On the 8th Day of Christmas: The Circumcision and Name of Jesus

And at the end of eight days,
when He was circumcised,
He was called Jesus,
the name given by the angel
before He was conceived in the womb.
Luke 2:21 (ESV)

Occasionally the Church celebrates in real time. We read Luke 2:1-20 during the Christmas celebrations between sundowns on Dec. 24 and 25. Eight days later, just as the scripture says, we read Luke 2:21. It is easy to confuse this celebration with Simeon and Anna in the temple. Those who follow the 3-year lectionary heard about them this past Sunday. The text in Luke is clear that these are separate events. Luke 2:21 begins, "At the end of eight days..." and Luke 2:22 begins, "And when the time came for their purification according to the Law of Moses..."

Where circumcision took place on the eighth day, the purification took place on the 40th day, according to the Law of Moses.

Some hymns combine the Name of Jesus and the New Year celebration.

In Lutheran Service Book we have my favorite hymn for this day, "Now Greet the Swiftly Changing Year."

Now greet the swiftly changing year

With joy and penitence sincere...

This Jesus came to end sin's war;

This Name of names for us He bore...

The appointed hymn for this day is "Jesus, Name of Wondrous Love." The difference between this hymn and the popular song, "Jesus, Name Above All Names" is that this text tells you more about Jesus than just His names. If your goal is simply to learn the different names for Jesus, the popular song will suffice quite nicely. If your goal is to learn more about Jesus than His different names, this hymn is better suited for that purpose.

Jesus! Name of wondrous love,

Name all other names above,

Unto which must every knee

Bow in deep humility.

Jesus! Name decreed of old,

To the maiden mother told,

Kneeling in her lowly cell,

By the angel Gabriel.

Jesus! Name of priceless worth

To the fallen sons of earth

For the promise that it gave,

"Jesus shall his people save."

Jesus! Name of mercy mild,

Given to the holy Child

When the cup of human woe

First he tasted here below.

Jesus! Only name that’s given

Under all the mighty heaven

Whereby man, to sin enslaved,

Bursts his fetters and is saved.

Jesus! Name of wondrous love,

Human name of God above;

Pleading your redemption true,

We flee, helpless, Lord, to you.

You can catch the tune here. Once you get there, click on the title of the hymn.

Another appropriate hymn that bridges the gap between the New Year and the Name of Jesus is the hymn "At the Name of Jesus."  The hymn looks forward to Christ's return and proclaims the power of the name of Jesus.

At the Name of Jesus, every knee shall bow,

Every tongue confess Him King of glory now;

’Tis the Father’s pleasure we should call Him Lord,

Who from the beginning was the mighty Word.

At His voice creation sprang at once to sight,

All the angel faces, all the hosts of light,

Thrones and dominations, stars upon their way,

All the heavenly orders, in their great array.

Humbled for a season, to receive a name

From the lips of sinners unto whom He came,

Faithfully He bore it, spotless to the last,

Brought it back victorious when from death He passed.

Bore it up triumphant with its human light,

Through all ranks of creatures, to the central height,

To the throne of Godhead, to the Father’s breast;

Filled it with the glory of that perfect rest.

In your hearts enthrone Him; there let Him subdue

All that is not holy, all that is not true;

Crown Him as your Captain in temptation’s hour;

Let His will enfold you in its light and power.

Christians, this Lord Jesus shall return again,

With His Father’s glory, with His angel train;

For all wreaths of empire meet upon His brow,

And our hearts confess Him King of glory now.

Glory, then, to Jesus, Who, the Prince of Light,

To a world in darkness brought the gift of sight,

Praise to God the Father; In the Spirit's love

Praise we all together Him who reigns above.

This is not the same tune as in Lutheran Service Book, but the text is stanzas 1, 5, and 6 (slightly altered).

The tune in LSB "King's Weston."

Here is the "Fantasia on King's Weston." You get King's Weston plus a medley of other tunes, including

• If Thou but Trust in God to Guide Thee
• O Sacred Head Now Wounded

HiFiHymnal.org has an organ arrangement for your listening enjoyment.

On the 7nd Day of Christmas: The New Year Approaches

There are two options for celebrating today, one is for the coming New Year and the other is the Eve of the Circumcision and Name of Jesus.

