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Text: William Cowper (1731-1800) Tune: John Hullah (1812-1884)   Jesus reading in the synagogue. James Tissot 1.Sometimes a light surprises a Christian while he sings; it is the Lord who rises with healing in his wings; when comforts are declining, he grants the soul again a season of clear shining to cheer it after rain. 2 In holy contemplation we sweetly then pursuet he theme of God’s salvation, and find it ever new: set free from present sorrow, we cheerfully can say, 'E'en let the unknown morrow bring with it what it may, 3 'it can bring with it nothing but he will bear us through; who gives the lilies clothing will clothe His people too: beneath the spreading heavens no creature but is fed; and he who feeds the ravens will give his children bread.'4 Though vine nor fig-tree neither their wonted fruit should bear, though all the field should wither, nor flocks nor herds be there; yet God the same abiding, his praise shall tune my voice; for while in him confiding, I cannot but rejoice.   REFLECTIONS Jesus in the Nazareth synagogue is with his family and friends from way back. He is reading the prophet Isaiah as was his custom, Luke reports. All eyes are on him. He has just returned from his battle with the tempter, although they don’t know that. Apparently they sense something is going to happen. It does. Jesus announces that he is the fulfillment of the Scripture from Isaiah 61:1-2. They are shocked. They think they know who he is and, suddenly before their eyes, he tells them he is more than they could have ever imagined. More than Joseph's son, for sure! At first they marvel, but then as the story goes on, he says more about who he is and it fills them with wrath, so much so they attempt to kill him!   The Christian faith is filled with the surprises Cowper describes in this much loved hymn. The Chrsitian life is filled with what have been called epiphanies, a sudden revalation of something more.. Many times we cannot see to see, as the poet has it. We pray for sight and suddenly what was humdrum and ordinary dances with new light and surprises. Or something we thought to be remarkable turns out to be mere façade. Seeing is not believing in the Christian faith. Hearing is.   The assembled in Nazareth see the old home town boy; they hear the voice of God. At first it charms them; then they become angry. Have their senses betrayed them? Not really. They just have not been attuned to the possibility that in the physical scene they are part of, they are also glimpsing something of the spiritual world upon which all of their lives are built. It upsets them, as well it might. Like the man stepping on the back of a whale thinking it dry land and discovering to his horror it is not.   All of life is filled with numinous presences and gifts that God has sent us. And this is what the Christian life brings us—insight into the heavenly world around us, and in us. As Luther says, God comes to us in the sacrament In, with an under the physical. That is also true of his lovely world. I have a friend who said that when she came to faith, it was like the world turned instantly from a black and white photo into technicolor. As Cowper says, “E’en let the unknown morrow bring with it what it may.”   HYMN INFO William Cowper William Cowper, one of the more gifted English hymn writers, lived a sad life, haunted by mental illness and difficulties. His mother died when he was six, he developed something like agoraphobia and lost many opportunities to work as the lawyer he had been trained to be. At one time he believed God was telling him to commit suicide, something he almost did, but failed. Something of a minor English poet whose works attracted attention, it is as a hymn writer that he has achieved a reputation. He moved to Olney England where John Newton was rector and began writing hymns with him. Their collected works, the Olney Hymns of 1779 remains one of the treasures of English hymnody—including "Amazing Grace" by Newton, and "God moves in a Mysterious Way" by Cowper. While Cowper’s hymns are considered dark, for obvious reasons, they still speak powerfully to many who are looking for hymns that express their faith in the midst of great sorrow and difficulty.    LINKS Martin de Groot https://youtu.be/PtdkrQcbijU?si=s1JzW8ntE63ket2i   Remission Choir https://youtu.be/JkTnZbtuyjE?si=b0iudFW5nOGKw6pR   Saint Michael’s Singers https://youtu.be/0mDez8OPmeM?si=3-MpCqwgpdBl-CNO   Chopin Hymn Episodes. From Lagos https://youtu.be/AG5cT2Ci-i8?si=4uv4adNLFCwmAmup

The Marriage at Cana. Martin de Vos Text: Gracia Grindal Tune: James Clemens or MACHT HOCH DIE TÜR 1. The candles on the table gleam As crystal goblets flash and beam While we await the bridal pair Who enter from the cold, night air And see the banquet linens spread With lilies on their snowy beds. The lustrous silver glints, Red rose buds give off scents. 2. And we who wait to greet them, turn To bless them as the candles burn And welcome to the banquet feast An old familiar wedding guest, Who once in ancient Palestine Turned water into vintage wine, And brings his glory here In fragrant cups of cheer. 3. Abundant life is what he gives, A miracle all can receive. Christ makes our ordinary days A feast of joy, a day of grace, So as our water glasses ring, We hear the nuptials of our King, Whose glory shines and blooms And spills throughout the room. Text © 2009 Wayne Leupold Editions, Inc. REFLECTIONS The Wedding at Cana. Gerard David (Somewhat changed from a previous blog.) Here we see Jesus blessing our lives in the richest way possible. He comes to a wedding; his mother is probably helping with arrangements as it may well have been a relative’s wedding. Jesus, after a brief tiff with Mary, ends up giving the guests joy and he does so using the things of the world: wine out of water. The last wedding I can remember, before COVID, was a real party. There was a large crowd. People were thoroughly enjoying the time, the fine dinner, the wine, the dancing. As the evening wore on, and the couples in their best finery danced the night away, I got to thinking how primal weddings are. Here we were in our Sunday best, the rules were formal, the father of the groom dances with the mother of the bride, etc., the toasts, the rituals going way back to Eden.   