Sundays at All Hallows (Sunday, December 15, 2024)
Welcome to Sundays at All Hallows.
This Sunday is the Third Sunday of Advent, also called Gaudete Sunday, It takes its name from the Latin word Gaudete, “Rejoice,” a reference to Philippians 4: 4-7. On Gaudete Sunday churches which have an Advent Wreath light the third candle, the pink candle, on the wreath. In some churches rose pink vestments are worn on this Sunday and the Holy Table and pulpit-lectern are hung with rose pink paraments. In this Sunday’s message we take a look at a prophetic song found in the Bible and long used in Christian worship, a song taken from the story of John the Baptist whose ministry is the focus of this Sunday’s gospel reading and has implications for every Christian.
GATHERING IN GOD’S NAME
Open this link in a new tab to hear Tim Shewmaker’s arrangement of the Southern Harmony hymn tune, JEFFERSON, for organ.
Silence
In the wilderness prepare the way of the Lord, make straight
in the desert a highway for our God. Isaiah 40:3
Let us confess our sins against God and our neighbor.
Silence
Most merciful God,
we confess that we have sinned against you
in thought, word, and deed,
by what we have done,
and by what we have left undone.
We have not loved you with our whole heart;
we have not loved our neighbors as ourselves.
We are truly sorry and we humbly repent.
For the sake of your Son Jesus Christ,
have mercy on us and forgive us;
that we may delight in your will,
and walk in your ways,
to the glory of your Name. Amen.
Almighty God have mercy on us, forgive us all our sins
through our Lord Jesus Christ, strengthen us in all
goodness, and by the power of the Holy Spirit keep us in
eternal life. Amen.
Lord, open our lips.
And our mouth shall proclaim your praise.
Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit: as
it was in the beginning, is now, and will be for ever. Amen.
Alleluia.
Open a link in a new tab to hear Dale A. Witte’s arrangement of the Venite, “Come, O Come, Let Us Sing to the Lord Our Savior!”
Come, O come, let us sing to the Lord our Savior!
Come, O come, let us sing to the Lord!
1 Let us make a joyful noise to the rock of our salvation.
Let us come into his presence with thanksgiving.
Let us make a joyful noise to him with songs of praise.
Come, O come, let us sing to the Lord our Savior!
Come, O come, let us sing to the Lord!
2 For the Lord is a great God and great King above all gods.
The deep places of the earth are in his hands.
The heights of the hills are his also.
The sea is his, for he made it,
and his and formed the dry land.
Come, O come, let us sing to the Lord our Savior!
Come, O come, let us sing to the Lord!
3 Oh, come let us worship and bow down;
let us kneel before our Maker.
For he is our God, and we are his people,
the people of his pasture and the sheep of his hand.
Come, O come, let us sing to the Lord our Savior!
Come, O come, let us sing to the Lord!
Open this link in a new tab to hear Michael’s Joncas’ setting of Psalm 146, “I Will Praise the Lord.”
I will praise the Lord all my days,
make music to my God while I live,
make music to my God while I live.
1 Put no trust in the powerful, mere mortals in whom there is no help.
Take their breath, they return to earth, and their plans that day come to nothing.
They are happy who are helped by Jacob’s God, whose hope is in the Lord their God,
who alone made heaven and earth, the seas and all they contain.
I will praise the Lord all my days,
make music to my God while I live,
make music to my God while I live.
2 It is the Lord who keeps faith for ever, who is just to the oppressed.
It is God who gives bread to the hungry, the Lord, who sets the prisoners free.
It is the Lord who gives sight to the blind, who raises up those who are bowed down,
the Lord who protects the stranger, and upholds the widow and the orphan.
I will praise the Lord all my days,
make music to my God while I live,
make music to my God while I live.
3 It is the Lord who loves the just but thwarts the path of the wicked.
The Lord will reign for ever, Zion’s God from age to age.
I will praise the Lord all my days,
make music to my God while I live,
make music to my God while I live.
Open this link in a new tab to hear Omer Westendorf’s “Praise God in His Holy Dwelling,” based on Psalm 150: 1-6.
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia!
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia!
1 Praise God in his holy dwelling.
Praise him on his mighty throne
Praise him for his wonderful deeds
Praise him for his sovereign majesty!
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia!
2 Praise him with the blast of trumpet;
Praise him now with lyre and harp;
Praise him with the timbrel and dance;
Praise him with the sound of string and reed.
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia!
Praise him with resounding cymbals;
With cymbals that crash give praise;
O let ev’rything that has breath,
Let all living creatures praise the Lord.
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia!
Praise God, the almighty Father;
Praise Christ, his beloved Son;
Give praise to the Spirit of love;
Forever the triune God be praised.
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia!
THE MINISTRY OF THE WORD
A Reading from the Book of Zephaniah
Zephaniah 3: 14-20
Sing and shout for joy, people of Israel!
