We now find ourselves in the midst of Christmas, which, like other important celebrations of the liturgical year, is a season, not a single feast day. There is movement and direction leading us through the story, providing time and space for the marvels and mystery to...
We have waited. We have been silent. We have anticipated. We have remembered. The day is here. The baby—the promised one—has come! However, lest we begin to imagine that this longed-for arrival was the result of our waiting, or our silence, Isaac Watts’ lyrics...
The deep and dark of longing presses in on these days of waiting. The ancient traditions spent this last week of Advent meditating on the “O Antiphons,” which are the names and images of the Christ, taken from the book of Isaiah. Each antiphon (the liturgical...
Charles Wesley was an extraordinary poet and hymn-writer, penning (according to some estimates) over 6,500 poems! The majority of these were set to music, and intended for worship. This week’s focus is his Advent hymn “Come Thou Long Expected Jesus.” In “Let All...
As Advent unfolds, and we continue to watch and wait, this ancient hymn calls to us: let all mortal flesh keep silence! Silence is so difficult. Silence is so foreign. Silence is so … abnormal! But sometimes, silence is exactly what is required. This text is a poetic...
Metaphors abound for the miracle of incarnation, and early hymn writers frequently rely on imagery that might seem unusual to our modern ears, to convey the message. Lo, How A Rose ‘ere Blooming is one of these texts. The poem relies on the image in Isaiah 11:1 – a...