All to consecrate the love of a young couple heading out into their future. Their human urges didn’t need this ceremony, but the ceremony blessed them and put them in the context of creation and their creator. They had been drawn together for love of each other and their desire for each other, but the ceremony and gala said this was more than biological. Not only were the two being joined, a family, with mothers and fathers, sisters and brothers, in-laws, who might not have chosen each other, was now dancing together and being joined. Soon there would be children about which we would care as much for as the strangers we had just met. The ritual brought us together and began something that would never end—a new life, around whom we would gather and care for and who maybe. later, would care for us. Bodies, filled with spirit, together in a dance. Of course, there can be woe later, but the wedding begins new life with hope. Weddings and children are on hard times these days. The culture is asking what difference ceremonies make? That we have to explain that the ceremony does something more than give people permission to have sex, means we are at a cultural and religious nadir that scarcely understands what it means to be human. God made us out of clay but then breathed his spirit into us for life. We are not animals; we need ritual and ceremony to mark the stages of our biological lives in relation to the eternal which is there in the ceremony. We need children for our future and they need stable families in which to flourish. Jesus, the Son of God, our creator, comes to this party and gives joy. In doing this we also see his divinity. He can make water into wine. He is the creator of both water and wine! And us—he knows our frame, what we need and what gives us joy. He wants us to drink life to the lees, not isolate ourselves from each other and society out of fear. Then we will have no future. Not only did he come to give us joy in our daily rituals, but he came to take away our fear so we can live life to the fullest possible. Moses exhorts the people to choose life and go forward into what would be distressing places and times. (Exodus 30:19) Frisk Bris (Fresh Breeze) by Eva Winther-Larssen (1928-2013) Once, I was sitting in an art gallery in Oslo wondering whether or not to buy the painting that had drawn me into the store. The owner knew his business. He drew up a comfortable chair, turned up the fire in the fireplace and sat me down. As I sat looking at the painting, which cost a pretty penny, (and I did buy it--see right--never regretting it) wondering if I should buy it, he commented that we rarely regret what we say yes to, but really regret what we have said no to--as one wag said, when we turn wine into water. Sometimes of course we say yes to awful things, but it is the no we wonder about. What treausres were there behind the door we did not open? Jesus came into the world to give us abundant life, a life of eternal treasures. He came as a groom coming to woo his bride—all humanity. Every day he opens up a door to a wedding feast as he changes water into wine for us. He wants us to be filled with the new wine of joy, a glory that spills throughout the room. Mary describes the Wedding at Cana from The Sword of Eden (Wipf and Stock, 2018) by Gracia Grindal Ceremonies swirled around us, the wine, the dance Family, friends, the whole village came Spirits rose, the shattering of the glass Marking a sorrow ahead we could not name. Shouting, laughter, suddenly the wine all gone Aunt of the bride, the banquet duties mine. Almost strange he entered, grown man, my son. I beckoned. “Woman, it is not my time.“ Familiar the look that fathomed something more. “Do as he says.” Water brimming over stone, “Give them to drink,” he said, we watched them pour Wine, rich in purples, vintages unknown. The best for last, we circled the bride and groom Like heaven, wheeling around the golden room. HYMN INFO There are few if any hymns on this theme in Scripture. I used the imagery of the weddings I know, and then imagined Jesus coming to them and how and why he would come. I changed the scene but not the arrival of our Lord who always comes with abundant life, a great theme in John. Clemens wrote a dancing tune for it with percussion instruments for accompaniment. A more sober tune is Macht Hoch die Tür. That tune first appeared in the pietist Freylinghausen hymnal Geist-reiches Gesang Buch 1703 and is now the preferred tune for the great Advent hymn Lift high the Gates. LINKS Organ version of Macht Hoch die Tür https://youtu.be/7jMRtkBC2HY Darko Pleli, organ https://youtu.be/VF_4x8k_c9o?si=SW5pZupqhxFUO6ce

Text: Martin Luther (1483-1546)    Tune: Johann Walter (1486-1570)   Baptism of Jesus. The Sistine chapel Fresco by Pietro Perugino and his workshop 1.To Jordan came the Christ, our Lord, To do His Father’s pleasure; Baptized by John, the Father’s Word Was given us to treasure. This heav’nly washing now shall be A cleansing from transgression And by His blood and agony Release from death’s oppression. A new life now awaits us.   2.O hear and mark the message well, For God Himself has spoken. Let faith, not doubt, among us dwell And so receive this token. Our Lord here with his Word endows Pure water, freely flowing. God’s Holy Spirit here avows Our kinship while bestowing The Baptism of His blessing.   3.These truths on Jordan’s banks were shown By mighty word and wonder. The Father’s voice from heav’n came down, Which we do well to ponder: “This man is My beloved Son, In whom my heart has pleasure. Him you must hear, and Him alone, And trust in fullest measure The word that He has spoken.”   4.There stood the Son of God in love, His grace to us extending; The Holy Spirit like a dove Upon the scene descending; The triune God assuring us, With promises compelling, That in our baptism He will thus Among us find a dwelling To comfort and sustain us.   5.To His disciples spoke the Lord, “Go out to ev’ry nation, And bring to them the living Word And this My invitation: Let ev’ryone abandon sin And come in true contrition To be baptized and thereby win Full pardon and remission And heav’nly bliss inherit.”   6. But woe to those who cast aside This grace so freely given: They shall in sin and shame abide And to despair be driven. For born in sin, their works must fail, Their striving saves them never; Their pious acts do not avail, And they are lost forever, Eternal death their portion.   7. All that the mortal eye beholds Is water as we pour it. Before the eye of faith unfolds The pow’r of Jesus’ merit. For here it sees the crimson flood To all our ills bring healing The wonders of His precious blood The love of God revealing, Assuring His own pardon. Tr. Elizabeth Quitmeyer (1911-1988)   Baptism of Christ Rublev REFLECTION Aside from the questions of why Jesus, who is sinless, needs to be baptized, a compelling one, what we see here is amazing. While Jesus is being baptized and the dove flies down, we hear the voice of God approving of his Son and admonishing us to listen to him. Luther’s hymn says it, we would do well to ponder this voice.   There is something going on in the intellectual world today that is heartening to me. While the young we are told have thought that science and religion cannot agree, today reputable scientists are arguing that now science is pointing to the creator, in fact, I have heard it said that it is bad science to think today that there is no God. As one writer says, “God’s majesty remains in evidence all over the spectacular home he has built for his creatures.” (Spencer Klavan, Light of the Mind, Light of the world: Illuminating science through faith.)   What we experience in this scene of Jesus being baptized and during the Transfiguration is the breaking into our world “the mind that made the world and made us.” All that the mortal eye beholds/Is water as we pour it. /Before the eye of faith unfolds /The pow’r of Jesus’ merit.” The transcendent comes to us through water and in the flesh of a man. Amazing!   The older I get the thinner the veil between the visible and invisible becomes. The efforts by those in my youth to demythologize all the spiritual truths from Scripture by using the scientific method, I now find wanting.Those efforts made what is numinous and beautiful seem pedestrian. It has been rather like using a hammer to heal a butterfly. The past era has been ugly, we created ugly houses of worship that refused transcendence, and reduced Scripture to mere intellecutal concepts and ideas, not rich places to roam and be guided by.   