Jesu, Joy of Man's Desiring

In the spring of this year, the son of one of our longtime friends got engaged.  More recently, his bride-to-be was discussing wedding music on her Facebook page.  That got me reminiscing about my wedding music.  This was my processional.  I had a choir of friends sing the hymn while I walked up the aisle.

Jesu, joy of man's desiring,
Holy wisdom, love most bright;
Drawn by Thee, our souls aspiring
Soar to uncreated light.

Word of God, our flesh that fashioned,
With the fire of life impassioned,
Striving still to truth unknown,
Soaring, dying round Thy throne.

Through the way where hope is guiding,
Hark, what peaceful music rings;
Where the flock, in Thee confiding,
Drink of joy from deathless springs.

Theirs is beauty's fairest pleasure.
Theirs is wisdom's holiest treasure.
Thou dost ever lead Thine own
In the love of joys unknown.

After some quick research, I discovered that the commonly used words to this hymn were actually based on a poem written by Robert Bridges and inspired by a hymn by Johann Schop written in 1642 whose lyrics were, in turn, composed in 1661 by Martin Jahn.  The original German words, translated into English, actually read like this:

Well for me that I have Jesus,
O how strong I hold to him
That he might refresh my heart,
When sick and sad am I.
Jesus have I, who loves me
And gives to me his own,
Ah, therefore I will not leave Jesus,
When I feel my heart is breaking.

Jesus remains my joy,
My heart's comfort and essence,
Jesus resists all suffering,
He is my life's strength
My eye's desire and sun,
My soul's love and joy;
So will I not leave Jesus
Out of heart and face.

The opening stanzas of Mr. Jahn's hymn read as follows:

Jesus, my refuge and deliverer,
Jesus, the ground of my confidence,
Jesus, mighty trampler of the serpent,
Jesus, light of my life!
How my heart longs for you,
Dear Jesus, painfully!
Come, ah come, I wait for you,
Come, O dearest Jesus!

Jesus, delight of my soul,
Jesus, my best pleasure,
Jesus, my sun of joy,
Jesus, it is well known to you
How I love you from my heart
And am distressed without you.
Therefore O Jesus come to me
And stay with me forever and ever.

Whichever words are used, it is clear to me that the focus of the song is Christ and who better to focus on, especially at Christmas.

Jesus Christ, the Apple Tree

This was an exciting discovery for me today, especially since this time of year I put red apples on my Christmas tree alongside holly --- a symbol of the crown of thorns worn by Christ at His Crucifixion --- and ivy --- a symbol of the Trinity.  The piece is performed by the Wartburg College Choir.  Wartburg College is a Lutheran institution located in Waverly, Iowa.

Lyrics
The tree of life my soul hath seen,
Laden with fruit and always green.
The trees of nature fruitless be
Compared with Christ, the apple tree.

His beauty doth all things excel,
By faith I know but ne'er can tell.
The glory, which I now can see
In Jesus Christ, the apple tree.

For happiness I long have sought
And pleasure dearly I have bought.
I missed of all but now I see,
'Tis found in Christ, the apple tree.

This fruit doth make my soul to thrive.
It keeps my dying faith alive,
Which makes my soul in haste to be
With Jesus Christ, the apple tree.

I'm weary with my former toil.
Here I will sit and rest a while,
Under the shadow I will be
Of Jesus Christ, the apple tree.

Are You Smarter Than An Atheist?

This evening, I noticed that some of my Facebook friends were taking a religious quiz over at the Christian Science Monitor:  "Are you smarter than an atheist?"  One of my daughter's friends got a perfect score, 32 out of 32!  I didn't do so well.  I got 30 out of 32.  I missed a question on nirvana and one on Maimonides.  I guess I'm not as clever as I thought.  I did do better than average for an American Protestant, though.  Apparently, they average only 16 out of 32 correct.