Rejoice with all your heart, Jerusalem!
The Lord has stopped your punishment;
he has removed all your enemies.
The Lord, the king of Israel, is with you;
there is no reason now to be afraid.
The time is coming when they will say to Jerusalem,
“Do not be afraid, city of Zion!
Do not let your hands hang limp!
The Lord your God is with you;
his power gives you victory.
The Lord will take delight in you,
and in his love he will give you new life.
He will sing and be joyful over you,
as joyful as people at a festival.”
The Lord says,
“I have ended the threat of doom
and taken away your disgrace.
The time is coming!
I will punish your oppressors;
I will rescue all the lame
and bring the exiles home.
I will turn their shame to honor,
and all the world will praise them.
The time is coming!
I will bring your scattered people home;
I will make you famous throughout the world
and make you prosperous once again.”
The Lord has spoken.
The Word of the Lord
Thanks be to God
Silence
Open this link in a new tab to hear Carl P. Daw, Jr.’s “Let All Creation Bless the Lord (A Song of Creation).”
1 Let all creation bless the Lord,
till heav'n with praise is ringing.
Sun, moon, and stars, peal out a chord,
stir up the angels' singing.
Sing, wind and rain! Sing, snow and sleet!
Make music, day, night, cold and heat:
exalt the God who made you.
2 All living things upon the earth,
green fertile hills and mountains,
sing to the God who gave you birth;
be joyful, springs and fountains.
Lithe waterlife, bright airborne birds,
wild roving beasts, tame flocks and herds:
exalt the God who made you.
3 O men and women everywhere,
lift up a hymn of glory;
let all who know God's steadfast care
tell out salvation's story.
No tongue be silent; sing your part,
you humble souls and meek of heart:
exalt the God who made you.
A Reading from the Letter to the Philippians
Sing and shout for joy, people of Israel!
Rejoice with all your heart, Jerusalem!
The Lord has stopped your punishment;
he has removed all your enemies.
The Lord, the king of Israel, is with you;
there is no reason now to be afraid.
The time is coming when they will say to Jerusalem,
“Do not be afraid, city of Zion!
Do not let your hands hang limp!
The Lord your God is with you;
his power gives you victory.
The Lord will take delight in you,
and in his love he will give you new life.
He will sing and be joyful over you,
as joyful as people at a festival.”
The Lord says,
“I have ended the threat of doom
and taken away your disgrace.
The time is coming!
I will punish your oppressors;
I will rescue all the lame
and bring the exiles home.
I will turn their shame to honor,
and all the world will praise them.
The time is coming!
I will bring your scattered people home;
I will make you famous throughout the world
and make you prosperous once again.”
The Lord has spoken.
The Word of the Lord
Thanks be to God
Silence
Open this link in a new tab to hear Carl P. Daw, Jr.’s “Let All Creation Bless the Lord (A Song of Creation).”
1 Let all creation bless the Lord,
till heav'n with praise is ringing.
Sun, moon, and stars, peal out a chord,
stir up the angels' singing.
Sing, wind and rain! Sing, snow and sleet!
Make music, day, night, cold and heat:
exalt the God who made you.
2 All living things upon the earth,
green fertile hills and mountains,
sing to the God who gave you birth;
be joyful, springs and fountains.
Lithe waterlife, bright airborne birds,
wild roving beasts, tame flocks and herds:
exalt the God who made you.
3 O men and women everywhere,
lift up a hymn of glory;
let all who know God's steadfast care
tell out salvation's story.
No tongue be silent; sing your part,
you humble souls and meek of heart:
exalt the God who made you.
A Reading from the Letter to the Philippians
Philippians 4: 4-7
May you always be joyful in your union with the Lord. I say it again: rejoice!
Show a gentle attitude toward everyone. The Lord is coming soon. Don't worry about anything, but in all your prayers ask God for what you need, always asking him with a thankful heart. And God's peace, which is far beyond human understanding, will keep your hearts and minds safe in union with Christ Jesus.
The Word of the Lord
Thanks be to God
Silence
Open this link in a new tab to hear Carl P. Daw, Jr.’s “Blessed Be the God of Israel (Benedictus Dominus Deus).”
1 Blessed be the God of Israel
who comes to set us free
and raises up new hope for us:
a Branch from David's tree.
So have the prophets long declared
that with a mighty arm
God would turn back our enemies
and all who wish us harm.
2 With promised mercy will God still
the covenant recall,
the oath once sworn to Abraham,
from foes to save us all;
that we might worship without fear
and offer lives of praise,
in holiness and righteousness
to serve God all our days.
3 My child, as prophet of the Lord,
you will prepare the way,
to tell God's people they are saved
from sin's eternal sway.
Then shall God's mercy from on high
shine forth and never cease
to drive away the gloom of death
and lead us into peace.