That world, the Enlightenment, is now coming to an end. To be sure the accomplishments of science and the scientific method have given us much. But the method shouldn't be used on every question. Something new is happening. It is not sure that we will make it through into a better, more beautiful and richer world. Dystopian possibilities threaten, but I take heart that God’s speaking to us in the baptism of his dear Son rent the heavens wide so we could know him. He did this to have fellowship with us and bring us the light of the world.  This is what the God of all creation, of the universe, has done to be near us and give us “the eye of faith” so we can see his light and life. Praise God.   HYMN INFO Martin Luther at the end of his life when he wrote this hymn. by Cranach the younger Luther and Walter worked together in Luther's house some time during 1523 when they first started writing hymns. As director of Frederick the Wise’s chapel, Walter composed and led the singing there. He became the Lutheran composer of his time. While Luther was well trained as a musician, Walter probably helped him with his musical compositions, like "Out of the Depths." Walter wrote passions, motets and songs for use in the church. He lives on in the work he did with Luther on the first Protestant hymnals, the first, Eyn geystlich Gesangk Buchleyn in 1524. Later Luther would write hymns that became the Singing Catechism. This, one of the last hymns he wrote, is the hymn for the baptism section. Bach wrote three cantatas for St. John’s Feast, Midsummer. One on this hymn, BWV 7. Enjoy it. The first and last stanza begin and end it, the middle movements are on the themes of each stanza. Enjoy the musical waters flowing! LINKS Concordia Publishing House version https://youtu.be/gmDzL03cs_E Children's Choir Holy Cross Lutheran https://youtu.be/SjkdSjK4e6s Bach BWV 684 A setting of the hymn for soprano and organ https://youtu.be/yqDeqqd6ui4 Bach's cantata BWV 7 Christ, unser Herr, zum Jordan kam https://youtu.be/FaFe8ZtdAJc

Text: NFS Grundtvig  (1783-1872)                            Tune: Jakob Meidel (1758-1857) Journey of the Magi, Basilica Saint Appollinaire Nuova, Ravenna 6th century Bright and glorious is the sky With the sparkling stars on high, 'How they glitter, brightly gleaming, How they twinkle, gladly beaming, As they draw our hearts to heav’n, As they draw our hearts to heav’n. 2. In the midst of Christmas night, While the stars were shining bright, Suddenly, so clear and radiant One appeared and shone resplendent With the luster of the sun, With the luster of the sun. 3. Long ago it was foretold By God’s chosen men of old When at midnight such a wonder Would appear in heaven yonder And a Savior King be born And a Savior King be born. 4. Wisemen by this star were led To the Christ child’s lowly bed, Guiding star, O may we heed thee Follow where your light is leading, Leading to our heavenly King Leading to our heavenly King. 5. Christ they found in Bethlehem, There without a diadem, Only Mary meek and lowly With her baby pure and holy, Resting in her loving arms, Restng in her loving arms. 6. In his word, God did provide Such a star to be our guide. Holy Scripture, God’s own story Does reveal to us the glory Leading us to Christ our Lord Leading us to Christ our Lord. Tr. comp. REFLECTION Adoration of the Magi. Jean Fouquet ca. 1452-1460 This lovely hymn by Grundtvig, his first, tells how the wisemen read the stars like we should read the bible. Their lore had taught them to see in the heavens portents and prophecies they should heed. Which they did. So much so they made a hard journey to Bethlehem to find the Christ. T. S. Eliot’s poem The Journey of The Magi shows us that. Grundtvig makes the magi following the star a parable of how we are brought to faith through the word. The star is there like Holy Scripture. It will guide us to our Lord for life. Over time, the story of the wisemen has been allegorized to mean far more, probably than Matthew meant, but it works. The gifts of the wisemen, gold, frankincense and myrrh, signified to the medieval mind and maybe Matthew, Jesus’ fate: gold for a king, frankincense for a sacrifice at worship, and myrrh to lave a dead corpse. The wisemen also came to represent the three known continents at the time and even received names, Melchior, representing Europe, supposedly the oldest, brought gold. He is often portrayed with a long white beard; Caspar, from Arabia, the youngest brought frankincense, Balthatzar, middle aged, from Africa, often painted as an African king, brought the myrrh.   While biblical scholars will point to the account in Matthew and say none of that is here, and want to strip away all the rich imagery that has developed around the event, the Christian mind has elaborated on this event with the kind of richness that still endures. As we follow the star—that is read the Word—we may find hints, say in Daniel who lived in Persia, or talk of camels in Isaiah 60, that make possible such interpretations and enrich our experience of the Incarnation. Throughout medieval Europe and around the world, the account of the three Kings became a festival which developed a tradition of King’s Cakes which the Frech brought to New Orleans. Many other traditions were spawned by the story of the wisemen, or magi, making their way over the old roads from Babylon to worship a child who was king, causing Herod to slaughter the innocents he feared would depose him. Which ultimately he did. He would be sacrificed and worshiped, and die, but be raised again. And in the stories of the old to young, and the three continents, we see how Jesus has drawn unto himself all people, from the known world and later all the world. Enjoy this great festival and take pleasure in it. Make a King’s Cake, hide a little figure of the Christ child in it, teach the hymn to your children, grandchildren, or others, and look deeply into the cosmos of the word that has changed everything in the universe! Happy Epiphany! HYMN INFO Grundtvig as a young man plagued by his doubts and condition This was Grundtvig's first hymn written in 1810 between a manic and depressive stage. The original had 19 stanzas, but he shortened it to seven, most of which we have in English. It was considered a children’s song, written to teach them about the Wisemen. Grundtvig had criticized the hymnal of Denmark at the time for being brackish and not the fresh running brook of the Gospel. He wanted hymns that preached the Gospel. This hymn really announces what he will do for the rest of his life. It was first published as a hymn in 1832 in a hymnal for children,  Historiske Psalmer og Riim for Børne Lærdom  by L. C. Hagen. It has been obligatory in every Danish and Norwegian hymnal for many years and now American Lutheran hymnals.  The tune that is the most popular—although there are several associated with the text—comes from Jakob Meidell, a sea captain, born in Balestrand, Norway, but who spent his adult life in Denmark. It was originally thought to be a folk tune, but now it is attributed to Meidell who apparently wrote no other music. LINKS Harpist with English Lyrics https://youtu.be/0k7jyp45_3E Danish Girls Choir https://youtu.be/h1uQmSKcXvE Icelandic Children's   Choirhttps:// youtu.be/XsZ7QlJ4juI Akademisk Kor Aarhus https://youtu.be/9IC2-w_kleo Bo Holten’s Choir https://youtu.be/9ldqoAzSgXY Iver Kleive, Povl Dissing, Knut Reiersrud https://youtu.be/Mt7ILm_cVdQ

