of most despair in the dark of night. It conjures up a cold, chilling image; and yet we have the contrast of morning light that begins to turn us back to warmth and light. And it isn't done with the fanfare of brass or the spectacle of a great show that the world would tell us is needed to gain people's attention. 

In the same sense, worship is not a performance but is a place where we grow as we participate. It isn't a concert to showcase the choir or bells or soloists, but a place where we simply offer our best. Note that is OUR best, not the best of some other church or some other person, or even this church (as seen through the distorted lens of nostalgia). And in the process of sharing those gifts, God speaks. Sometimes to us, as we offer the gift. Sometimes through the gift offered to someone else. My hope is that people will be quicker to listen to how God is speaking through what was offered, than to respond as to a performance in a concert. Share with others how God spoke through what was offered. 

Marshall

Cure your children's warring madness; 
Bend our pride to your control. 
Shame our reckless, selfish gladness, 
Rich in things but poor in soul. 
Grant us wisdom, grant us courage
Make our broken spirits whole. 
-Harry Emerson Fosdick

The alteration we find in the last line in our hymnal was an attempt to avoid the patriarchal language of Fosdick's original "lest we miss thy kingdom's goal," but in many ways it misses the same point that I think Fosdick may have intended. These are a number of things that get in the way of who we are called to be in the Kin-dom of God. And each of us struggles with them. If we look at the third and fourth phrases..... it always brings to mind this thought: Can I see a person in a third-world country being upset about the thing I am upset with. If not, then it probably is a symptom of being rich in things but poor in soul. 

This may seem an odd hymn in Advent, but this week we have Isaiah 2:1-5 which is rich in imagery, but the preponderance of music written in connection with this passage is centered around verse 4 and the image of swords being turned into tools and the idea of nations not being at war with other nations. Another song this week, "Plowshare Prayer," extends that idea of things being used as weapons to include words, actions, and systemic injustice. And yet another one of our songs with a text written by William Reid a pastor in Wyoming in 1958 reminds us of a lot of the things Fosdick holds up "search for wealth and power," "bitter threats," and "bombs that shower destruction" being what contributes to our "blindness to [God's] way." 

And yet the seeds of hope are planted in each... as Reid states it in his hymn, "Keep bright in us the vision of days when war shall cease, when hatred and division give way to love and peace." 

Marshall

On this Fourth Sunday of Advent, we lean forward — eagerly — toward the yuletide season and the arrival of the Light of the world. Songs relating a bold hope of community in the Christ-Light this Sunday morning —Emmanuel.

We revisit the "eclectic" service format this weekend with guitarist/vocalist Bill DeMarco, vocalist Lucas Jackson and bassist Bill Strening. We will typically be offering this service on the fourth Sunday of each month, so please join us then!

The service begins with the beautifully haunting Korean hymn "Come Now, O Prince of Peace." The yearning character of the work clearly embodies the Advent text of hope and expectancy: "Come now, O God of love, make us one body... Come, hope of unity, make us one body. Come, O Lord Jesus, reconcile all people."

The time-honored Advent carol, "O Come, O Come, Emmanuel" will be heard one last time this fleeting season. Guitarist/vocalist Noah Kayl and vocalists Suzie Matlock and Brooklyn McBride (also Plymouth's Director of Christian Formation!) share their arrangement during the Special Music moment. 

To close the service, and our Advent journey together, Bill DeMarco sings the contemporary Advent song "Immanuel" by Michael Card. God is indeed with us, always, as expressed in the chorus: "Immanuel, our God is with us, and if God is with us, who could stand against us. Our God is with us — Immanuel.

The German Marian hymn "Es ist ein Ros entsprungen" (translated as 'a rose has sprung up') has its origins in 17th century Germany. The anonymous text uses the rose as a symbol for Mary who has come forth from the Tree of Jesse lineage (Jesse of Bethlehem, the father of King David) to bear the Christ-Child. The text also refers to the prophecies of Isaiah, specifically Isaiah 11.1: "A shoot shall come out from the stock of Jesse, and a branch shall grow out of his roots." This imagery was popular in the Medieval era and this cherished Advent carol continues to be meaningful in our modern age.

Two settings based on the beloved carol will be offered Sunday morning. At the Prelude, Johannes Brahms' lovely work from the organ collection "Eleven Chorale Preludes, Op. 122" will be presented. Composed in 1896, just a year before Brahms' death, the work was published posthumously in 1902. The essence of the chorale melody is embedded in the flowing texture and only subtly hinted at in this gentle setting. During our time at the table, the Chancel Choir sings the chorale in a setting by John Jacob Niles based on the well-known harmonization by Michael Praetorius in 1609. 

At the Postlude, Marcel Dupre's "How Fair and How Pleasant Art Thou" is offered. Inspired by Song of Songs 7.6, this beautiful work is the fifth antiphon in the sequence of fifteen versets representing feast days honoring the Virgin Mary throughout the liturgical year.

At the annual 6:00 p.m. Longest Night Service, harpist Alaina Bongers returns with flutist Aaron McGrew and vocalist Lucas Jackson offering songs of winter and solace in the dark cold night. Join us for this beautiful midseason bilingual Advent service as we approach ever closer to the coming dawn of Christmas Day.