A Most Blessed and Holy Christmas to all!
“‘Glory to God in the highest heaven,
and on earth peace among those whom he favours!’”
December 23, 2024
To the Faithful of Grace-Saint Paul’s Church:
Grace and Peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. This is a familiar opening of Saint Paul’s epistles to the various churches to which he wrote. It carries with it a truth that rings our ears with the same efficacy as it had millennia ago. God’s Grace and Peace to you!
I write to you as we near the culmination of joy in recognizing the coming of our Emmanuel – God who is with us. In this season, we find ourselves engulfed in all the signs that draw our hearts and minds toward that joy. Savor it! Among these signs music stands out. As we prepare for Christmas, we dust off the section of hymns (77 to 115) specific to this season in our Hymnal 1982.
As a child, I was taught that when we sing to God, we are praying twice. We tap into an emotive part of our being that allows our hearts to speak. When we sing, we feel the words that cross our lips and dance from our tongues. So many hymns resonate with me in this season. I would like to share a couple pointing out how their text might influence our appreciation of this season.
“O come, thou Wisdom from on high, who orderest all things mightily; to us the path of knowledge show, and teach us in her ways to go. Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel shall come to thee, O Israel!” Hymn 56, vs 2
O Come, O Come, Emmanuel is an Advent hymn that speaks with utmost confidence that, amidst the struggles of a nation that was conquered and exiled, God will restore and be present with them. While the refrain speaks confidently of God’s coming, verse 2 also conveys a desire within us to become what God hopes for us.
“O come, all ye faithful, joyful and triumphant, O come ye, O come ye to Bethlehem; come, and behold him, born the King of angels; O come, let us adore him, O come, let us adore him, O come, let us adore him, Christ, the Lord.” Hymn 83
O Come, All Ye Faithful calls for all the faithful to gather before our King. Though the season can seem to be a time to ‘wait for something to happen,’ we are asked to seek our King.
May we be united with our siblings in faith over the generations in living into the joyful expectation of our Lord’s Advent, holding steadfast to the same joy and confidence of God’s presence with us in Emmanuel AND be prepared to travel, to seek, search, and find God in the most unexpected places – within our hearts and out in the world - this Christmas season.
I look forward to celebrating The Nativity of our Lord with you, your families and friends at our Christmas Eve services at 4:00pm (with Blessing of the Creche) and 9:00pm (a service of Light).
A blessed, joyous, and holy Christmas to all!
In hope, peace, joy, and love,
Fr. Michael Panzarella