Text: Theoktistus of the Studium (9th century). Tune: Ralph Alvin Strom (1901-1977) The Circumcision Jacopo Tintoretto 1587 1. Jesus Name all names above, Jesus, best and dearest, Jesus, fount of perfect love, Holiest, tenderest, nearest; Jesus, source of grace completest, Jesus, purest, Jesu sweetest, Jesus, well of power divine, Make me, keep me, seal me Thine. 2. Jesus, open me the gate, That the robber entered, Who in that most lost estate Wholly on Thee ventured. Thou whose wounds are ever pleading, And Thy passion interceding, From my misery let me riseT o a home in paradise. 3. Jesus, crowned with thorns for me, Scourged for my transgression, Witnessing through agony, That Thy good confession; Jesus, clad in purple raiment, For my evil making payment, Let not all Thy woe and pain, Let not Calvary be in vain. 4. When I reach death’s bitter sea, And its waves mount higher, Earthly help forsaking me As the storm draws nigher, Jesus, leave me not to languis hHelpless, homeless, full of anguish; Jesus, let me hear Thee say, Thou shalt be with Me today.             Tr. John Mason Neale Circumcision In the Menologion of Basic II (980) MEDITATION (I don't want my readers to miss this day or this lovely hymn! a repeat of a former blog, with some edits.) Wednesday, New Year's Day, is Jesus’ Name Day, eight days after his birth. It was customary to give the baby boy his name on the day of his circumcision and Jesus’ parents followed the command of the angels to name him Jesus—Savior: “For he shall save his people from their sins.” Matt 1:21; Luke 1:31. The eighth day has an important resonance throughout the life of Jesus and thus the church. Jesus rose on the eighth day—Sunday is known as the eighth day-- so in celebrating Sunday every week we are remembering the resurrection and the new reality that Jesus established in his resurrection. Christian theology also understood that in the circumcision Jesus shed his first blood for us. Richard Crashaw, a Catholic English poet of the Baroque era, and John Milton, wrote some of their best poetry on the ceremony. The occasion was included as the first of what the medieval church named the Seven Sorrows of Mary. Luther in a sermon on the tradition noted that the name was given by the angels, as well as Joseph, who in giving him the name, officially adopted him, like the Pharaoh’s daughter who named Moses and took him as her own. Luther loved that we received our names when we are christened—made Christians—and we now have names that God knows and can use in calling us. In this rite, “we receive a name that is over all names and a blessing so great that our hearts can be joyful and free.” Elisabeth Fedde painting by Dale Redpath It was common in the past and should be a custom to begin the year in the name of Jesus. Elisabeth Fedde, the founder of the Deaconess Hospital in Brooklyn and Minneapolis made a practice of doing so, looking back over the previous year and then toward the future. She prayed the prayer of the hymn, the first hymn in the Norwegian hymnal at the time: “In Jesus Name let all our work be done.” It was the hymn with which many Norwegian institutions began their work and with which they greeted the New Year. Musekgo Lutheran Church began its ministry with this song as did Mindekirken and thousands of Norwegian congregations here and in Norway. It is the motto of Menighetsfakultet in Oslo. So with our ancestors in the faith, begin this New Year in Jesus’ Name! Rejoice in what we have been given by our Savior: a new name, a new life, a new beginning, a wonderful way to begin the New Year! HYMN INFO The first text is by a rather unknown Greek writer Theoktistus of the Studium, a monk in Constantinople, during the 9th century. John Mason Neale (1818-1866), is the translator. The tune by Ralph Alvin Strom, who lived and worked in St. Paul in congregations associated with The Augustana Synod, was composed for this text in the SBH, but used in the LBW for a marriage text. The tune, probably preferred over the text, really got buried in the marriage section, but it is a lovely romantic tune in which one can hear Swedish echoes. Other hymns for this day which I have already used At the Name of Jesus--Hymn 62-- https://youtu.be/OK8OhC6roI4   Navnet Jesus--by the Oslo Gospel Choir Hymn 117 https://youtu.be/h3YVeVco8cs   Bach has several cantata's for New Year's Day. See the links below) LINKS JESUS NAME, ALL NAMES ABOVE Strom’s tune by Gerard Sundberg, lovely version https://youtu.be/BWGLFa1wLP0 Ralph Strom’s tune/bad recording but you can hear the lovely tune https://youtu.be/56OHg55S1Os Jesus Name all names above, another tune St. Theoktistus  by F. A. Gore Ouseley (1825-1889) https://youtu.be/kr5qJ-3kik8 St. Theoktistus tune/piano https://youtu.be/ObsMAmFReF4 BACH CANTATAS The Christmas Oratorio 4-6 Harnoncort directing Four is for New Year's Day, Five, the Sunday after Christmas, Six Epiphany https://youtu.be/5SHDTNy_rUM   Bach's Cantata BWV 41 for the New Year https://youtu.be/r6TRChdfdow   18 The Circumcision and Naming of Jesus This cut drew the first blood of our Lord, Submitting to the Law, the Holy One, To show the covenant in flesh and blood, Now Son of Joseph, who took him as his own, Naming him Jesus, as Pharaoh’s daughter named Moses, drawing him out of the river Nile. All righteousness fulfilled, our Lord became What he was meant to be, his Father’s child Come to redeem the world, to live with us Obeying all the ordinary rules. For what? To bleed and die upon a cross, To show us how he is the G od  of fools And sages. A God incarnate, filled with life. And so we watch with wonder, the hand, the knife. from Jesus the Harmony  by Gracia Grindal copyright Fortress Press 2021

Text: Christian Keymann 1607-1662)                Tune: Andreas Hammerschmidt (1612-1675) Finding of the Savior in the temple. William Holman Hunt 1 Jesus I will never leave, Who for me Himself hath given; Firmly unto Him I'll cleave, Nor from Him be ever driven. Life from Him doth light receive-- Jesus I will never leave.   2 Jesus I will never leave While on earth I am abiding; What I have to Him I give, In all cares in Him confiding. Naught shall me of Him bereave-- Jesus I will never leave.   3 Though my sight shall pass away, Hearing, taste, and feeling fail me; Though my life's last light of day Shall o'ertake and sore assail me; When His summons I receive, Jesus I will never leave.   4 Nor will I my Jesus leave When at last I shall come thither Where His saints He will receive, Where is bliss they live together. Endless joy to me He'll give-- Jesus I will never leave.   