Fourth Day of Advent (Wednesday, December 4th, 2024)

If you’re new to Advent Song Reflections, click here to learn about it

Click here to follow the Advent Song Reflections playlist on Spotify.
(please note—due to copyright, versions of songs on the playlist may differ from those used here)

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Words of Reflection

Advent can be a difficult time for those who plan worship services. There is a very real tension between the desire to embrace the theme of waiting that is part of Advent and the belovedness of Christmas music which the congregation has been looking forward to singing. Over the years I have heard more than one story of a pastor who had frustrated their congregation by not singing enough Christmas music during the season. Truth be told, in the past I have been that pastor.

But one day a voice broke through what had become, for me, a sense of theological smugness. It belonged to a member of our church, who told me one Sunday after the worship service, “Jack, these are some of the most beautiful, most theologically rich hymns ever written. And it’s a shame that we don’t get to enjoy them more as part of our preparation for Christmas.”

She was right. The hymnody of the incarnation is some of the most moving, most thoughtful, and most worshipful ever written. And here I was, holding all of it back for a single Christmas Eve service, one that many people in our congregation missed because they were out of town celebrating with family. As a result, they never had the opportunity to sing these beloved carols with their church family.

Music is an integral part of the Christmas story, dating back all the way to the very first Christmas—from Mary to Zechariah to the heavenly host appearing to the shepherds, songs are woven into the fabric of our celebration. The rich history of Christmas music ever since points to the power of the incarnation to inspire us and fill us with wonder and praise, and in a world where there is so much “seasonal noise” assaulting our senses, isn’t it wonderful that we have so many amazing songs and carols to help us refocus and give thanks?

There are still some carols I don’t use in worship until Christmas Eve—”Joy to the World” and “Silent Night” being two of them. But in the years since my “carol conversion,” I have been reminded over and over again that embracing a rhythm of both waiting and celebration is a healthy choice. We need both in our lives, and there is room for both. Just like we celebrate “mini-Easters” during Lent, let’s make sure we celebrate “mini-Christmases” during Advent.

Scripture for Meditation:

“Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly; teach and admonish one another in all wisdom; and with gratitude in your hearts sing psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs to God. And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.”—Colossians 3:16-17 (NRSVUE)

“Make a joyful noise to the Lord, all the earth! Serve the Lord with gladness! Come into his presence with singing!”—Psalm 100:1-2 (NRSVUE)

Song: What Sweeter Music (lyrics here)

Questions for Contemplation:

How do you balance the spiritual posture of waiting and celebration in your own life? How might you make Advent an intentional time of anticipation while also engaging the glorious truths of which the carols speak?

Today’s song is a modern setting of a 17th century text that reminds us that celebrating the birth of Christ radically impacts how we view and experience the world, as we sense the “chilling winter’s morn smile” in a way that shows “December turned to May.” How does the celebration of this season reorient you and change your perspective on the world?

What carols or songs have been particularly meaningful for you as you have celebrated Advent and Christmas in the past? Track down a recording of one you love in particular and listen again. What about it speaks to you? What invitation do you find in that song?

Third Day of Advent (Tuesday, December 3rd, 2024)

If you’re new to Advent Song Reflections, click here to learn about it

Click here to follow the Advent Song Reflections playlist on Spotify.
(please note—due to copyright, versions of songs on the playlist may differ from those used here)

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Words of Reflection

The first sermon of Jesus reveals to us his own awareness of his mission. He knows why he has come to earth, and the words from Isaiah capture his purpose perfectly:

“The Spirit of the Lord is upon me,
because he has anointed me
to bring good news to the poor.
He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives
and recovery of sight to the blind,
to let the oppressed go free,
to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.” (vv. 18-19)

In just a brief collection of words so much is promised and proclaimed: the poor receive good news, the captives are promised freedom, the blind are told they will regain their sight, and the oppressed are told their time of bondage is coming to and end. It is, indeed, the year of the Lord’s favor.

I’ve always been struck by the quick reversal of the synagogue crowd in this passage. Luke tells us that they, at first, “spoke well of him and were amazed at the gracious words that came out of his mouth.” (v. 22) You can feel the power of his words hanging in the air, but then doubt starts to sink into the crowd with a turn towards “Wait, we know this guy, who does he think he is anyway?” When Jesus points out that prophets are rarely welcomed in their hometown, and that others will be open to the message, their doubt quickly turns to anger and violent intent.

When Jesus was promising good things for them, the crowd seems amenable to his message. It appears as though they don’t get offended until he mentions the widow of Zarephath and Naaman the Syrian, as if it’s the idea that God’s grace is available even to Gentiles that raises their ire. I’ve always been taught that the crowd in Nazareth reacted to Jesus’ claim that he fulfills the text, which I’m sure is there, but it seems they’re also reacting to his claim that the text includes all the people of the world. They’re not just showing their incredulity, they’re also showing their bigotry.