A Reading from the Gospel according to Luke
Luke 3: 7-18
Crowds of people came out to John to be baptized by him. “You snakes!” he said to them. “Who told you that you could escape from the punishment God is about to send? Do those things that will show that you have turned from your sins. And don't start saying among yourselves that Abraham is your ancestor. I tell you that God can take these rocks and make descendants for Abraham! The ax is ready to cut down the trees at the roots; every tree that does not bear good fruit will be cut down and thrown in the fire.”
The people asked him, “What are we to do, then?”
He answered, “Whoever has two shirts must give one to the man who has none, and whoever has food must share it.”
Some tax collectors came to be baptized, and they asked him, “Teacher, what are we to do?”
“Don't collect more than is legal,” he told them.
Some soldiers also asked him, “What about us? What are we to do?”
He said to them, “Don't take money from anyone by force or accuse anyone falsely. Be content with your pay.”
People's hopes began to rise, and they began to wonder whether John perhaps might be the Messiah. So John said to all of them, “I baptize you with water, but someone is coming who is much greater than I am. I am not good enough even to untie his sandals. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. He has his winnowing shovel with him, to thresh out all the grain and gather the wheat into his barn; but he will burn the chaff in a fire that never goes out.”
In many different ways John preached the Good News to the people and urged them to change their ways.
The Word of the Lord
Thanks be to God
Silence
The canticle that follows the silence after this Sunday’s second reading is a metrical paraphrase of the Song of Zechariah, also known as the Benedictus Dominus Deus. It is based upon a prophecy that Zechariah, a priest of the Temple at Jerusalem, and the father of John the Baptist, uttered on the day that his son was circumcised. Zechariah prophesized that his son would become a prophet who would get the Lord’s people ready for him. The prophesy is recorded in the Gospel of Luke which contains the most complete account of John the Baptist’s birth life, ministry, and death in the New Testament.
Before John was born, Zechariah and his wife Elizabeth had no children because Elizabeth could not have any. They also were both old. While Zechariah was burning incense on the altar of the Temple, the angel Gabriel appeared to him. Gabriel told Zechariah that he and his wife would have a son, and his name would be John. The name that Gabriel instructed Zechariah to give the child is significant. It means “gift of God” or “God is gracious.”
When Zechariah left the Temple, he was unable to speak. He did not regain his voice until the day that his son was circumcised. The friends and neighbors who had gathered for the circumcision wanted to name the boy after his father, but his mother objected, insisting that the baby was to be called John. They ignored her and asked Zechariah what name he would like the boy to have. He wrote that the baby’s name was to be John. At that moment Zechariah was able to speak again. He then uttered this prophesy—
"Let us praise the Lord, the God of Israel!
He has come to the help of his people and has set them free.
He has provided for us a mighty Savior,
a descendant of his servant David.
He promised through his holy prophets long ago
that he would save us from our enemies,
from the power of all those who hate us.
He said he would show mercy to our ancestors
and remember his sacred covenant.
With a solemn oath to our ancestor Abraham
he promised to rescue us from our enemies
and allow us to serve him without fear,
so that we might be holy and righteous before him
all the days of our life."
“You, my child, will be called a prophet of the Most High God.
You will go ahead of the Lord
to prepare his road for him,
to tell his people that they will be saved
by having their sins forgiven.
Our God is merciful and tender.
He will cause the bright dawn of salvation to rise on us
and to shine from heaven on all those who live in the dark shadow of death,
to guide our steps into the path of peace.”
In this Sunday’s third reading taken from Luke’s Gospel, we encounter John, grown to adulthood, and fulfilling the words of his father’s prophesy. He is going before the Lord and preparing his way. Crowds of people are coming to John to be baptized. He is causing quite a stir. People are wondering if John is the Messiah, God’s Anointed One, the descendant of King David, who was foretold by the prophets and who would deliver the people of Israel. After learning what they are thinking, John tells them—
“I baptize you with water, but someone is coming who is much greater than I am. I am not good enough even to untie his sandals. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. He has his winnowing shovel with him, to thresh out all the grain and gather the wheat into his barn; but he will burn the chaff in a fire that never goes out.”
Note that John is expecting the one who is coming will be coming as a judge. He will separate the wheat from the chaff, gather the wheat into his barn, and burn the chaff.
In ancient times wheat and barley were threshed with a flail, a tool consisting of a rod that hangs from a long handle. The flail was used to remove the kernel of wheat or barley from their heads by hitting them. This process also separated the kernels from their outer husk, or chaff. The kernels and the chaff were then tossed into the air with a winnowing shovel. The heavy kernels would fall to the ground and the chaff would blow away in the wind, eventually to settle near the edge of the threshing floor. Threshing floors were usually located in high, windy places for this reason. The threshed grain would be swept up and stored. The chaff also would be swept up, only to be burned.