5 Nor for earth's vain joys I crave Nor, without Him, heaven's pleasure; Jesus, who my soul did save, Evermore shall be my Treasure. He redemption did achieve-- Jesus I will never leave. WE SEE THE LONELY PEOPLE Text: Gracia Grindal We see the lonely people Though we are not alone. We feel a nameless aching And absence in the bone. No fire or hearth can kindle Our spirits cold as ice, We know that something's missing, Is it our Sun, the Christ? We promised we would follow Our master to the end, But now he seems so distant, A long neglected friend. It seems that we have wandered Far from our Father's home, And now we hear him calling, "Come home, my children, come." The words you said are hidden In memories so deep. And now they tease and haunt us, We wonder what they mean. O Jesus, fill our absence With embers from your Word, A spark enough to stir up Our faith again, O Lord. 7676 D   REFLECTION Boy Jesus in the temple. Heinrich Hoffmann This is a bit of a startling Scripture for the year. We are just barely through worshiping a baby in the manger, and now he is an adolescent in the temple debating the elders. While we can read it as the story of Jesus achieving manhood, and learn that he understands that his real father is God, there are still issues we have to grapple with. My main one is how on earth Mary and Joseph could have lost track of him for three days! How is that even possible?   While the main theological points are important, the human question of the loss of Jesus in the press of humanity all around them is also important, and perhaps more relevant to our life of faith. Some have used the account as an illustration of how easy it is to lose the Christ, even if he has been central and dear to us.   Bach’s cantata BWV 154 “Mein Liebster Jesus ist verloren/my beloved Jesus is lost,” meditates on the story in that way. The cantata's emphasis on the loss considers both how to find the lost Jesus and where—the temple—and concludes with the joy one has in finding him. He is in his word and we will be refreshed on hearing it and receiving him in the sacrament. Nevermore the singer says, will I leave him.   We have all probably had moments in which we have awakened to the sense that our lives have been so taken up with the daily issues of work and family that we have lost the main thing. In this downtime between Christmas and Epiphany we might even meditate on the fact that we may have lost the Christ in all the wrappings.   The good news is the good news—he has come down to us, to be with us, and he is here for us to be found and "and be our Treasure.”  Do not let him go. This is for all the people who feel abandoned and without meaning today. Ponder with Mary what all these things mean. Go to his word, to the temple to hear and enjoy his presence and the riches he has to give.   HYMN INFO Andreas Hammerschmidt The writer of the hymn is Christian Keymann. He lived through the Thirty Years War and was known as a fine hymn writer and teacher. Andreas Hammerischmidt, from Bohemia, a contemporary, was considered one of the major Lutheran composers of the day. My hymn text on the lesson follows Bach’s interpretation, but I add the theme of the loneliness and anxiety of those who feel they not only are lost, but they have lost something precious.   LINKS Bach Cantata BWV 154 Mein Liebster Jesus ist verloren Translation https://www.emmanuelmusic.org/bach-translations/bwv-154 Cantata https://youtu.be/aaxMgDmuqG0?si=SIWW0JplUKVVCseR   Jesus laß ich nicht von mir https://youtu.be/tJ6wL7hWGW0?si=EK_aycQGYZAqQk-d   Meinum Jesum laß ich nicht https://youtu.be/HG5Vhs3px6A?si=-O2uMfj91IS3FX-H

Johann Rist (1607-1667)                                               Johann Schopf (ca. 1600-1665)  The angels announcing the birth of Christ to the shepherds Flemish master 15th century Break forth, O beauteous heav’nly light, And usher in the morning. O shepherds, shrink not with affright, But hear the angel’s warning: This child, now weak in infancy, Our confidence and joy shall be, The pow’r of Satan breaking, Our peace eternal making.   All blessing, thanks and praise to thee, And Jesus Christ, be given: Thou hast our brother deigned to be, Our foe in sunder riven. O grant us through our day of grace. With constant praise to seek thy face; Grant us ere long in glory With praises to adore thee.                   Tr. John Troutbeck   REFLECTION Th angels announcing the birth of Christ to the shepherds. Abraham Hondius Merry Christmas! One of the more beautiful hymns for Christmas and Epiphany is this by Johann Rist. Unfortunately, the hymn survives in English with only three stanza translated, and really only one in use. It contains twelve stanzas. The first stanza here is the ninth stanza in the original. The entire hymn is worth considering. It tells the entire story of Christmas night, especially the annunciation to the shepherds. It begins with an address to the singer’s soul. “Take courage, o my weak spirit,” and then reflects on Jesus' coming to earth to court his bride. She is a rather unappealing prospect, what we might call a poor catch, nothing but excess, cursed, like refuse, death and darkness. Still into the darkness, filth and poverty comes this beautiful light with riches unimaginable for us.   No wonder each Christmas we spend ourselves poor to make the day somehow match the beauty of the gift we receive from God. Not that we could match it in any way, but the richness of Christ’s gift to us, I wonder, makes us want to revel in his richness and share what riches in fact also come from him. That may be why we try give each other, especially our children, a wonderful time at Christmas—not just with a surfeit of toys, but better, a surfeit of good memories, good times, good food, good family times. There is something magical about sitting with loved ones, filled with memories, and enjoying the beauty of the tree, the gifts, the candelight, the holly and ivy. This is why Christmas is a time of intense memories and maybe even sadness that those days are gone and maybe not what they could have been. Still, through these lovely moments and memories, we approach something of the incarnation, God made flesh, God with us. We are filled with thanksgiving because he has come to us. Christmas is not as much about giving, as about receiving a gift beyond what can be imagined. Because we have been made rich with the beautiful light of God, we pray in this season that the beautiful one who changes everything about our life on earth will also make his presence known even to us, no matter whether we are alone or with many. He came to each one of us and asks to live in us now. Despite everything, we are not alone, nor condemned to a world without beauty. Relish the time and its good memories and good times, forgive the bad ones. Our light has come. Break forth O beauteous heavenly light!   HYMN INFO Rist is one of the great Orthodox Lutheran hymn writers of his day when there were many great ones, Paul Gerhardt, Johan Heerman, Joachim Neander, Georg Neumark. Rist, like Gerhardt and Heerman lived through the horrors of the Thirty Years War. The son of a Lutheran pastor he served as pastor in Hamburg. At university he studied with Joshua Stegman, an accomplished hymn writer. He studied at the University in Rostock, where he suffered many of the awful sufferings caused by the war. At first a writer of poetry and dramas, he soon became a gifted hymn writer. He wrote some 680 hymns. Although he intended his hymns to be private, composers in the region took pleasure in his work and set it to music. The best we have were those set by Schopf who lived near Rist in Hamburg and worked with him. A violin virtuoso, he was a well regarded composer. He produced a collection of hymns Himmlische Lieder ( Heavenly Songs ) in 1641. Bach used several of their hymns in his cantatas. This one in his appears in Bach’s second cantata (248) in the Christmas Oratorio intended for the second day of Christmas which focused on the annunciation to the shepherds.   LINKS Kings College Choir https://youtu.be/D7E0jM0F3M8?si=8A6fu7gU9coL5sRj   Concordia Publishing House https://youtu.be/TFPnAWt8Tj8?si=5JLPHDoNFxqo0oWN   Choir of the Sound https://youtu.be/51jBz8wIgYY?si=8t_AKKINX8hJc9QH Bach's Christmas Oratorio with Gardiner/it is all well worth hearing, but the second part is the one with the chorale/take time to enjoy the entire oratorio if you can. https://youtu.be/1NafQeEWNks?si=izYlGEbb3otfmwv5

