The Fourth Sunday in Advent:
22 December 2024
Contents:
- Propers (Collect and Lessons) for the Fourth Sunday in Advent, with Hymns.
- Link to the Parish website, whereon is found the YouTube live-stream of our 10:30 a.m. (EDT) service.
- Parish Announcements for the week of December 22nd, 2024.
Propers for the Fourth Sunday of Advent.
The Book of Common Prayer 1928.
The Collect.
O LORD, raise up, we pray thee, thy power, and come among us, and with great might succour us; that whereas, through our sins and wickedness, we are sore let and hindered in running the race that is set before us, thy bountiful grace and mercy may speedily help and ‘deliver us; through the satisfaction of thy Son our Lord*, to whom, with thee and the Holy Ghost, be honour and glory, world with out end. Amen..
The Advent Collect.
ALMIGHTY God, give us grace that we may cast away the works of darkness, and put upon us the armour of light, now in the time of this mortal life, in which thy Son Jesus Christ came to visit us in great humility; that in the last day, when he shall come again in his glorious majesty to judge both the quick and [the]* dead, we may rise to the life immortal, through him who liveth and reigneth with thee and the Holy Ghost, now and ever. Amen.
The Epistle: Philippians. iv. 4.
REJOICE in the Lord alway: and again I say, Rejoice. Let your moderation be known unto all men. The Lord is at hand. Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. And the peace of God, which passeth all under standing, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.
The Gospel: St. John i. 19.
THIS is the record of John, when the Jews sent priests and Levites from Jerusalem to ask him, Who art thou? And he confessed, and denied not; but confessed, I am not the Christ. And they asked him, What then? Art thou Elias? And he saith, I am not. Art thou that prophet? And he answered, No. Then said they unto him, Who art thou? that we may give an answer to them that sent us, What sayest thou of thyself? He said, I am the voice of one crying in the wilderness, Make straight the way of the Lord, as said the prophet Esaias. And they which were sent were of the Pharisees. And they asked him, and said unto him, Why baptizest thou then, if thou be not that Christ, nor Elias, neither that prophet? John answered them, saying, I baptize with water: but there standeth one among you, whom ye know not; he it is, who coming after me is preferred before me, whose shoe’s latchet I am not worthy to unloose. These things were done in Bethabara beyond Jordan, where John was baptizing.
Hymns:
Note: Clicking the link will take you to a YouTube rendition of the hymn in question – especially helpful if it is one that is less familiar to you!
Processional Hymn: “Creator of the stars of night” – #6 (First Tune: Conditor Alme)
Sermon Hymn: “On Jordan’s bank the Baptist’s cry” – #10
Communion Hymn: “O God unseen, yet ever near” – #198 (Second Tune: Meditation)
For the Gloria: “Strengthen for service, Lord, the hands” #201
Recessional Hymn: “Lo, he comes with clouds descending” – #5 (Second Tune: Helmsley)
The service of Holy Communion, 10:30 a.m. on Sundays, is broadcast weekly via YouTube and on our website:
Watch this Sunday’s live-stream!
Our new website is live and may be found at cca-nc.org. This website should simplify and streamline our information-sharing quite a bit, including the fact that our most current YouTube live-stream will always be found at “Watch this Sunday’s live-stream,” accessible from the menu-bar at the top of the page.
The website is also a place to check our “Current operating status” – in other words, whether or not the church is open for services, in case of inclement weather (or unusual episodes like the sabotage of transformers a few years ago). If in doubt, check us out! Other options include Meet Our Clergy, Who We Are, Services and Office Hours, and How to find us.
All of these links can also be found by scrolling down the main page, as can also sections on “Find Your Place” – ministries of the parish, which you may wish to join – “Recent Media,” both video and audio, and “Recent Posts” on our nascent blog page. The goal is for this to become a “one-stop shop” for information about Christ Church Anglican.
If you have any questions or issues, please contact our media team at [email protected]. And if you wish to volunteer for our media team, please contact our IT/AV/Social media specialist, John Fesq, at [email protected].
