Rev. Valerie's Reveille

Did you know that there are six verses to Silent Night ? Most of us are familiar with the first three verses, which are beautiful and memorable, but there is more to this gift given to us by Joseph Mohr, who wrote these lyrics in 1818. (My changes to the lyrics are indicated by [ ].) 4. Silent Night, Holy Night Here at last, healing light From the heavenly kingdom sent, Abundant grace for our intent. Jesus, salvation for all. Jesus, salvation for all. 5. Silent Night! Holy Night Sleeps the world in peace tonight. God sends [the] Son to earth below A Child from whom all blessings flow Jesus, embraces [hu]mankind. Jesus, embraces [hu]mankind. 6. Silent Night, Holy Night Mindful of [our mortal] plight The Lord in Heav'n on high decreed From earthly woes we would be freed Jesus, God's promise for peace. Jesus, God's promise for peace. As I read/sing through these lyrics, I am struck by a couple of images this year.  The first is the image of Jesus as our...

There are two Sundays in the Church calendar when the liturgical color of choice is pink.  One is Gaudete Sunday, or the third Sunday of Advent; the other is Laetare Sunday, or the fourth Sunday of Lent.  Both seasons of Advent and Lent are penitential in nature, although Lent is more austere, and these Sundays offer a bit of a reprieve.  Gaudete and laetare both mean “rejoice” in Latin and the names for the Sundays are taken from the Latin wording of the introits used during worship.  While Anglican worship has never been in Latin, we acknowledge the tradition and see it reflected in our lectionary: “Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances .” (1 Thessalonians 5:16) And while most churches do not have pink altar appointments (I do know of a church that actually has two sets!), we do have a pink candle on our Advent wreath that we light as a way to commemorate the day. While the liturgical lesson is interesting, the reality of living ...

I always find it a little odd that the Sunday lectionary for Year B has us start the Gospel of Mark in chapter 13 on Advent 1 and then go back to chapter 1, verse 1 on Advent 2.  Even though it seems out of order from a literary point of view, theologically it makes sense as we have Jesus giving us a vision of the kingdom of God that will be established for ever more, and then we have John the Baptist inviting us into that kingdom through faithful commitment and repentance of sins.  Even while we are in the sacred and secular confluence of waiting for Christ(mas), we recognize in these readings that both John and Jesus were focused less on the Christ then on God and God’s work in the world.  As Christians, we understand the message and actions of God most directly and vividly through the work and words of Jesus, but he himself was not about self-promotion.  Jesus himself might even be a bit embarrassed by all the hubbub made about his birth (even though it is mo...