Text: Gracia Grindal                                        Tune: Rusty Edwards   To A Maid whose Name was Mary, The Angel Gabriel Came . Text: Gracia Grindal                                        Tune: Amanda Husberg or Daniel Damon   VISITATION Somewhere I hear the church bells ringing From cities, towns and countryside, And every cell within me singing A song that cannot be denied. The bells are telling with their sound Good news to everyone around.   For as they ring, I feel my body Leap up with joy to hear the news. For now we know that youthful Mary Is certain that the news is true. The time has come—she is with child Ring out wild bells, ring, joyful, wild!   For Mary, blest among all women, Is bearing God within her womb. Through her our Lord is fully human In her divinity makes room. And comes to us as long foretold, Ring in the new, ring out the old!   Look up and see the sun is shining The bells are telling bright as noon For in this joyful noonday chiming We know that Christ is coming soon. Through Mary’s body, heaven nears, Ring out wild bells, ring out with cheer!   REFLECTION One of the hymns recommended for this Sunday is To a Maid Engaged to Joseph, my text on the annunciation but the main body of Sunday's lesson is the Visitation.)   Although the Visitation is officially celebrated on May 31, the lesson for this Sunday is the story of Mary’s visit to her cousin Elizabeth in Juda. It is one of my favorite days in the church year. Like the Annunciation which precedes this account, artists have painted it many times, some of them, the most beautiful paintings of all time. In addition, it is so filled with biblical allusions, it can hardly be well mined in a short blog! The reference to John’s kicking in his mother’s womb in recognition of his Lord comes straight from the story of David leading the ark into Jerusalem, and dancing for joy. Mary is like the ark of the covenant carrying in her womb as she does the fulfillment of the prophecies of the past thousand years. The ark housed the two tablets of the Law, fragments of manna, the staff of Aaron, images of who Jesus will be--the word made flesh, the bread of life, the kingly priest forever.   And yet it is such a homely story. A girl, pregnant out of wedlock, fleeing the gossip of her home town, goes for refuge to her old cousin who sees in her the fulfillment of prophecy and greets her with what we now know as the rosary prayer. "Hail, Mary, full of grace, blessed art thou among women." There is divinity in this simple moment. It is the way God works through all of the biblical story through Revelation.   The Angelus by Francois Jean Millet The church made it part of what became the Angelus prayer—repeated three times a day, morning, noon and especially in the evening when the vesper bell rang. It was part of the rhythms of the day in Christian Europe for centuries. One of the most famous paintings from late 19th century France of two peasants in a field praying is called the Angelus. We can see by the church spire in the back of the painting that the picture is about prayer. And can almost hear the bell ringing.   There is nothing in Scripture that doesn’t echo previous events. Here we have the fulfillment of the hope for Messiah told with the richest set of biblical images. They ring in our minds like the Angelus bells. Listen to them, search for them reverberating all through your celebration of the coming Christmas event! As they ring out, let them bless you.   HYMN INFO This text on the Visitation was part of my hymn text series on the B series of the Revised Common Lectionary. Close readers will hear echoes of Tennyson's section from his great poem In Memorian , "Ring out Wild Bells." Dan Damon wrote a tune that is part of Hope Publishing House' treasury. The other, by Amanda Husberg, was published by Wayne Leupold Editions. Wayne Leupold the owner and publisher asked me now twenty years ago to write texts on all of the Revised Common Lectionary texts, excluding the psalms. which I did happily. It was a new way to revel in the Word and try to make the texts speak to our time. I would write a text for the Sunday on Saturday night and then spend the rest of the week working it over. He asked me to do so when I was beginning to think my writing career was over. His request opened a door in my life that was full of blessings and surprises. Thanks.   LINKS (There are no links to the Visitation text, but the annunciation text was set by Rusty Edwards, a student of mine at Luther Seminary. During my hymn writing class I began writing hymn texts as examples for my students and began a series on the women in the Gospels. He, a brand new composer, set them to tunes, some of which have become popular and included in succeeding hymnals. A wonderful surprise!   Schola Cantorum of St. Peter https://youtu.be/CmkozmrNWn4?si=zfAGgj6xMqq_zJ1p   John Wesley Slider https://youtu.be/gC1Kv7WxVQY?si=zFWJuFYmGJuaSsNP   First United Methodist Church (a dialogue between the angel and Mary) https://youtu.be/CmkozmrNWn4?si=zfAGgj6xMqq_zJ1p

Icon with scenes in the life of John the Baptist 1 O come, O come, Immanuel, And ransom captive Israel That mourns in lonely exile here Until the Son of God appear. R/Rejoice! Rejoice! Immanuel Shall come to you, O Israel.   2 O come, O Wisdom from on high, Who ordered all things mightily; To us the path of knowledge show And teach us in its ways to go. R/   3 O come, O come, great Lord of might, Who to your tribes on Sinai's height In ancient times did give the law In cloud and majesty and awe. R/   4 O come, O Branch of Jesse's stem, Unto your own and rescue them! From depths of hell your people save, And give them victory o'er the grave. R/   5 O come, O Key of David, come And open wide our heavenly home. Make safe for us the heavenward road And bar the way to death's abode. R/   6 O come, O Bright and Morning Star, And bring us comfort from afar! Dispel the shadows of the night And turn our darkness into light. R/   7 O come, O King of nations, bind In one the hearts of all mankind. Bid all our sad divisions cease And be yourself our King of Peace. R/ Tr. John Mason Neale REFLECTION illuminated manuscript with monks singing This is the most well known and beloved of Advent hymns in the popular mind. The longing for Christ to return is palpable in the very sounds of the hymn. Given the fiery sermon of John the Baptist in the lesson for today, the yearning for Christ to come is also frightening to some—and John means it to be. The one who is coming will put an end to our sinful ways—the axe is to the root.   