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Rector's
Messages
Advent
and Christmas 2006
"Joseph
went … from Nazareth to the city of David called Bethlehem". --Luke
2:4 (NRSV)
Describing
a piece of music to someone who has not yet heard it is difficult. This
past several weeks I've been listening to an instrumental piece entitled On
The Way to Bethlehem, from a collection entitled Pilgrim Songs. I
wish I could explain more clearly how much of a strong sense of the season
this music elicits. It captures the imagination in a way that familiar
holiday music does not. It does not whisk you quickly to the holiday
destination. On The Way to Bethlehem is a long piece with both
variety and repetition. The music has a distinct Near Eastern flavor. The
arrangement and rhythm are evocative of the plodding nature of a journey.
It calls to mind long and laborious days walking, lumbering animals in
caravan, the purposeful steps of a pilgrimage. Moving forward under a hot
sun is slow going. I wonder about the many nights under a cold and starry
sky. Devotion and prayer were surely part of the trek. There is a feeling
of hopefulness in the music, but predictability is not so much present. I
listen and I read. The music seems to give nuance and vitality to the
familiar verses from Luke's Gospel. " A decree went out … the
whole world should be registered … all went to their own towns …
Joseph went from Nazareth to Bethlehem … with Mary who was expecting a
child … while they were there … [At last!] she gave birth ... there
was no place for them in the inn." The music and the story draw
out something of the travel tension in the church's celebration of Advent,
Christmas and Epiphany. The Christ is coming to us even as we are coming
to worship him.
Worship
is one of the necessary treasurers for the journey. Worship reminds us
that we travel in the company of the Divine. It places our journey before
the wide horizon of God's purposes for us. We go as a worshipping people.
Justice, love, peace, and hope grow within us on the way. Worship
strengthens the faith and resolve of a pilgrim people.
The
journey through Advent, Christmas, and Epiphany is highlighted by acts of
worship. We praise God in unison with Mary. We acclaim God in company with
Anna, Simeon and Zachariah. We adore Christ with the shepherds. We sing
praises in concert with the angels. Together with the Magi we too come to
worship the newborn king. Worship, like the pilgrimage of which it is a
part, requires the risk of faith. To travel with God is to open one's self
to the possibility of change and transformation. God's love and grace are
poured out in worship. Eyes are opened to see Christ in the lives of those
we meet along the way. We become more caring of all God's children. We are
called to be less accepting of the injustice and suffering that is often
the lot of both friend and stranger. In the end, the journey shapes and
strengthens and disciplines us. The road to Bethlehem is eventually the
road to peace on earth and favor with God. So too is the road traveled by
today's people of faith. Like new music to fresh ears, it is a road that
must be experienced to be fully understood.
The
Rev. Canon Rod Gillis Advent 2006
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