Here is the test lead in from the Christian Science Monitor website:

Atheists and agnostics, Jews and Mormons are among the highest-scoring groups in a 32-question survey of religious knowledge by the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life.  On average, Americans got 16 of the 32 questions correct.  Atheists and agnostics got an average of 20.9 correct answers.  Jews (20.5) and Mormons (20.3).  Protestants got 16 correct answers on average, while Catholics got 14.7 questions right.

Frankly, I am a bit disappointed that my fellow Protestants didn't do better.  50% (16/32) is usually considered a failing grade (at least it was when I was in school).  Let's see if we can improve that average, shall we?  Take the quiz!

For a full report on the test findings, click here.

Physical and Financial Needs

Scripture:  1 Corinthians 1:3-9

Are your physical and financial needs sufficiently addressed?  Notice I said needs, not wants.  My physical and financial needs are fine.  At the moment, I have enough money to pay my bills, heat my house, and feed my family (the latter even includes the more-than-occasional trip to a favorite local restaurant).  I certainly cannot complain.  I do not, however, have enough cash on hand to buy a Wii or spend several hundred dollars on Christmas gifts this year.  In fact, my family made the decision to cut back substantially on gift-giving for 2011;  only one gift per person for the adult and, maybe, two for the kids.  Yes, the bottom of the tree will look pretty sparse, but that is ok.  We have some other long-term goals that are prioritized ahead of an opulent, abundant Christmas.

When finances get tight or our own financial priorities dictate a more modest observance of Christmas than what the advertising world seems to tell us is necessary for peace, joy, and happiness, it is helpful to remember that God Himself is familiar with lack.  Why?  Because He Himself experienced poverty in the person of Jesus Christ.  He was born in a stable.  He didn't live in a fine castle with clothes of fine fabric bedecked with expensive jewels.  His earthly father was a carpenter;  His mother didn't work outside the home.  As an adult, He didn't have a permanent home.  He stayed with friends or sought shelter wherever He could while traveling with the disciples.  Yet, God the Father always provided for the needs of God the Son.  God will provide for our needs as well.  In fact, He already has.

The Scripture passage for today outlines what has been given to us as children of God:

- grace in Christ
- speech and knowledge of every kind
- spiritual gifts
- strength to live in Christ
- fellowship with Christ

...because of the grace of God that has been given you in Christ Jesus, for in every way you have been enriched in him, in speech adn knowledge of every kind --- just as the testimony of Christ has been strengthened among you --- so that you are not lacking in any spiritual gift as you wait for the revealingof our Lord Jesus Christ.  He will also strengthn you to the end, so that you may be blameless on the day of our Lord Jesus Christ.  God is faithful;  by him you were called into the fellowship of his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord. --- 1 Corinthians 1:4-9 (NRSV)

How do we know that we have these gifts?  Because God is faithful, and because He has been faithful to give us these gifts, how much more will He see to it that our financial needs are met as well.  Notice I said needs, not wants.

May God transform both your finances and your attitudes about your finances this Christmas, bringing you peace as you wait for the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.

A Scottish folk tune about God's provision.

Sibling Relationships

Scripture:  John 1:29-42

So, how are your sibling relationships?  My relationship with my sister hasn't always been smooth sailing.  We were born almost two years apart, have never been extraordinarily close, and are as different as night and day.  She is impulsive;  I am a schedule junky.  She is a hands-on learner;  I like learning from books.  She went to vocational school after high school;  I attended college and spent some time in graduate school.  We certainly don't have the kind of relationship that Andrew and Peter seem to have as illustrated in the first chapter of John, working and worshiping together.

Thus far in my Advent devotionals, the common theme has been transformation:

- Day 1:  Christmas can be transformed.
- Day 2:  A transformed Christmas is about Christ.  God prepares our hearts for transformation.
- Day 3:  The key to a transformed Christmas is salvation through faith in Jesus Christ.

