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And just like that we are at the end of another liturgical year! The feast of the Reign of Christ, or Christ the King, brings the Christological story to its conclusion. Next week we begin the story all over again with the First Sunday of Advent.
These last weeks of Ordinary Time and early weeks of Advent deal with the coming of Christ at the end of time — whether that be personal (our deaths) or that of the universe. It is a beautiful thing to imagine what the world will be like when the Reign of Christ truly happens. Until then, we just keep on keeping on.
A note on the service for Sunday: We will sing a canticle in place of the responsorial psalm this week. By now I hope you see that the psalms are songs and are best when sung. Canticles are also songs; they are biblical but not from the book of Psalms. These “little songs” (there are officially ten of them) are hymns pulled from the Bible that are used in the liturgy. Some famous ones are the Magnificat or Song of Mary, which is sung at Evening Prayer or Evensong, the Nunc Dimittis or Song of Simeon, sung at Night Prayer or Evensong, and the one we will sing on Sunday, the Benedictus or Song of Zechariah, which is sung at Morning Prayer.
The Benedictus is appointed for this Sunday in the lectionary. It is drawn from Luke 1:67-79, where it is sung by Zechariah, the father of John the Baptist, at John’s circumcision. The prophesies uttered here pertain to John as the forerunner of Jesus, the Messiah. As such, it makes a great transitional text for this end-of -the-year-beginning-of-the-year time.
Finally, this Sunday is a day for us to sing one of my very favorite hymns, King of Glory, King of Peace. Here is my annual explanation of this hymn. Happy New Year!
“King of glory, king of peace” is a marvelously evocative poem. Written by English cleric and metaphysical poet, George Herbert (1593-1632), it was published posthumously in 1633 in his collection, The Temple. Herbert is recognized as "one of the foremost British devotional lyricists." Here is a brilliant explanation of the poem:
Herbert’s lyrics are packed with interesting turns of phrase, old English vocabulary, and multiple patterns of rhyming. However, I’ve chosen to focus on the drama. The drama, it seems, of George Herbert’s inner life. There are several players—Herbert, God, and Herbert’s sins.
The opening lines don’t exhort us to bow down to this King of glory and peace. Instead, Herbert proclaims “I will love thee.” He then sets out to describe just how and why he’s compelled to do this.
For starters, he says he will ‘move’ God. What does this mean? He isn’t talking about persuading God, or literally moving God from here to there.
In the second stanza, Herbert explains. He’s going to ‘sing thee’ or serenade God. He's determined to use his ‘utmost art,’ his very best artistic offering — the gift of song. He isn’t trying to persuade God to listen to him. Rather, he wants to ‘move’ God with his voice, one of God’s gifts to him.
Perhaps this is a way to deal with the clamor of accusatory voices in his head. He’s been cleared, spared, heard by God and fully accepted as he is. Still, in the second stanza the voices of his sins seem to want the last word. Perhaps they’re arguing with God about whether Herbert deserves to be heard, much less cleared of his sins. Surely God knows George Herbert better than to let him off the hook!
Yet the hymn is clear. God has indeed heard him, spared him, cleared him, granted his request. Thus Herbert now offers back to God ‘my utmost art,’ ‘the cream of all my heart.’ His best voice in song.
There are obstacles, of course. First, there’s only one Sabbath in the entire week, not nearly long enough for what Herbert has in mind. No problem! He declares he’ll spend every day of every week praising God.
Second, Herbert is on earth; God is in heaven. That doesn’t matter. He can still ‘raise’ or lift up God every day in his heart, right here on earth.
Finally, Herbert acknowledges this is a ‘small’ and ‘poor’ way to ‘enrol’ God — to record and celebrate what God has done for him. He acknowledges that even if he could do this through eternity, that wouldn’t be long enough to render to God the praise, honor and gratitude that fill Herbert’s heart.
A magnificent vision from a poetic heart. As I said, it moves me to tears. Surely it also moves God.
© Elouise Renich Fraser, 8 October 2016. As quoted from, https://tellingthetruth1993.com/2016/10/09/king-of-glory-king-of-peace/
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