Announcements for the Week of Sunday, December 22nd, 2024
If you are visiting us: Welcome to Christ Church Anglican, Southern Pines! Thank you for being with us. We are very pleased to have you join us for the service, and hope that your worship here is a blessing to you. Please sign the guest book on the table in the narthex, and provide appropriate contact information. Include your email address in order to be placed on our parish email list: you won’t be bombarded with mail, but it’s a good way to keep in touch. And may God bless you!
Christmas Poinsettias: Poinsettias are native to Mexico, and were unknown in the U.S. until ambassador and botanist Joel Roberts Poinsett saw them and sent some back to his home state of South Carolina in 1828. But, how did they become almost synonymous with Christmas?
Reportedly, Catholic missionaries to Mexico, unable to find holly with which to decorate their churches at Christmastide, turned to the similarly red-and-green colored poinsettias, instead! From there, they “migrated” to American Christmas displays via TV in the later 20th century: Johnny Carson is often credited with helping to popularize them.
In any case, if you would like to donate a poinsettia to help beautify Christ Church this Christmas, and/or to honour or memorialize a loved one, the requested donation is $25: please contact Susan at our church contact page.
Greening of the Church: Perhaps one of the most striking and universal features of Christmas is the use of evergreens in churches and homes. Holly and ivy, along with pine, spruce, and fir, are ever-green, ever-alive, even in the midst of winter. Thus they symbolize the unchanging nature of our God, and remind us of the everlasting life that is ours through Christ Jesus. In Christian thought and sentiment, holly became widely used in church celebrations, a representation which is heard throughout many Advent and Christmas carols, perhaps most notably “The Holly and the Ivy.”
If anyone would like to help with “the Greening of the Church” here at Christ Church Anglican, please join us on Monday, December 23rd, at 9 o’clock a.m.!
Christmas Services: Christmas, the Feast of the Nativity, falls on Wednesday this year. After due consideration, consultation, prayer, and pondering, we have made the decision to have but two services:
Our Christmas Eve service will consist of a Service of Lessons and Carols, incorporating the Holy Communion, at 4 o’clock on Tuesday evening, the 24th of December, for the sake both of our older members who do not wish to drive in the dark, and also for families with young children who might not want to get home too late.
Our Christmas Day service of Holy Communion will be at 11 o’clock on the morning of December 25th: a time intended to fit in between early-morning present-opening and midday or afternoon Christmas dinner.
We will re-evaluate next year, if necessary!
Christ Church Anglican’s Choir is always looking for new members! And especially as we prepare for our Service of Lessons and Carols on Christmas Eve (see below). Please contact our Choir Director, Amanda, at our church contact page , for further information.
You are also welcome to join the choir for practice even if you are a bit shy and would prefer not to sing in the choir itself, but would like to learn or practice our hymns and service music, and sing from your usual spot in the congregation!
It is said that “who sings, prays twice” – and encouraging congregational singing is an important part of church music. To that end, you will have noticed that we are including YouTube links to our hymns, now, for those who would like to prepare before arriving at the service on Sunday!
Rector’s Ramblings – “O Sapientia“: the Great “O” Antiphons of Advent
On December 16th, if one is following the English “Old Sarum Use,” or the 17th, if one follows the pattern used by Roman Catholics, Old Catholics, many Anglicans, and some Lutherans, is a day entitled “O Sapientia.”
This day is named for the first of the Advent “Great ‘O’ antiphons,” traditionally said with the Magnificat at Vespers beginning on the 16th (by the English “Old Sarum” use) or 17th (for most of the rest of the Western Church) through the 23rd of December; Christmas Eve had its own proper antiphon. This season of heightened preparation and expectation leading up to the Feast of the Nativity is sometimes known as “Sapientiatide.”
Antiphons are short (usually) passages, either taken from or based on Biblical texts, which are used before and after psalms or canticles, to link them more closely with the specific holy day or season being celebrated. As such, they are as one commentator has put it, “a great aid to intelligent devotion.”