John was right in two ways. The one for whom he was the forerunner would one day come as a judge, a belief that we affirm every Sunday when we recite the Apostles’ Creed. In John’s day, however, he came not as a judge but as a savior, not just as the deliverer of the descendants of the people of Israel, but as the redeemer of all humankind. He would indeed baptize with fire and the Holy Spirit. Flames appeared over the heads of those gathered in the upper room on the Feast of Pentecost when the Holy Spirit descended upon them as Jesus had promised.
As we learn from Luke’s sequel to his Gospel, the Acts of the Apostles, the Holy Spirit would be given to all who believed—to Jews, to Samaritans, and to Gentiles. Jesus’ promise of the gift of the Holy Spirit was a promise to all believers for all times. The Holy Spirit may not come to us with the sound of rushing wind and tongues of fire, and we may not speak in many languages as did those who gathered in the upper room, but the Holy Spirit comes to all who believe.
Since early times Christians have gathered in the morning and the evening to praise God and to offer prayer. These gatherings would evolve into what are called the cathedral or popular offices of Lauds ad Vespers. At these gatherings Christians would praise God with songs taken from Scripture, from the Book of Psalms, from the other Books of the Old Testament, from what Anglicans and Lutherans call the Apocrypha and Roman Catholics the Deuterocanonical Books, and from the New Testament. What would become a fixed element in the office of Lauds would be the singing of Zechariah’s prophetic words which came to be known as the Song of Zechariah, or Benedictus Dominus Deus, after the first three words of the song in Latin. In the ancient Gallican rite, the Song of Zechariah was sung as a song of praise at the beginning of the Holy Eucharist, the Holy Communion or Lord’ Supper service.
In recounting what God has done in the words of the Song of Zechariah, we not only praise God but also remind ourselves that our salvation has its roots in God’s compassion and mercy. It is an occasion for rejoicing and what better way to express our joy than through music and song (and as in the early Church, following precedence found in the Old Testament, even dance.)
The cathedral or popular office of Lauds and Vespers differed from what would become the daily offices with the rise of monasticism in the third century and its establishment in the fourth century. They consisted of a small, fixed selection of psalms and canticles, songs with words taken from the books of the Bible other than the Book of Psalms, chosen for their suitability for the time of day. Lauds and Vespers would be incorporated into the monastic cycle of daily offices, but they would no longer be services in which the larger Christian community participated. The monastic communities developed ways of singing the unmetrical texts of psalms and canticles which would evolve into Gregorian or plainsong chant and in the Church of England, Anglican or English chant. They would also sing the entire Book of Psalms in a week and some monastic communities, in a day.
During the Protestant Reformation in the sixteenth century in England, Germany, and other parts of Europe monastic communities were disbanded. In the Church of England and the Lutheran Churches the monastic daily offices were combined into two services, one in the morning and the other in the evening, services which members of the whole community were expected to attend. In the Church of England these services would be called Mattins and Evensong, what are now called Morning Prayer and Evening Prayer in modern-day Anglican service books. In cathedrals and college chapels, which had choirs of paid professional choristers, the psalms and canticles of these two services were sung to chant. In parish churches they would be recited, often back and forth by the vicar or curate and a parish clerk, a practice that did not do justice to these songs of the Bible.
The impulse to sing them, however, did not go away and metrical settings of these songs were written as well as other texts in The Book of Common Prayer—the Ten Commandments, the Lord’s Prayer, the Apostles’ Creed and the Quicunque Vult, or Athanasian Creed. These were “lined out” with the parish clerk singing a verse and the congregation repeating a verse and so on. Organs were found only in cathedrals and college chapels and these metrical paraphrases were sung unaccompanied.
Crowds of people came out to John to be baptized by him. “You snakes!” he said to them. “Who told you that you could escape from the punishment God is about to send? Do those things that will show that you have turned from your sins. And don't start saying among yourselves that Abraham is your ancestor. I tell you that God can take these rocks and make descendants for Abraham! The ax is ready to cut down the trees at the roots; every tree that does not bear good fruit will be cut down and thrown in the fire.”
The people asked him, “What are we to do, then?”
He answered, “Whoever has two shirts must give one to the man who has none, and whoever has food must share it.”
Some tax collectors came to be baptized, and they asked him, “Teacher, what are we to do?”
“Don't collect more than is legal,” he told them.
Some soldiers also asked him, “What about us? What are we to do?”
He said to them, “Don't take money from anyone by force or accuse anyone falsely. Be content with your pay.”
People's hopes began to rise, and they began to wonder whether John perhaps might be the Messiah. So John said to all of them, “I baptize you with water, but someone is coming who is much greater than I am. I am not good enough even to untie his sandals. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. He has his winnowing shovel with him, to thresh out all the grain and gather the wheat into his barn; but he will burn the chaff in a fire that never goes out.”
In many different ways John preached the Good News to the people and urged them to change their ways.
