November 27, 2022
5 There was in the days of Herod, the king of Judaea, a certain priest named Zacharias, of the course of Abia: and his wife was of the daughters of Aaron, and her name was Elisabeth.
6 And they were both righteous before God, walking in all the commandments and ordinances of the Lord blameless.
7 And they had no child, because that Elisabeth was barren, and they both were now well stricken in years.
8 And it came to pass, that while he executed the priest’s office before God in the order of his course,
9 According to the custom of the priest’s office, his lot was to burn incense when he went into the temple of the Lord.
10 And the whole multitude of the people were praying without at the time of incense.
11 And there appeared unto him an angel of the Lord standing on the right side of the altar of incense.
12 And when Zacharias saw him, he was troubled, and fear fell upon him.
13 But the angel said unto him, Fear not, Zacharias: for thy prayer is heard; and thy wife Elisabeth shall bear thee a son, and thou shalt call his name John.
14 And thou shalt have joy and gladness; and many shall rejoice at his birth.
15 For he shall be great in the sight of the Lord, and shall drink neither wine nor strong drink; and he shall be filled with the Holy Ghost, even from his mother’s womb.
16 And many of the children of Israel shall he turn to the Lord their God.
17 And he shall go before him in the spirit and power of Elias, to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just; to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.
18 And Zacharias said unto the angel, Whereby shall I know this? for I am an old man, and my wife well stricken in years.
19 And the angel answering said unto him, I am Gabriel, that stand in the presence of God; and am sent to speak unto thee, and to shew thee these glad tidings.
20 And, behold, thou shalt be dumb, and not able to speak, until the day that these things shall be performed, because thou believest not my words, which shall be fulfilled in their season.
21 And the people waited for Zacharias, and marvelled that he tarried so long in the temple.
22 And when he came out, he could not speak unto them: and they perceived that he had seen a vision in the temple: for he beckoned unto them, and remained speechless.
23 And it came to pass, that, as soon as the days of his ministration were accomplished, he departed to his own house.
24 And after those days his wife Elisabeth conceived, and hid herself five months, saying,
25 Thus hath the Lord dealt with me in the days wherein he looked on me, to take away my reproach among men.
I have to be honest … the choices for today’s reading was the one above and Hebrews 12:14-29; I chose Luke. I am so ready for the joy of Christmas. So ready. I started listening to the occasional Christmas carol back in July! My heart and soul cries out for joy and peace and calm and love and the glow of Christmas lights on the streets of neighboring houses at night.
It’s been a tough year for everyone. Whether it was hurricanes or illness, politics or religion, home repair or car repair … it’s been a tough year. And then … the Nativity Story. “Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee. Blessed art thou amongst women and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus.” And so begins the greatest story ever told.
Of course, everything in the Old Testament and up to this moment in time, is the greatest story; Jesus is the fulfillment of that long, long story. The humble baby Who is King of Kings and Lord of Lords.
This greatest story never ends. When He comes again in glory, we’ll be partakers of the New Chapter. The best chapter.
Until then … Christmas is coming!
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Words on the Word 
July eh? I waited until the end of September before I started on the Christmas playlist which now stands at a touch over seventeen hours. Did you know that carols, derived from folk music were sung as the singers simultaneously danced to them? Many of our traditional Christmas ‘carols’ are actually hymns, think O Come All Ye Faithful, Away In A Manger etc. I only learned this last week from one of the acolytes at Holy Trinity who is a most excellent musician and was a music teacher for many years.
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I didn’t know about the dancing but was aware of many of the carols being hymns – not because I’m so smart, lol, but because I was raised in the church and so, used the hymnal to sing along.
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I had never really thought about the difference before but there are also many religious Christmas songs which fall into neither camp including possibly my favourite ever In The Bleak Midwinter (from the poem by Christina Rossetti, settings by Gustav Holst and Darke) although I know it is in hymnals. Like the hymn Jerusalem (words by William Blake, music by Hubert Parry) it is a poem set to music so technically it is a lied (art song). Of course, it matters not one jot really whether the songs we sing to celebrate Christmas are hymns, carols or lieder, it is the message they convey that is important and that people enjoy singing them. The last verse of In The Bleak Midwinter has to be the most poignant ever in a Christian song. Brings tears to my eyes every single time.
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You’ve made me a lover of In The Bleak Midwinter. It’s hauntingly beautiful.
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