And yet there are many who do long for the ending no matter how apocalyptic. They look forward to an ending of evil and the new kingdom of heaven to begin. When I sing it, I am struck with the melancholy longing in it, its Scriptural sources, and its venerable tradition. It brings me back to a cold night in the dark of a Northern European winter, hearing this plaintive cry for the light which marks the evenings in December. Like people that walk in great darkness. The prayer for healing our divisions and difficulties has rarely seemed so necessary. "Bind in one the hearts of all mankind. "So we pray for the Lord to come. O come, O come, Emmanuel!   HYMN INFO This hymn is among our oldest Advent songs, one that emerged sometime in the 7th century, scholars think, and clearly came from the monastery. Its tune can be traced to 17th century France. It was sung every night during Vespers from December 17th until Christmas Eve, when the eighth O antiphon "O Virgin of Virgins," was sung before and after the Magnificat, the canticle always sung at Vespers. Each night during that week the community would add the next O antiphon. Those were titles for the coming Savior: Immanuel, Wisdom, Lord of Light, Branch of Jesse, Key of David, Bright and Morning Star, King of nations. John Mason Neale It comes to us through the work of John Mason Neale (1818-1868), the Anglican priest who spent his life translating Greek and Latin texts from the early and medieval church. Without him our hymns for the liturgical year would be scanty indeed. As the Christian church reeled from the French Revolution and its temporarily establishing Notre Dame as a Temple of Reason, many horrified Christians thought the church needed to reestablish its connection with the ancient church, anchoring itself more deeply in its tradition, some of which the Reformation had stripped away. In England there were two wings of the Anglican church at the beginning of the 19th century, the Evangelical or Low Church and what would be called the Broad church When the winds of change from the French Revolution hit England, a new movement emerged called the Oxford Movement, which became known as the High Church wing of the church. It was led by John Henry Newman (1801-1890). His followers began restoring what they thought had been lost in the Reformation: the liturgical year, ancient hymnody, theological works, architecture, liturgical vestments. Its first printing was in the Psalteriolum Cantionum Catholicarum done in 1710. This preserved the Latin text. It was translated and included in the Hymnal Noted in 1851. (Noted means with music.) This tune was the one chosen. It was then printed in Hymns: Ancient and Modern which by the end of the century made the hymn text and tune popular. Neale had originally translated the first line as “Draw nigh, Draw nigh,” but by the 1861, it had been edited to "O Come, O Come." LINKS Choir of King’s College Cambridge   https://youtu.be/qcIIZpnZPgo The Mormon Tabernacle Choir   https://youtu.be/FqkUPUSY8ds The Piano Guys/Piano and Cello/Lovely   https://youtu.be/iO7ySn-Swwc Mótettukór Hallgrímskirkju Advent festival, see the lovely church https://youtu.be/_G0RB8ry3wo Mathias Eick/Norwegian version folk instruments https://youtu.be/C4BrnG9F0Jc Latin version https://youtu.be/xRi1GDoaQu4 NB: Jesus the Harmony  would make a nice Christmas present. It can be read devotionally over the entire year, one poem for every day. https://www.amazon.com/Jesus-Harmony-Gospel-Sonnets-Days-ebook/dp/B08L9S4Z1T/ref=sr_1_3_nodl?dchild=1&keywords=Grindal&qid=16145

Text: Philipp Doddridge (1702-1751)                               Tune: attr. Thomas Haweis (1734-1820) Hark, the glad sound! The Savior comes, the Savior promised long; let every heart prepare a throne, and every voice a song.   He comes, the prisoners to release, In Satan’s bondage held; the gates of brass before him burst, the iron fetters yield.   He comes, from thickest films of vice to clear the mental ray, and on the eyeballs of the blind to pour celestial day.   He comes the broken heart to bind, the bleeding soul to cure, and with the treasures of his grace to enrich the humble poor.   His silver trumpets publish loud The Lord’s high jubilee; Our debts are all remitted now, Our heritage is free.   Our glad hosannas, Prince of peace, thy welcome shall proclaim, and Heaven’s eternal arches ring with thy belovèd Name.   REFLECTION The beginning of John the Baptist’s cry in Luke is filled with joy and hope. We are to prepare the way because the Savior is coming to make things right—the highways, the valleys, the rough places made plain. Doddridge expresses the joy we will have when he comes.   Just now as I am writing the family is cleaning the house, baking the required Christmas goodies, and putting up Christmas decorations. A joyful and exciting time, especially for the children who are assembling their Christmas lists and checking them twice and many times more. While there is nothing they really need, they understand the need for preparations—it is part of the event. God has come in the flesh and gives us gifts we are thankful for, things we need for life and health. He wants us to revel in the good of his creation as we do during Christmas.   But the joy is there because we know the gifts we have under the Christmas tree are wonderful but not ultimate. His Son is the ultimate. Without the knowledge of another world, another dimension, all the good things of Christmas would simply be evidence of our hedonism and not very satisfying. When those things become our gods, and we worship them and our own efforts, God has to bring judgment and an end to them. That is why the end times for all of us can be terrifying. Have I worshiped the living God, or only my own idols which the judgment will take away?   All our Christian festivals celebrate the intersection of the spiritual with the mundane, where God gives us more than hints of heaven.  And the glimpses we get of heaven through them give us joy in our earthly gifts because they are gifts from God. Happy Advent!   HYMN INFO Philipp Doddridge was a pastor to Non-conformists in England, which meant not in the Anglican church. Because of that he could not go to school in the English universities. While he was offered a chance to enter the Anglican ministry, he refused. For many years he served his Non-conformist congregation in Northampton where he also established a school for other students from the Non-conformist congregations around him. When it was clear he was dying of tuberculosis, Lady Huntingdon, a patron of many such men, like Isaac Watts, offered to send him to sunny Lisbon for a cure. Doddridge agreed to go there, he sad, because he could as well go to heaven from Lisbon as Northampton. He died soon after arriving there. His hymns, published posthumously, numbered around 400: Hymns, Founded on Various Texts in the Holy Scriptures ( 1755). They have receded in popularity over time.  Hymnal editors have not liked "the eyeballs" in stanza three so have left them out. Some traditions think of it as a Christmas hymn. There are several popular tunes. Lutherans tend to use Chesterfield attributed to Thomas Haweis, an English surgeon who left his practice to study for the Anglican ministry, but was removed from his parish for his Methodist leanings. He served as chaplain to Lady Huntingdon. He died while serving the Chapel in Bath.   LINKS Plexus Resources Handel tune https://youtu.be/9OYBO-GatKc?si=V9uoHt65MIDXrYjz   Lutheran TV Haweis' tune https://youtu.be/RP07fPpaDNo?si=HXGWuKXSt0pxoJP4   David Oates https://youtu.be/KMLngqjtYlI?si=Zgi5wTm-7GydSfOD   Oasis Chorale https://youtu.be/76_HCKP5tpI?si=Z_Ho0vwUViswifwz   Koine https://youtu.be/vB4OV2w-FuE?si=kbMR8RV_LjcHQzzJ NB: Jesus the Harmony  would make a nice Christmas present. It can be read devotionally over the entire year, one poem for every day. "With these 366 sonnets, remarkable in artistry and number, Gracia Grindal has made literary history. The scriptural and theological knowledge that supports these poems is vast, but it is the imagination infused with the holy in poem after poem that reveals the poet's grace and skill and the astonishing work of the Spirit." -- Jill Baumgartner , Poetry Editor, Christian Century, and professor of English emerita, Wheaton College https://www.amazon.com/Jesus-Harmony-Gospel-Sonnets-Days-ebook/dp/B08L9S4Z1T/ref=sr_1_3_nodl?dchild=1&keywords=Grindal&qid=16145