Now, you may or may not know of the “O Antiphons,” but you do know the hymn they became: “O Come, O Come, Emmanuel.” This very popular hymn, a metrical and rhymed adaption of the Advent antiphons, did not appear until the early 18th century. And it was first paired with the 15th-century tune now known as Veni Emmanuel, in an English-language hymnal, in 1851.
Though the hymn is relatively modern, the Advent antiphons are ancient: their origins date back to the time of Charlemagne, in early medieval Europe. Each of these seven antiphons addresses the Messiah, our Lord Jesus Christ, by one of his titles, drawn from the Book of the Prophet Isaiah.
Those titles are: O Sapientia (O Wisdom), O Adonai (O Lord), O Radix Jesse (O Root of Jesse), O Clavis David (O Key of David), O Oriens (O Dayspring – Day Star, or Rising Sun – referencing the Sun of Righteousness), O Rex Gentium (O King of the Nations), and O Emmanuel (O God with Us). Also, each one refers to a prophecy of Isaiah regarding the coming of the Messiah, and often references other Scriptural imagery, as well.
These are the seven which are more-or-less universal in the Western Christian tradition – but Anglicans, as usual, have to be just a little bit different! The dates given are for the general Western use; those in parentheses are for the Sarum Use:
December 17th (16th): O Sapientia
O Wisdom, which camest out of the mouth of the Most High, and reachest from one end unto the other, mightily and sweetly ordering all things: Come and teach us the way of prudence.
December 18th (17th): O Adonai
O Adonai, and Leader of the house of Israel, who appearedst in the Bush to Moses in a flame of fire, and gavest him the Law at Sinai: Come and redeem us with an outstretched arm.
December 19th (18th): O Radix Jesse
O Root of Jesse, which standest for an ensign of the people, at whom kings shall shut their mouths, to whom the Gentiles shall seek: Come and deliver us, and tarry not.
December 20th (19th): O Clavis David
O Key of David, and Scepter of the house of Israel, that openest and no man shutteth, and shuttest and no man openeth: Come and bring the prisoners out of the prison-house, them that sit in darkness and the shadow of death.
December 21st (20th): O Oriens
O Dayspring, Brightness of Light Everlasting, and Sun of Righteousness: Come and enlighten them that sit in darkness and the shadow of death.
December 22nd (21st): O Rex Gentium
O King of the Nations, and their Desire; the Cornerstone who makest both one: Come and save mankind, whom thou formedst from clay.
December 23rd (22nd): O Emmanuel
O Emmanuel, our King and Lawgiver, the Desire of all nations and their Salvation: Come and save us, O Lord our God.
As mentioned, the Old Sarum use has “O Sapientia” on the 16th, and adds an 8th and final Great “O” at the end: “O Virgo virginum” – “O Virgin of virgins,” on the 23rd:
December 23rd, Sarum Use Alternative: O Virgo virginum
O Virgin of virgins, how shall this be? For neither before thee was any seen like thee, no shall there be after. Daughters of Jerusalem, why marvel ye at me? The thing which ye behold is a divine mystery.
These antiphons made their way back into the post-Reformation Anglican tradition early, beginning in 1561, when they entered the calendar of the Elizabethan Prayer Book by way of the Latin-language Book of Common Prayer used in college chapels – places where Latin was expected to be a language “understanded of the people.”
Formally ratified by the inclusion of “O Sapientia” in the calendar of the 1662 Book of Common Prayer – still the official prayer-book of the Church of England and often considered to be the liturgical norm for Anglicans as a whole – this entry firmly grounds the Great “O” Antiphons in the Anglican tradition.
They have become highly meaningful to me, over the years, and I commend them to your attention, as well. Traditionally, they were used to bracket the Magnificat at Evening Prayer, but they may also be used simply as a meditation for each day during this season.
And I wish you a holy Sapientiatide, and a blessed conclusion to the seasons of Advent, as we look forward to the celebration of our Lord’s Nativity!
Faithfully yours in Christ,
Fr. Tom Harbold