Today, the discussion turned away from the preparation for transformation toward the work of transformation.  The author chose to start with sibling relationships, using as an illustration Andrew and Peter, disciples who were biologically brothers in addition to being brothers in Christ.  In the Gospel of John, Andrew was, at first, a disciple of John the Baptist until John identified Jesus as the Lamb of God.  Then Andrew sought out and was called by Christ.  Excited that he had found the Messiah, Andrew ran to fetch his brother and brought him to meet the Lord.

From what little we are told in this passage (I.e., the brothers work together, meet the Lord together, etc.), we can surmise that Andrew and Peter had a loving relationship that was open enough that they shared much of their life experience with each other.  Using our own life experiences as a guide, we can speculate that such a relationship must have included a certain amount of peacefulness.  Unfortunately, this isn't always true amongst siblings.  Sometimes, the best we can hope for is a truce during the holidays;  sometimes even that is impossible.

So who can transform a broken sibling relationship?  Certainly, we can work at ti by being patient and polite but, ultimately, God needs to heal the breech.  He does that through His Son, Jesus Christ.  Just as He healed the broken relationship between God and us by dying on the cross, Jesus can heal our severed sibling relationships, too.  How?  When we, by faith, believe that Christ is the Messiah, that His sacrificial death was for us personally, and that through His death we receive forgiveness of all our sins, we are transformed.  As new creations in Christ, we can then extend that same forgiving love toward our siblings.

May the Lord work to transform your brother/sister relationships this year, restoring and improving them where need be.

To read today's devotional, click here.

God is Determined

Scripture:  Isaiah 64:5-9

So, how is determination related to this passage from Isaiah?  The verses are part of a subsection (chapters 63-64) that recalls the mercy of God, the confession of sin by His people, and their appeal for pardon and restoration.  Specifically, verses 5-9 read as follows in the New Living Translation:

You welcome those who gladly do good, who follow godly ways.
But you have been very angry with us, for we are not godly.
We are constant sinners;  how can people like us be saved?

We are all infected and impure with sin.
When we display our righteous deeds, they are nothing but filthy rags.
Like autumn leaves, we wither and fall, and our sins sweep us away like the wind.

Yet no one calls on your name or pleads with you for mercy.
Therefore, you have turned away from us and turned us over to our sins.

And yet, O Lord, you are our Father.
We are the clay, and you are the potter.
We all are formed by your hand.

Don't be so angry with us, Lord.
Please don't remember our sins forever.
Look at us, we pray, and see that we are all your people.

Obviously, these verses contain much evidence of our need for salvation:

- we are constant sinners
- we are all infected with sin
- no one calls on God

...and asks directly the obvious question:  how can we be saved?  The obvious answer:  by God.  Nothing in these verses speaks of how we can save ourselves, which is where the determination comes in.  No matter how determined we may be (as determined as, say, a Black Friday shopper in search of a good deal), we are powerless to save ourselves.  That can only be accomplished by the Christ child of Christmas, who becomes the sacrificial Lamb of Easter that suffers and dies for our transgressions.

Let God transform you through the sacrificial death and resurrection of His Son, Jesus Christ.  Put your faith in Him and you will be saved.

To read today's devotional, click here.

Let God Do the Work

Scripture:  Isaiah 64:1a

So, when was Christmas "easy?"  The author of my Advent devotional nails that answer on the head:  when we were kids and we didn't do any of the prep work.  Isn't that true?  Isn't it always easier when someone else does all the work and all we have to do is show up?  And how many times do we complain even about the effort it takes to do that?

Christmas can be a lot of work, depending on how much we choose to include in our celebration.  For example, I like to decorate the house, send out greeting cards, make delicious (and wonderfully decorated) cookies, tag a tree the day after Thanksgiving, erect that tree ten days before Christmas so it is still very fresh when decorated with my antique ornaments, yada, yada, yada.  Notice I said that is what I like to do.  What actually gets accomplished is another story.