One thing this text highlights for me is that the crowd in Nazareth isn’t really able to see themselves in the text from Isaiah: they don’t recognize that they suffer a poverty of spirit, a captivity to pride, a blindness to God’s covenant promises, and an oppression that has nothing to do with the Roman Empire. They are unable to see the reality of their need, and as such they reject the One who came to meet it.

As we reflect during Advent on God’s salvation promises coming to earth, it is good to be reminded that sometimes we fail to appreciate the richness of the gift because we fail to appreciate the depth of our need. Apart from the grace of God shown in Christ, we, too, remain poor, captive, blind, and oppressed by sin. But the truth of Christmas resonates with Isaiah’s promise: God’s favor has come to earth, and our need for a Savior has been met most miraculously!

Scripture for Meditation:

“But when the fullness of time had come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under the law, in order to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as children.”
—Galatians 4:4-5 (NRSVUE)

“Let us therefore approach the throne of grace with boldness, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need." —Hebrews 4:16 (NRSVUE)

Song: In Need of a Savior (lyrics here)

Questions for Contemplation:

Spend some time in prayer before God reflecting on your need for a Savior and the way God has met that need in Jesus. In what places of darkness has he met you, and how does that move you to gratitude? In what places are you still waiting, and how might you offer those to God in prayer?

Spend some time praying with this song’s simple refrain: “Come O Lord, Emmanuel. Come in our hearts to dwell.”

Read again the promises that Jesus proclaims from Isaiah—how do they speak to your soul today? What faces come to mind of people who need the truth of those promises in their own life, and how can you pray for them?

“The Spirit of the Lord is upon me,
because he has anointed me
to bring good news to the poor.
He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives
and recovery of sight to the blind,
to let the oppressed go free,
to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.” (vv. 18-19)

Second Day of Advent (Monday, December 2nd, 2024)

If you’re new to Advent Song Reflections, click here to learn about it

Click here to follow the Advent Song Reflections playlist on Spotify.
(please note—due to copyright, versions of songs on the playlist may differ from those used here)

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Words of Reflection

In the 63rd chapter of Isaiah, the prophet reflects on God’s actions on behalf of his people and their stubborn rebellion even in the face of his faithfulness. He looks out and sees the people suffering from their own self-destructive choices, and he pleads with God to do something radical in the face of their selfishness and failure. His cry reaches a dramatic and climactic point at the beginning of chapter 64:

“O that you would tear open the heavens and come down, so that the mountains would quake at your presence—as when fire kindles brushwood and the fire causes water to boil—to make your name known to your adversaries, so that the nations might tremble at your presence!”—Isaiah 64:1-3 (NRSVUE)

Isaiah has in mind a terrifying revelation of God that would strike fear into Israel’s enemies and echo the “awesome deeds” of old, like the days of Moses and Joshua. He wants to see God "tear the heavens open” and come as a mighty warrior to smite the wicked and cause the very foundations of the earth to shake. It’s an awe-inspiring image.

But even though it didn’t take place exactly as the prophet envisioned, the basic thrust of what Isaiah wanted to see is exactly what happened—God did, in fact, “tear the heavens open and come down.” The mountains may not have quaked, the nations may not have (yet) trembled, but the cosmic impact of what took place on that first Christmas morn was beyond measure. Heaven came to earth, the power of creation’s author was found in a tiny child, and (as songwriter Michael Card puts it) “eternity stepped into time.” The true scope of what took place at the incarnation is far too vast for any human mind to comprehend, and yet during the Advent season we are invited to dwell in the wonder and mystery of it all the same.

We are also invited, I think, to make Isaiah’s prayer our own as part of our Advent journey. “O that you would tear the heavens open and come down” is still the cry of our heart during these particularly chaotic times. Every concern we bring to God is a plea for God to be known in the midst of it, for a fresh revelation of his supernatural power and peace to be manifest in difficult and painful situations. Even as we ponder the Incarnation, we ask God to be made real anew in our world through the power of his Spirit and the ministry of his people.

The ancient carol “Let All Mortal Flesh Keep Silence” invites us to do both of these things—to sit with the glory of the Incarnation as we “ponder nothing earthly minded,” and to join our voice with Isaiah’s in a plea for God to intercede where evil still has the upper hand “that the powers of hell may vanish as the darkness clears away.”

And through it all we join the ceaseless chorus in a cry of worship: “Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia God Most High!”

Amen.

Scripture for Meditation:

“From ages past no one has heard, no ear has perceived,
no eye has seen any God besides you, who works for those who wait for him.”—Isaiah 64:4 (NRSVUE)

“For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, and through him God was pleased to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, by making peace through the blood of his cross." —Colossians 1:19-20 (NRSVUE)

Song: Let All Mortal Flesh Keep Silence (lyrics here)

Questions for Contemplation:

As we hear the carol’s invitation to “ponder nothing earthly minded,” what does that mean for you personally? How do you find ways to set aside the concerns of the day in order to simply sit with the mystery and wonder of the Incarnation? If you find it a struggle, ask God to reveal to you ways of quieting yourself before the manger. The Spirit is faithful to guide us in our desire for time with him.