The Word of the Lord
Thanks be to God
Silence
“Prepare the way of the Lord….”
The canticle that follows the silence after this Sunday’s second reading is a metrical paraphrase of the Song of Zechariah, also known as the Benedictus Dominus Deus. It is based upon a prophecy that Zechariah, a priest of the Temple at Jerusalem, and the father of John the Baptist, uttered on the day that his son was circumcised. Zechariah prophesized that his son would become a prophet who would get the Lord’s people ready for him. The prophesy is recorded in the Gospel of Luke which contains the most complete account of John the Baptist’s birth life, ministry, and death in the New Testament.
Before John was born, Zechariah and his wife Elizabeth had no children because Elizabeth could not have any. They also were both old. While Zechariah was burning incense on the altar of the Temple, the angel Gabriel appeared to him. Gabriel told Zechariah that he and his wife would have a son, and his name would be John. The name that Gabriel instructed Zechariah to give the child is significant. It means “gift of God” or “God is gracious.”
When Zechariah left the Temple, he was unable to speak. He did not regain his voice until the day that his son was circumcised. The friends and neighbors who had gathered for the circumcision wanted to name the boy after his father, but his mother objected, insisting that the baby was to be called John. They ignored her and asked Zechariah what name he would like the boy to have. He wrote that the baby’s name was to be John. At that moment Zechariah was able to speak again. He then uttered this prophesy—
"Let us praise the Lord, the God of Israel!
He has come to the help of his people and has set them free.
He has provided for us a mighty Savior,
a descendant of his servant David.
He promised through his holy prophets long ago
that he would save us from our enemies,
from the power of all those who hate us.
He said he would show mercy to our ancestors
and remember his sacred covenant.
With a solemn oath to our ancestor Abraham
he promised to rescue us from our enemies
and allow us to serve him without fear,
so that we might be holy and righteous before him
all the days of our life."
“You, my child, will be called a prophet of the Most High God.
You will go ahead of the Lord
to prepare his road for him,
to tell his people that they will be saved
by having their sins forgiven.
Our God is merciful and tender.
He will cause the bright dawn of salvation to rise on us
and to shine from heaven on all those who live in the dark shadow of death,
to guide our steps into the path of peace.”
In this Sunday’s third reading taken from Luke’s Gospel, we encounter John, grown to adulthood, and fulfilling the words of his father’s prophesy. He is going before the Lord and preparing his way. Crowds of people are coming to John to be baptized. He is causing quite a stir. People are wondering if John is the Messiah, God’s Anointed One, the descendant of King David, who was foretold by the prophets and who would deliver the people of Israel. After learning what they are thinking, John tells them—
“I baptize you with water, but someone is coming who is much greater than I am. I am not good enough even to untie his sandals. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. He has his winnowing shovel with him, to thresh out all the grain and gather the wheat into his barn; but he will burn the chaff in a fire that never goes out.”
Note that John is expecting the one who is coming will be coming as a judge. He will separate the wheat from the chaff, gather the wheat into his barn, and burn the chaff.
In ancient times wheat and barley were threshed with a flail, a tool consisting of a rod that hangs from a long handle. The flail was used to remove the kernel of wheat or barley from their heads by hitting them. This process also separated the kernels from their outer husk, or chaff. The kernels and the chaff were then tossed into the air with a winnowing shovel. The heavy kernels would fall to the ground and the chaff would blow away in the wind, eventually to settle near the edge of the threshing floor. Threshing floors were usually located in high, windy places for this reason. The threshed grain would be swept up and stored. The chaff also would be swept up, only to be burned.
John was right in two ways. The one for whom he was the forerunner would one day come as a judge, a belief that we affirm every Sunday when we recite the Apostles’ Creed. In John’s day, however, he came not as a judge but as a savior, not just as the deliverer of the descendants of the people of Israel, but as the redeemer of all humankind. He would indeed baptize with fire and the Holy Spirit. Flames appeared over the heads of those gathered in the upper room on the Feast of Pentecost when the Holy Spirit descended upon them as Jesus had promised.
As we learn from Luke’s sequel to his Gospel, the Acts of the Apostles, the Holy Spirit would be given to all who believed—to Jews, to Samaritans, and to Gentiles. Jesus’ promise of the gift of the Holy Spirit was a promise to all believers for all times. The Holy Spirit may not come to us with the sound of rushing wind and tongues of fire, and we may not speak in many languages as did those who gathered in the upper room, but the Holy Spirit comes to all who believe.