For the past several years, I have only managed to finish the Christmas tree and that not very well.  Two years ago, I had to give up the fresh tree altogether due to allergies and the fact that my husband wasn't all that keen on wrestling with a tree anymore.  Now, I have a beautiful, pre-lit, artificial one from Balsam Hill.  I haven't sent greeting cards for years, either.  In fact, it has been so long since some of my friends and family have heard from me at Christmas that they probably think I died.  My beautifully appointed cookies have gone by the wayside, too.  A busy Christmas music performance schedule (and lack of freezer space) worked to eliminate them from the list of holiday activities.

Do I miss all those things?  Sure.  But they aren't the heart of Christmas preparations.  Why?  Because they don't prepare the heart for Christmas, whether for the commemoration of the first coming of our Savior, or for the anticipated second coming of our Lord, whenever that might be.  Only God can accomplish such preparation and He does so by calling us into a state of repentance.  Frederick Buechner and Luther describe it this way:

To repent is to come to your senses.  It is not so much something you do as something that happens.  True repentance spends less time looking at the past and saying, "I'm sorry," than to the future and saying, "Wow!" --- Frederick Buechner

God created the world out of nothing.  As long as I am not yet nothing, God cannot make something out of me. --- Martin Luther

The scripture passage for today is part of a prayer of repentance (or penitence).  The prayer actually begins in Isaiah, chapter 63 and continues into chapter 64.  The prophet Isaiah is asking God to look down from Heaven and make note of the wretched state of His people.  Isaiah reminds God that He is their Father and their Redeemer, and confesses that the people have turned away from Him.  He pleads with God to remember that they are His, ostensibly so He can again restore them.

Allow God to restore you this Christmas;  allow Him to do the work.  It may make for an easier holiday, one filled with wonder like then you were a kid.

To read today's devotional, click here.

Same Old, Same Old?

Scripture:  Psalm 80:1-7

So, what is "the same old Christmas?"  According to my Advent devotional from Lutheran Hour Ministries, it is holding expectations of the perfect Christmas, only to have them dashed by the reality of the Christmas that unfolds in your life.

Are you hoping for the perfect, fairy-tale Christmas this year?  You know, it's the kind with award-winning decorations inside and outside your house, family gatherings and parties filled with laughter, everyone excited about your presents and keeping your budget from sinking in the process.

Odds are the next 28 days aren't going to run smoothly.  There never seems to be enough money;  gatherings and parities often have more tension than laughter;  and those presents your kids wanted on December 7 aren't always the same ones they want on December 24!

So, does the "perfect" Christmas exist?  Is it even possible?  Can we avoid the problems that arise in trying to "pull off" the perfect holiday?  I don't think so, at least not this side of Heaven.  We live in a fallen world, which means every Christmas will be fallen in some way, especially if we focus on temporal, earthly things like imaginatively wrapped presents, a beautifully set dining table, or a gorgeously decorated home.  Arguably, those things will all make Christmas look great, but is that the heart of the holiday, or "holy day?"  No.  Jesus is the heart, the center, the life-blood, if you will.

The scripture passage for today is a prayer, a calling out to God for restoration.  Three times, the Psalmist asks God to act and to save:

Restore us, O God;  let your face shine, that we may be saved. (verse 3)
Restore us, O God of hosts;  let your face shine, that we may be saved. (verse 7)
Restore us, O Lord God of hosts;  let your face shine, that we may be saved. (verse 19)

Maybe that is the embodiment of the "perfect" Christmas:  restoration?  To be brought back, transformed?

Yet, even now, says the Lord, return to me with all your heart, with fasting, with weeping, and with mourning;  rend your hearts and not your clothing.  Return to the Lord, your God, for He is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love, and relents from punishing. --- Joel 2:12-13 (NRSV)

May God transform you and your Christmas this year.

To read today's devotional, click here.