Into what particular situations are you asking God to “tear open the heavens and come down” right now? Sit for a moment of intercession and ask God to help you offer these concerns with confidence and assurance in his goodness and faithfulness.

“Let All Mortal Flesh Keep Silence” was originally a Eucharistic hymn that has since transitioned to an Advent/Christmas carol. This is particularly noticeable in the line “He will give to all the faithful his own self for heav’nly food.” How might a celebration of Communion be particularly powerful for us during Advent? How has it spoken to you in the past about the depth of God’s love for you?

First Sunday of Advent (Sunday, December 1st, 2024)

If you’re new to Advent Song Reflections, click here to learn about it

Click here to follow the Advent Song Reflections playlist on Spotify.
(please note—due to copyright, versions of songs on the playlist may differ from those used here)

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Words of Reflection

Advent is a time of longing.

Children know this well. Those who market the holiday count on their youthful sense of anticipation and excitement, constantly informing everyone just how many days are left until Christmas. Everywhere you turn you find a barrage of lights, sounds, and sales all meant to remind us that something wonderful is coming. It’s all about the celebration.

But as we get older, the sense of longing takes on a deeper dimension. As we become more and more aware that our world is full of brokenness, the promises of Christmas become less about the celebration and more about wholeness. The anticipation we feel isn’t just for a single day, but for an eternity when God’s promises, made real in the birth of a tiny baby, find their ultimate fulfillment in a kingdom of hope, peace, joy, and love. We see glimpses of those promises, but we yearn for a time when they will be made complete. In the face of a world filled with chaos, division, and war we cling tight to our faith and the belief that something wonderful is, indeed, coming.

In Advent we find ourselves both looking back and looking forward. We look back in wonder at the incarnation and the manifestation of God’s love, but we also look forward to the ultimate fulfillment of the hope that was born that first Christmas Day. Perhaps no carol best captures this sense of longing than “O Come O Come Emmanuel.” In many ways our world is still mourning in lowly exile—the clouds of night and death’s dark shadows are still very real for us. But the carol, like most songs of lament, encourages us to move from despair to praise. Even as we mourn, we rejoice, for God’s loving kindness and faithfulness have been shown to us in the birth of Jesus, and they shall never, ever fail.

As you enter this season of longing, may the words of this carol speak to you with renewed hope and assurance of God’s greatest promises, which find their fulfillment in the One whose birth we celebrate and whose return we anticipate. Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel shall come indeed!

Scripture for Meditation:

“Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel.”—Isaiah 7:14 (NIV)

“‘The days are coming,’ declares the Lord, ‘when I will fulfill the good promise I made to the people of Israel and Judah. In those days and at that time I will make a righteous Branch sprout from David’s line; he will do what is just and right in the land. In those days Judah will be saved and Jerusalem will live in safety. This is the name by which it will be called: The Lord Our Righteous Savior.’” —Jeremiah 33:14-16 (NIV)

Song: O Come, O Come Emmanuel (lyrics here)

Questions for Contemplation:

How is Advent in 2024 a “season of longing” for you? For what are you crying out to God in anticipation of his grace and intervention? What “gloomy clouds of night” are you asking him to disperse?

In what ways can you build intentional times of looking back and looking forward during this Advent season? How can you remind yourself of God’s faithful, covenant love shown in the past? How can you remind yourself of the coming day when we will know that love in completeness?

Spend some time simply sitting with the reality of Emmanuel, God With Us. How has God revealed himself as the One who is with you? How can you cultivate a deeper awareness of his presence? Spend some time asking God for eyes to see and a heart to know how Emmanuel is with you even now.

Welcome to Advent Song Reflections 2024

Welcome to Advent Song Reflections, a daily resource during this season of Advent from Abiding Way Ministries. Starting with the First Sunday of Advent (December 1st), each day of the season you’ll find here a short reflection here based on a worship song, hymn, or other piece of music that echoes the themes of hope, peace, joy, and love that frame this time of year. It is our prayer that this resource will draw you into reflection and worship as you reflect on the meaning of the incarnation for these next four weeks.

Advent is a time of great joy and anticipation. We prepare our hearts and our homes for the celebration of Christ’s birth, but as with other seasons of the church year we must resist the temptation to “fast forward” to the end of the story. Advent is a time when we also identify with the ancient Hebrew people who longed for the coming of the Savior, and in our identification we acknowledge that we, too, await his coming. Each of the songs offered through this daily devotional will center on images, texts, and ideas that seek to balance our celebration and hope, and each will be accompanied by a few thoughts and questions for refection. Use these in your personal devotions, or perhaps listen together with family members or friends, spending time in conversation afterwards.

Each song will be linked to an online opportunity to listen, and will be embedded in the post if possible. Due to the policies of some streaming sites, the song may be preceded by an advertisement, which is unfortunately out of our control. You may wish to mute the advertisement and sit in silence until the song begins.

Each post will also have suggested Scripture readings for meditation and reflection.

God bless you as you draw near to him during this most joyous time of the year!

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