Since early times Christians have gathered in the morning and the evening to praise God and to offer prayer. These gatherings would evolve into what are called the cathedral or popular offices of Lauds ad Vespers. At these gatherings Christians would praise God with songs taken from Scripture, from the Book of Psalms, from the other Books of the Old Testament, from what Anglicans and Lutherans call the Apocrypha and Roman Catholics the Deuterocanonical Books, and from the New Testament. What would become a fixed element in the office of Lauds would be the singing of Zechariah’s prophetic words which came to be known as the Song of Zechariah, or Benedictus Dominus Deus, after the first three words of the song in Latin. In the ancient Gallican rite, the Song of Zechariah was sung as a song of praise at the beginning of the Holy Eucharist, the Holy Communion or Lord’ Supper service.
In recounting what God has done in the words of the Song of Zechariah, we not only praise God but also remind ourselves that our salvation has its roots in God’s compassion and mercy. It is an occasion for rejoicing and what better way to express our joy than through music and song (and as in the early Church, following precedence found in the Old Testament, even dance.)
The cathedral or popular office of Lauds and Vespers differed from what would become the daily offices with the rise of monasticism in the third century and its establishment in the fourth century. They consisted of a small, fixed selection of psalms and canticles, songs with words taken from the books of the Bible other than the Book of Psalms, chosen for their suitability for the time of day. Lauds and Vespers would be incorporated into the monastic cycle of daily offices, but they would no longer be services in which the larger Christian community participated. The monastic communities developed ways of singing the unmetrical texts of psalms and canticles which would evolve into Gregorian or plainsong chant and in the Church of England, Anglican or English chant. They would also sing the entire Book of Psalms in a week and some monastic communities, in a day.
During the Protestant Reformation in the sixteenth century in England, Germany, and other parts of Europe monastic communities were disbanded. In the Church of England and the Lutheran Churches the monastic daily offices were combined into two services, one in the morning and the other in the evening, services which members of the whole community were expected to attend. In the Church of England these services would be called Mattins and Evensong, what are now called Morning Prayer and Evening Prayer in modern-day Anglican service books. In cathedrals and college chapels, which had choirs of paid professional choristers, the psalms and canticles of these two services were sung to chant. In parish churches they would be recited, often back and forth by the vicar or curate and a parish clerk, a practice that did not do justice to these songs of the Bible.
The impulse to sing them, however, did not go away and metrical settings of these songs were written as well as other texts in The Book of Common Prayer—the Ten Commandments, the Lord’s Prayer, the Apostles’ Creed and the Quicunque Vult, or Athanasian Creed. These were “lined out” with the parish clerk singing a verse and the congregation repeating a verse and so on. Organs were found only in cathedrals and college chapels and these metrical paraphrases were sung unaccompanied.
By the nineteenth century the hymns of Isaac Watts, John Newton, John and Charles Wesley and few other hymn writers had been added to the repertoire of a typical parish congregation. The congregational singing was by then led by the village singers and accompanied by the village musicians playing string and wind instruments, the two groups standing in the west gallery above the heads of the congregation. It was at the beginning of the nineteenth century that organs, vested choirs, and cathedral music began appearing in parish churches, and in a number of parishes led to a decline in congregational singing.
In the twentieth century it became evident that many congregations did not have the acoustical environment or the musical leadership to sing the psalms and canticles to Gregorian or Anglican chant, or they had large numbers of children who were unable to chant. Provision was made in a new generation of service books for the use of metrical paraphrases and other forms of psalms and canticles. There was also an explosion in writing metrical paraphrases and other forms of these Bible songs and in composing tunes to which they could be sung.
In the twentieth century it became evident that many congregations did not have the acoustical environment or the musical leadership to sing the psalms and canticles to Gregorian or Anglican chant, or they had large numbers of children who were unable to chant. Provision was made in a new generation of service books for the use of metrical paraphrases and other forms of psalms and canticles. There was also an explosion in writing metrical paraphrases and other forms of these Bible songs and in composing tunes to which they could be sung.
“Blessed Be the God of Israel,” written by Episcopal priest and hymn writer, Carl P. Daw, Jr., is one of them, and in this Sunday’s service sung to FOREST GREEN, an English folk tune, turned by Ralph Vaugn Wiliams into a hymn tune, is one of them. FOREST GREEN is one of the tunes of “Little Town of Bethlehem” and the tune of “I Sing the Almighty Power of God” in The Hymnal 1982. For a sample of other metrical paraphrases of this canticle, see the Crosier Fathers and Brothers ’ Canticle of Zechariah.
Metrical paraphrases like the Rev. Daw’s enable Christians and those exploring the Christian faith and way of life to join with previous generations of Christians in praising God in the words of this canticle, recalling how God was present in Jesus, reconciling humanity to himself, how he sent a messenger before Jesus to prepare his way. It is a song of rejoicing that can be sung during the week as well as on Sundays.
One final thought. God did not stop sending messengers to prepare the way for Jesus with John the Baptist. God has given that task to his Church. We called to prepare the way for Jesus into the hearts and minds of those who do not yet know him, through both our words and our actions. Jesus on two occasions sent out his disciples ahead of him, first the twelve and then the seventy two. We may not have to go into the desert and eat locusts and honey like John. As God’s messengers we do, however, need to go outside the walls of our church building and met people where they are. If our circumstances prevent us from doing that such as being homebound, there are still ways that we can be messengers. We can chat with someone on the phone or Zoom. Give it some thought. Pray about it. Ask the Holy Spirit to show you what to do.
