Saturday, December 30, 2023  

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Today’s Hymn

This is he whom seers in old time
chanted of with one accord,
whom the voices of the prophets
promised in their faithful word.
Now he shines, the long-expected.
Let creation praise its Lord,
evermore and evermore!

O ye heights of heaven, adore him.
Angel hosts, his praises sing.
Powers, dominions, bow before him,
and extol our God and King.
Let no tongue on earth be silent;
every voice in concert ring,
evermore and evermore!

Christ, to thee with God the Father,
and, O Holy Ghost, to thee,
hymn and chant and high thanksgiving
and unwearied praises be.
Honor, glory, and dominion,
and eternal victory,
evermore and evermore! Amen.

Aurelius Clemens Prudentius’s “Of the Father’s Love Begotten”
(tune: Divinum Mysterium)
trans. John Mason Neale and Henry Williams Baker
from Glory to God: The Presbyterian Hymnal

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Reflection

The doctrinal hymn we reflect on today is from the poem “Corde Natus” by Aurelius Prudentius, a Christian poet of the fourth century, (358 AD). An 1851 translation from Latin by Neale and Baker is indeed poetic: “… He is alpha and omega; He the source, the ending; He, of the things that are, that have been and that future years shall see …”

Slow your pace today and listen to Divinum Mysterium. This is not Handel’s Messiah — you won’t hum along, you won’t cheer at the end but, I assure you, a different set of synapses in your brain will fire and become engaged; your soul will settle, and from your heart, you may caress one of my favorite hymns — “It Is Well.”

Need we go any further?

The Christmas season is not the same for many of us. As a secular holiday, the season sometimes comes with stress, loss, tears, heartache, and loneliness. I know those experiences all too well. Yet, Christmastime in its most glorious expression starts with magic — the ebullient enthusiasm of young children anticipating unbridled joy, the celebratory Christmas Carols, the gifts of the Magi — all elevate our spirits.

The magic of the season then beautifully transitions to the incredible and almost incogitable mystery, foundational in our belief, of the Immaculate Conception of Jesus; and now both magic and mystery yield to meaning. Quietly, don’t we yearn to know what it all means? We needn’t search far; Prudentius provides clarity. The poem, (upon which today’s hymn is based), is definitive.

Think of the poets we revere — e.g., Maya Angelou, Robert Frost — and consider why poetry is so powerful. Writers make us cogitate; poets make us emote. Writers follow rules of composition; poets adopt rhythm. Writers tell stories, use logic, and create memory, but poets craft imagery, stretch our senses, and touch our hearts. And through today’s hymn, a poet now confirms — he is the one; the one prophesized, the one “long-expected,” the one who is our gift and who is God.

In a world where peace is evanescent and conflict is ever present, how magnificently wonderful is it that in our God, there is no conflict, there is no war; no polarity; there is no hate. There is only love.

We are/I am at Peace. He is the one.

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Prayer
John 14:27 (KJV)

Peace I leave with you; my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.

Evermore and evermore, Amen.

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Written by Clyde Yancy, Member of Fourth Presbyterian Church

Reflection © Fourth Presbyterian Church

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