Advent 4 (A, B, or C) A wonderous Gift is Given

 Advent 4 (A, B, or C) A wonderous Gift is Given

Preached on December 20, 1998 & December 21, 2008

By Rev. Ernest F. Campbell


When I was nine years old, I was invited to sing in the Christ Church Winnetka Men and Boys

Choir. I was a member of that choir for fourteen years; long enough for my voice to change from

soprano to base and long enough for god’s spirit to gently push me in the direction of seminary

and the priesthood. Moving from the choir stalls to the pulpit with lots of camping and children

in-between is the story of my life. Music has been an important part of that journey. Beautiful

music is surely one of God’s great blessings.


When it comes to beautiful music, I believe that we Episcopalians are especially blessed with a

hymnbook that is filled with good tunes, great poetry, and sound theology. Learning a new hymn

takes extra effort, but I have come to believe that it is well worth it. It’s the same gift we

experience when a “stranger” becomes a friend, a relationship that has the potential to warm our

hearts and feed our souls for a lifetime and beyond.


There is no other season in our liturgical year when music plays such an important part of the

celebration than the season of Christmas. Even those who have never seen the inside of a church

can sing the Christmas story. The carols we enjoy have a mysterious way of getting both our

heads and hearts drawn in to the story of God’s entrance into human history.

I know that we all have favorite carols we love to sing. One that I especially enjoy does not

appear in the Christmas section of our hymnbook. In my opinion the first verse of this hymn

captures the essence of the incarnation.


Hymn #324

“Let all mortal flesh keep silence,

And with fear and trembling stand;

Ponder nothing earthy minded,

For with blessing in His hand,

Christ our God to earth descendeth,

Our full homage to demand.


It is most commonly used as a communion hymn because of the second verse.


“King of Kings yet born of Mary,

As of old on earth he stood,

Lord of Lords in human vesture

In the body and the blood

He will give to all the faithful

His own self for heavenly food.”


I used to love to play that hymn on the levered action bells from the bell tower of Christ Church

back in Winnetka. I would think about that simple, beautiful tune floating over the neighborhood

and maybe, hopefully, someone being reminded of the text.


Music is such an effective way to both store and proclaim our story. I will be forever grateful for

the church choirs in my life where I learned how to sing many of the key passages of scripture.

You will understand why “Joy to the World” is another one of my favorites when I give you this

setting. Again at Christ Church at the Christmas eve service: when we arrived at the hour of

midnight the service would stop….the bell would toll…and in the silence that followed a boy

soprano would sing one verse of Joy to the World acapella. One year I was privileged to be that

voice.


“Joy to the world the Lord is come:

Let earth receive her King.

Let every heart prepare him room

And heaven and nature sing…..”


There is an innocence and purity in a young boy’s voice that is perfectly suited to make such a

wondrous and profound announcement.


“The Lord is come

Let every heart prepare Him room.”

At that moment, even though my knees were shaking, I was as close to an angel as I will ever

get.


Everyone loves to sing, “O Come All Ye Faithful” The processional hymn for Christmas Eve is

almost always, “O Come All Ye Faithful.” That’s who we are, the Lord’s faithful. And we can

sing that hymn! There have been years when we get to the last verse of that glorious hymn my

emotions get in the way of the sound.


“Yea, Lord, we greet thee

Born this happy morning

Jesus to thee be Glory given.

Word of the Father

Now in flesh appearing.

O come let us adore Him…..


When we sing the descant to that verse, I would swear heaven and earth meet. Members of our

choir have heard Kraig Scott (the choir master) prayerfully invite God’s Angels to join us as we

sing our praise to God.


I think everyone loves “O Little Town of Bethlehem, written by Phillips Brooks, an Episcopal

priest. The third verse is my favorite.


“How silently how silently

The wondrous gift is given!

So, God imparts to human hearts

The Blessings of His heaven,

No ear may hear his coming,

But in this world of sin,

Where meek souls will receive Him still

The dear Christ enters in.”


These beautiful Christmas Carols are among the simple delights of Christmas. Their familiar

melodies and lyrics remind us of Christmas’ past and they hold the hope of love’s future. As we

sing them together, we find ourselves mysteriously gathered into God’s communion of saints.

Many in this parish have confessed their spontaneous tears as we sing “Silent Night.” They are,

in some cases, tears for family members no longer with us. For others, they are tears of joy as we

remember the happy innocence of our childhood. Or, tears come to remind us that in Christ we

have hope that this broken world of ours can be healed. Tears come between where we are, and

where we wish we could be. Tears lubricate God’s compassion and water the growth of His love.

God builds His church on the tears of the saints.


Let me close with the words of the third verse of Silent Night.

“Silent Night, Holy night

Son of God, loves pure light

Radiant beams from thy holy face,

With the dawn of redeeming grace,

Christ the savior is born.

Christ the savior is born.”

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