Silence
I believe in God, the Father almighty,
creator of heaven and earth.
I believe in Jesus Christ, God’s only Son, our Lord,
who was conceived by the Holy Spirit,
born of the Virgin Mary,
suffered under Pontius Pilate,
was crucified, died and was buried;
he descended to the dead.
On the third day he rose again;
he ascended into heaven,
he is seated at the right hand of the Father,
and he will come again to judge the living and the dead.
I believe in the Holy Spirit,
the holy catholic Church,
the communion of saints,
the forgiveness of sins,
the resurrection of the body,
and the life everlasting. Amen.
THE MINISTRY OF PRAYER
The Lord be with you
and also with you.
Let us pray.
Our Father, who art in heaven,
hallowed be thy name,
thy kingdom come,
thy will be done,
on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread.
And forgive us our trespasses
as we forgive those who trespass against us.
And lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from evil.
For thine is the kingdom, the power, and the glory,
for ever and ever. Amen.
Show us your mercy, O Lord;
And grant us your salvation.
Clothe your ministers with righteousness;
Let your people sing with joy.
Give peace, O Lord, in all the world;
For only in you can we live in safety.
Lord, keep this nation under your care;
And guide us in the way of justice and truth.
Let your way be known upon earth;
Your saving health among all nations.
Let not the needy, O Lord, be forgotten;
Nor the hope of the poor be taken away.
Create in us clean hearts, O God;
And sustain us with your Holy Spirit.
Stir up your power, O Lord, and with great might come
among us; and, because we are sorely hindered by our sins,
let your bountiful grace and mercy speedily help and deliver
us; through Jesus Christ our Lord, to whom, with you and
the Holy Spirit, be honor and glory, now and for ever. Amen.
O God, you make us glad with the weekly remembrance of
the glorious resurrection of your Son our Lord: Give us this
day such blessing through our worship of you, that the week
to come may be spent in your favor; through Jesus Christ our
Lord. Amen.
Open this link in a new tab to hear Gracia Grindal’s “The Desert Shall Rejoice.”
1 The desert shall rejoice
and blossom as a rose:
it shall blossom abundantly
and rejoice with praise and singing.
2 The desert shall rejoice
and blossom as a rose,
for the ears of the deaf shall hear
and the blind, their eyes be opened.
3 The desert shall rejoice
and blossom as a rose,
for the tongue of the mute shall sing
and the lame will dance with gladness.
4 The desert shall rejoice
and blossom as a rose,
for the ground will become a pool
and the dry land springs of water.
5 The desert shall rejoice
and blossom as a rose,
as the ransomed return to God
and come singing back to Zion.
6 The desert shall rejoice
and blossom as a rose,
unto Zion we come with joy,
for our God has come to save us.
Let us pray for the Church and for the world.
Grant, Almighty God, that all who confess your Name may
be united in your truth, live together in your love, and reveal
your glory in the world.
Silence
Lord, in your mercy
Hear our prayer.
Guide the people of this land, and of all the nations, in the
ways of justice and peace; that we may honor one another
and serve the common good.
Silence
Lord, in your mercy
Hear our prayer.
Give us all a reverence for the earth as your own creation,
that we may use its resources rightly in the service of others
and to your honor and glory.
Silence
Lord, in your mercy
Hear our prayer.
Bless all whose lives are closely linked with ours, and grant
that we may serve Christ in them, and love one another as he
loves us.
Silence
Lord, in your mercy
Hear our prayer.
Comfort and heal all those who suffer in body, mind, or
spirit; give them courage and hope in their troubles, and
bring them the joy of your salvation.
Silence
Lord, in your mercy
Hear our prayer.
We commend to your mercy all who have died, that your will
for them may be fulfilled; and we pray that we may share
with all your saints in your eternal kingdom.
Silence
Lord, in your mercy
Hear our prayer.
Almighty and eternal God, ruler of all things in heaven and
earth: Mercifully accept the prayers of your people, and
strengthen us to do your will; through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Amen.
THE SENDING FORTH OF GOD’S PEOPLE
Let us bless the Lord.
Thanks be to God.
The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and
the fellowship of the Holy Spirit, be with us all evermore.
Amen. 2 Corinthians 13:14
Metrical paraphrases like the Rev. Daw’s enable Christians and those exploring the Christian faith and way of life to join with previous generations of Christians in praising God in the words of this canticle, recalling how God was present in Jesus, reconciling humanity to himself, how he sent a messenger before Jesus to prepare his way. It is a song of rejoicing that can be sung during the week as well as on Sundays.
