Last Sunday, Advent Three, in my congregation, we met to hear lessons, or readings, and to sing carols. Our eyes were firmly fixed on the joy of the child who is coming, who comes to us, each year, in the story of Christmas.
This Sunday, Advent Four, in that same congregation, we will hear more readings, telling the story that we recall, each Christmas, and sing more carols, focussed on the significance of those events long ago and their relevance for our lives today.
This is how I introduced the service:
Christmas Carols evoke a wonderful sense of tradition and memory. It is good to be doing that, at this time of the year. Yet it’s also important that we listen for the ways God is singing new songs, with new themes of hope and promise, with new melodies of inclusion, equality and welcome into our communities.
As you sing, you may notice that some of the carols may appear a little different from what you may be use to. The tunes will be familiar. And the words, in many ways, will also be familiar. But not all of them, not always familiar, not exactly as you know them. Some of the words will be different.
Now, this follows a long tradition, in writing words for hymns and carols, of varying the words, reshaping and reworking them. If you look up the Wikipedia article on Away in a manger, for instance, you will find that almost every line in the carol has recorded variants. The most significant are noted; for instance, “no crib for his bed”, or “No crib for a bed”; “the poor baby wakes”, or “The baby awakes“, and so on.
The last line of verse two appears in multiple published variants:
“And stay by my crib watching my lullaby” (Christian Cynosure, 1882)
“And stay by my crib to watch lullaby” (Seamen’s Magazine, 1883)
“And stay by my cradle to watch lullaby” (Murray, 1887)
“And watch by me always, and ever be nigh” (1890)
“And stay by my cradle till morning is nigh” (Herbert, 1891)
“And watch o’er my bed while in slumber I lie” (1893)
“And stay by my side until morning is nigh (1895)
So the carols that we sing today will follow a long tradition in hymnody, by which words are fluid, lyrics are flexible, and changes are allowable—the words of the carols are being reworked, rewritten, by people who are alive in our own time, today, making the message of the carol applicable to today and expressed in current language.
Our carols will follow the well-loved tunes, and will start out with words that are comfortably familiar. But as they proceed, the words will take some turns; so I invite you to pay attention, listen to the changes, reflect on the reshaping, and be prepared to encounter the familiar story in ways that refresh and renew your faith.
O Come, O Come, Emmanuel
(adapted by Sue Wickham)
O come, O come, Emmanuel,
and fill our lives, all dark and fear dispel,
as once an exiled Israel you found,
redeemed, restored and set on holy ground.
Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel
shall come to us and in our hearts will dwell.
O come, O light of Christ, so bright and clear
and lift our spirits by your advent here.
In all who gather, show us your face,
that we may know the warmth of your embrace.
Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel
shall come to us and in our hearts will dwell.
O come, O Wisdom, mind and heart divine,
help us restore a world we’ve let decline.
Enlighten us; your way we would know
and show us where new seeds of hope to sow.
Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel
shall come to us and in our hearts will dwell.
O Advent God of hope, joy, love and peace,
in you we pray our sad divisions cease.
Bind us as one, a people of grace,
for at your table each one has a place.
Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel
shall come to us and in our hearts will dwell.
Words © Sue Wickham 2010
https://pilgrimwr.unitingchurch.org.au/?p=925
The Angel Gabriel
(Words reworked by Sarah Agnew)
The angel Gabriel from heaven came,
surprising her by calling out her name:
‘Fear not,’ he said, ‘for God has seen and favours you,
You’re chosen for a blessing, Maria.
‘You will become a mother, Mary,
by Holy Spirit, with a child holy;
he is the one earth’s waiting for – the child of God,
O chosen for a blessing, Maria.’
‘But Gabriel how can this be, my friend?’
‘With God no thing’s impossible,’ he said.
‘Then let it be as you have said, I sing God’s praise.’
O, chosen for a blessing: Maria.
And so in Bethlehem she bore her boy
beneath a star as angels sang for joy:
Immanuel, our God with us, through Mary.
O chosen for a blessing, Maria.
words (c) Sarah Agnew 2019
music ‘Gabriel’s song’ Basque tune
http://praythestory.blogspot.com/2019/12/gabriel-and-maria.html
How ancient and lovely
Away in a manger with additional verses
by British writer Rebecca Dudley
(Shine on Star of Bethlehem, Christian Aid)
Away in a manger, no crib for his bed,
the little Lord Jesus lay down his sweet head;
the stars in the bright sky look down where he lay,
the little Lord Jesus asleep on the hay.
How ancient and lovely, this news of a star,
a baby, a mother, the kings from afar.
Come close now, Lord Jesus, we ask you to stay
and show us your face in your people today.
What star shall we follow but one that leads here
to a baby born homeless and a family in fear?
What heaven shall we long for but one that starts there
for all the world’s children in your tender care?
We thank you, Lord Jesus, for coming to earth;
for the light in the darkness that shone at your birth,
for life in its fullness that you promise today,
and the hope of a baby asleep in the hay.
This version is published in Hunger for Justice (Christian Aid UK)
https://www.musicroom.com/product/kmp1400356/hunger-for-justice-organ.aspx
For some other versions of this carol, see https://johntsquires.com/2019/12/18/no-crying-he-makes-get-real-puhhh-leeeease/
Hark! the herald angels, combined with
More than a Dream (David MacGregor)
(Arranged by John Squires)
Hark! the herald angels sing,
glory to the new born king.
Peace on earth and mercy mild,
God and sinners reconciled.
Humankind called: “come together,
live in peace with one another.”
Glory, glory from the heights,
Peace on earth, goodwill has come.
Glory, glory from the heights,
Peace on earth has come to us.
Christ, by highest heaven adored:
Christ, the everlasting Lord;
called to bring your peaceful kingdom,
lion rests besides the lamb.
Justice for the poor and needy
come to us, a child will lead us:
Glory, glory from the heights,
Peace on earth, goodwill has come.
Glory, glory from the heights,
Peace on earth has come to us.
Hail! the heaven-born prince of peace!
Hail! the Son of Righteousness!
Jesus, Saviour, born among us,
bring your peace anew to us.
Hearts of love reach out to all,
for the world, in your great love.
Glory, glory from the heights,
Peace on earth, goodwill has come.
Glory, glory from the heights,
Peace on earth has come to us.
Adapted from a song, More Than Dream (peace be our living), by David MacGregor © 2015 Willow Publishing
https://dmacgreg1.wordpress.com/2015/12/05/peace-on-earth-mercy-mild/
Combined with words from Hark! the herald angels sing, with the permission of David MacGregor (but not Charles Wesley!)
An Informed Faith 