First Sunday in Advent

This morning, while I was studying my service bulletin before church, I noticed the Collect (or prayer) for the day:

Stir up our hearts, O Lord, to prepare the way of Your only Son that, at His second coming, we may worship Him in glory for all eternity.  He lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.  Amen.

That is a bit different than the traditional wording from the Book of Common Prayer, 1549:

Stir up, we beseech thee, O Lord, the wills of thy people;  that they, plenteously bringing forth the fruit of good works, may of thee be plenteously rewarded;  through Jesus Christ our Lord.  Amen.

Historically, the latter prayer was said on the last Sunday before Advent, so it should have been said last week, not this week.  That got me wondering if "Stir Up Sunday" (another name for the last Sunday before Advent) is a fixed feast on the Church calendar.  Apparently, it isn't.  Some churches include the aforementioned Collect in worship on the first Sunday in Advent;  others place it on the third Sunday of the season;  still others say it, or some other prayer that begins with the words "stir up," on the second Sunday in Advent.  Personally, I prefer the traditional schedule, that of reciting the prayer on the last Sunday before Advent.  It seems to make more sense there, asking God to motivate us, His people, to acts of love and service before the season actually begins.

That said, the former prayer reminds us of the true "reason for the season," if you will:  to prepare for the second coming of Christ.  Yes, we commemorate the first coming of Christ, His birth in Bethlehem, because without that birth Christ could not die for our sins at Easter;  but the actual purpose of Advent is to engage in a period of self-examination, an annual check-in, if you will, to see how each of us is doing in our walk with Christ.  Are we loving God with our whole heart and are we loving our neighbors as ourselves?

Advent is twenty-eight (28) days long this year, one of the longest possible time spans, because Christmas falls on Sunday.  Rather than viewing the season as a count down to one day, December 25th, try viewing it as a count up to Christmastide, the twelve days from December 25th to January 5th, a time of celebration after the quiet self-reflection of Advent.  Consider holding your holiday get-togethers during that later time so your schedule will be more open to engage in some self-examination.  It may seem unnatural to eschew the festive atmosphere of December, but the party is only delayed...and it may be all the sweeter for it.

Read more about Stir Up Sunday.

Music That Soothes My Soul

Reposted from Gooseberry Lane.  Original posting date:  1/15/2010.

In weeks when the world seems to be out of control and marred by horrendous tragedy, I try to claim some peace by listening to this lovely composition by Gabriel Fauré: the Cantique de Jean Racine. Originally in French, the lyrics, translated into English, are as follows:

Word, equal to the Most High, our only hope,
Eternal day of the earth and the Heavens;
From the peaceful night we break the silence,
Divine Savior, cast your eyes upon us!

Spread upon us the fire of your powerful grace
May all hell flee at the sound of your voice;
Disperse the sleep from a languishing soul,
Which has driven it to forget your laws!

Oh Christ, be favorable to this faithful people
Now gathered to bless you.
Receive the songs it offers to your immortal glory,
And may it return filled with your gifts!

Enjoy!

Oh, Day Full of Grace

This has always been one of my favorite hymns and, now, I know a bit more about it.  From the Christian Classics Ethereal Library website, I learned that the song was probably written in Sweden or Denmark and that three manuscript copies of the hymn exist, not one of which was dated later than 1450 AD.  Considered one of the "best known of all Pre-Reformation songs," the singing of it was likely prohibited by the church, as the aforementioned article relates:

The ordinances of the church, furthermore, expressly forbade congregational singing at the church services, holding that, since it was unlawful for the laity to preach, it was also impermissible for them to sing in the sanctuary.  It is thus likely that a Danish hymn had never been sung, except on a few special occasions, in a Danish church before the triumph of the Reformation.

Being Lutheran, I cannot imagine the elimination of hymn singing.  The article continues to explain how, even though such songs were prohibited in church, hymns were still sung at home, thereby preserving them for Christians today.