One final thought. God did not stop sending messengers to prepare the way for Jesus with John the Baptist. God has given that task to his Church. We called to prepare the way for Jesus into the hearts and minds of those who do not yet know him, through both our words and our actions. Jesus on two occasions sent out his disciples ahead of him, first the twelve and then the seventy two. We may not have to go into the desert and eat locusts and honey like John. As God’s messengers we do, however, need to go outside the walls of our church building and met people where they are. If our circumstances prevent us from doing that such as being homebound, there are still ways that we can be messengers. We can chat with someone on the phone or Zoom. Give it some thought. Pray about it. Ask the Holy Spirit to show you what to do.
Silence
I believe in God, the Father almighty,
creator of heaven and earth.
I believe in Jesus Christ, God’s only Son, our Lord,
who was conceived by the Holy Spirit,
born of the Virgin Mary,
suffered under Pontius Pilate,
was crucified, died and was buried;
he descended to the dead.
On the third day he rose again;
he ascended into heaven,
he is seated at the right hand of the Father,
and he will come again to judge the living and the dead.
I believe in the Holy Spirit,
the holy catholic Church,
the communion of saints,
the forgiveness of sins,
the resurrection of the body,
and the life everlasting. Amen.
THE MINISTRY OF PRAYER
The Lord be with you
and also with you.
Let us pray.
Our Father, who art in heaven,
hallowed be thy name,
thy kingdom come,
thy will be done,
on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread.
And forgive us our trespasses
as we forgive those who trespass against us.
And lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from evil.
For thine is the kingdom, the power, and the glory,
for ever and ever. Amen.
Show us your mercy, O Lord;
And grant us your salvation.
Clothe your ministers with righteousness;
Let your people sing with joy.
Give peace, O Lord, in all the world;
For only in you can we live in safety.
Lord, keep this nation under your care;
And guide us in the way of justice and truth.
Let your way be known upon earth;
Your saving health among all nations.
Let not the needy, O Lord, be forgotten;
Nor the hope of the poor be taken away.
Create in us clean hearts, O God;
And sustain us with your Holy Spirit.
Stir up your power, O Lord, and with great might come
among us; and, because we are sorely hindered by our sins,
let your bountiful grace and mercy speedily help and deliver
us; through Jesus Christ our Lord, to whom, with you and
the Holy Spirit, be honor and glory, now and for ever. Amen.
O God, you make us glad with the weekly remembrance of
the glorious resurrection of your Son our Lord: Give us this
day such blessing through our worship of you, that the week
to come may be spent in your favor; through Jesus Christ our
Lord. Amen.
Open this link in a new tab to hear Gracia Grindal’s “The Desert Shall Rejoice.”
1 The desert shall rejoice
and blossom as a rose:
it shall blossom abundantly
and rejoice with praise and singing.
2 The desert shall rejoice
and blossom as a rose,
for the ears of the deaf shall hear
and the blind, their eyes be opened.
3 The desert shall rejoice
and blossom as a rose,
for the tongue of the mute shall sing
and the lame will dance with gladness.
4 The desert shall rejoice
and blossom as a rose,
for the ground will become a pool
and the dry land springs of water.
5 The desert shall rejoice
and blossom as a rose,
as the ransomed return to God
and come singing back to Zion.
6 The desert shall rejoice
and blossom as a rose,
unto Zion we come with joy,
for our God has come to save us.
Let us pray for the Church and for the world.
Grant, Almighty God, that all who confess your Name may
be united in your truth, live together in your love, and reveal
your glory in the world.
Silence
Lord, in your mercy
Hear our prayer.
Guide the people of this land, and of all the nations, in the
ways of justice and peace; that we may honor one another
and serve the common good.
Silence
Lord, in your mercy
Hear our prayer.
Give us all a reverence for the earth as your own creation,
that we may use its resources rightly in the service of others
and to your honor and glory.
Silence
Lord, in your mercy
Hear our prayer.
Bless all whose lives are closely linked with ours, and grant
that we may serve Christ in them, and love one another as he
loves us.
Silence
Lord, in your mercy
Hear our prayer.
Comfort and heal all those who suffer in body, mind, or
spirit; give them courage and hope in their troubles, and
bring them the joy of your salvation.
Silence
Lord, in your mercy
Hear our prayer.
We commend to your mercy all who have died, that your will
for them may be fulfilled; and we pray that we may share
with all your saints in your eternal kingdom.
Silence
Lord, in your mercy
Hear our prayer.
Almighty and eternal God, ruler of all things in heaven and
earth: Mercifully accept the prayers of your people, and
strengthen us to do your will; through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Amen.
THE SENDING FORTH OF GOD’S PEOPLE
Let us bless the Lord.
Thanks be to God.
The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and
the fellowship of the Holy Spirit, be with us all evermore.
Amen. 2 Corinthians 13:14
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