Danish: Hvorledes skal jeg møde German: Wie soll ich dich empfangen Norwegian: Hvorledes skal jeg møte Text: Paul Gerhardt (1607-1676). Tune: Johann Crüger (1592-1662) 1. O Lord, how shall I meet thee, How welcome Thee aright? All nations long to greet Thee, My hope, my heart’s delight! O kindle, dearest Jesus, Thy lamp within my breast, That I may know what pleases Thee, Lord, my heavenly Guest.   2. Thy Zion strews before Thee Green boughs and fairest palms, And I, too, will adore Thee With sweetest songs and psalms. My heart shall bloom forever For Thee with praises new, And from Thy name shall never Without the honor due.   3. What hast thou left ungranted To give me glad relief? When soul and body panted In utmost depth of grief, In deepest degradation, Devoid of joy and peace, Then, thou my soul’s salvation Didst come to bring relief.   4. I lay in fetters groaning, Thou camst to set me free; I stood, my shame bemoaning, Thou camst to honor me; A glory thou dost give me, A treasure safe on high, Thou wilt not fail or leave me As earthly riches fly!   5. Naught, naught, dear Lord, could move Thee To leave Thy rightful place Save love, for which I love Thee; A love that could embrace A world where sorrow dwelleth, Which sin and suffering fill, More than the tongue e’er telleth;-- Yet thou couldst love it still.   6. Rejoice, then, ye sad-hearted, Who sit in deepest gloom, Who mourn o’er joys departed, And tremble at your doom: Despair not, he is near you, Yes, standing at the door, Who best can help and cheer you, And bid you weep no more.   7. No care nor effort either Is needed day or night, How ye may draw Him hither In your own strength and might. He comes, He comes with gladness, Moved by His love alone, To calm your fear and sadness, Which unto Him are known.   8. Sin’s debt, that fearful burden, Let not your souls distress; Your guilt the Lord will pardon And cover with His grace. He comes, he comes procuring The peace of sin forgiv’n To all God’s sons securing Their part and lot in heav’n.   9. Why should the wicked move you? Heed not their craft and spite! Your Savior who doth love you, Will scatter all their might. He comes, a King most glorious, And all His earthly foes In vain His course victorious Endeavor to oppose.   10. He comes to judge the nations, A terror to His foes, A light of consolations And blessed hope to those Who love the Lord’s appearing. O glorious Sun, now come, Send forth Thy beams so cheering, And guide us safely home! Tr. Composite   REFLECTION The lectionary committee of the 1970s eschewed the traditional Palm Sunday text of Jesus entering Jerusalem for other, more eschatological texts, like the one for today, in which Jesus prophesies great suffering and terror. This has made Advent a more penitential time than a time of joyful preparation for his coming as this most Lutheran hymn by Paul Gerhardt has it.   On the whole, the old Lutheran Advent hymns are filled with joyful expectancy, even in the midst of our suffering and sin. Christ comes to free us: "A world where sorrow dwelleth,Which sin and suffering fill, More than the tongue e’er telleth;--Yet thou couldst love it still.”   So instead of praying that he will come—which he most certainly will—according to the text for next Sunday, Gerhardt has us praying that we will be ready--Prepared to meet our Savior.   Martin Luther also addresses this in his explanation to the Lord’s Prayer in the Small Catechism, the third petition, Thy Kingdom come. His explanation is burned into my memory from year of learning it: “The kingdom of God comes indeed of itself, but we pray in this petition that it will also come among us.”   Here are the words to sing as we pray Christ will bring in his kingdom also among us this Advent. “Rejoice, then, ye sad hearted who sit in deepest gloom.”  “He comes, he comes with gladness/Moved by his love alone.” Indeed, rejoice!   HYMN INFO This hymn is very long so I had to use an old translation to get the entire hymn in English, but people had more time to sing and meditate on their hymns then! It was likely written in 1653 while Gerhardt was working with Johann Crüger, the musician at Nicolai church in Berlin. Gerhardt lived through the entire Thirty Years War when times were extremely difficult. At the time of this hymn, five years after the Peace of Westphalia, he was serving the congregation in Mittenwald, not far from Berlin, where in 1651 he had been appointed head pastor. Gerhardt was not yet married; he would marry Anna Maria, the daughter in the home where he was tutor, in 1655. They were happily married, but five of their six children died in infancy and Anna died in 1668 after a long illness. Only one child survived his father. Crüger included this hymn in his 1653 version of Praxis Pietatis Melica. Later others would use the tune "Valet will ich dir geben." Bach used the first stanza of this text for his Christmas Oratorio, with another tune.   LINKS The Augustana Choirs/Sioux Falls   https://youtu.be/1ROAEABNB54   Wind Symphony Concordia River Forest Illinois   https://youtu.be/kcuT79u1SK0   Danish with Ingolf Olsen singing https://youtu.be/EqxuofOFnNY   Organ version by Paul Manz   https://youtu.be/j46xq1flEG0   German jazz version   https://youtu.be/QuvPGMyPO_g   German congregation https://youtu.be/UGogl0feo2g   Bach’s Christmas Oratorio opens with the first stanza of the hymn https://youtu.be/cjEU_6OY88c NB: Jesus the Harmony  would make a nice Christmas present. It can be read devotionally over the entire year, one poem for every day. "With these 366 sonnets, remarkable in artistry and number, Gracia Grindal has made literary history. The scriptural and theological knowledge that supports these poems is vast, but it is the imagination infused with the holy in poem after poem that reveals the poet's grace and skill and the astonishing work of the Spirit." -- Jill Baumgartner , Poetry Editor, Christian Century, and professor of English emerita, Wheaton College https://www.amazon.com/Jesus-Harmony-Gospel-Sonnets-Days-ebook/dp/B08L9S4Z1T/ref=sr_1_3_nodl?dchild=1&keywords=Grindal&qid=16145

Everyone on this blog should know the story of our greatest Thanksgiving hymn Now Thank we All our God! Click below to read the story https://www.hymnfortheday.com/post/hymn-for-thanksgiving-2023-now-thank-we-all-our-god