Today we will focus on the New Year, and tomorrow the Circumcision and Name of Jesus.

As the new year approaches, the church gathers together, as the collect for the day says,

...to commit to your mercies and forgiveness the year now ending

and commend to Your blessing and love the times yet to come.

One option might be to have Corporate Confession and Absolution at the beginning of the evening service.  It is also appropriate to receive the blessings of the Eucharist at this time as well.

New Year's Eve has themes that are similar to Advent and the close of the church year.  The Gospel lesson is from Luke 12:35-40 (ESV), where Jesus says,

"Stay dressed for action and keep your lamps burning, 

and be like men who are waiting for their master

to come home from the wedding feast,

so that they may open the door to him at once

when he comes and knocks.

 Blessed are those servants

whom the master finds awake when he comes.

Truly, I say to you, he will dress himself for service

and have them recline at table,

and he will come and serve them.

If he comes in the second watch, or in the third,

and finds them awake, blessed are those servants!

 But know this, that if the master of the house had known

at what hour the thief was coming,

he would not have left his house to be broken into.

You also must be ready,

for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect."

Another tradition that looks back on the past and forward to the future is the singing of "O God, Our Help in Ages Past." This hymn is a paraphrase of Psalm 90, which happens to be the appointed Psalm for New Year's Eve.  Pardon the recording quality here, as All for Hymn makes room for Virgil Fox.

Our God, our help in ages past,
Our hope for years to come,
Be Thou our guard while troubles last,
And our eternal home.

The tune was irresistable to JS Bach, although the text came after his death.  Here's the fugue from BWV 552 based on the tune St. Anne.  This is not Virgil Fox, but it is a live recording! The melody is most prevalent in the opening motif, followed by the pedal parts.

Under the shadow of Thy throne
Thy saints have dwelt secure;
Sufficient is Thine arm alone
And our defense is sure.

On the 6th Day of Christmas: The Animals' Christmas, Part II

Jesus, our Brother, strong and good,

Was humbly born in a stable rude,

And the friendly beasts around Him stood,

Jesus, our Brother, strong and good.

“I,” said the donkey, shaggy and brown,

“I carried His mother uphill and down,

I carried His mother to Bethlehem town;

I,” said the donkey, shaggy and brown.

“I,” said the cow, all white and red,

“I gave Him my manger for His bed,

I gave Him hay to pillow His head;

I,” said the cow, all white and red.

“I,” said the sheep with curly horn,

“I gave Him my wool for His blanket warm,

He wore my coat on Christmas morn;

I,” said the sheep with curly horn.

“I,” said the dove, from the rafters high,

“I cooed Him to sleep that He should not cry,

We cooed Him to sleep, my mate and I;

I,” said the dove, from the rafters high.

Thus all the beasts, by some good spell,

In the stable dark were glad to tell

Of the gifts they gave Emmanuel,

The gifts they gave Emmanuel.

On the 6th Day of Christmas: The Animals' Christmas, Part I

O magnum mysterium,

et admirabile sacramentum,

ut animalia viderent Dominum natum,

jacentem in praesepio!

Beata Virgo, cujus viscera

meruerunt portare

Dominum Christum.

Alleluia.

O great mystery,

and wonderful sacrament,

that animals should see the new-born Lord,

lying in a manger!

Blessed is the Virgin whose womb

was worthy to bear

Christ the Lord.

Alleluia!

Liturgical Variations: Understanding Liturgical Worship, Part II

Micah over at Variations on a Liturgical Theme has posted his latest installment of Understanding the Liturgical Worship Service.

Topics include

• Prelude
• Opening Hymn/Gathering Song
• Invocation

Here is his introduction

This is a continuation of my series that tries to help explain the elements of the Divine Service. At the conclusion of explanations, I'll also discuss whether something is sacrificial (we serve God) or sacramental (God serves us), what Scripture inspired this element, any (contemporary) alternatives, and any hymns based on that element.

It's shaping up to be an excellent series, folks.  Among other things, Micah gives us the scriptural references regarding the various liturgical acts.

And speaking of opening hymns, here is a grand setting of  Hymn #1 from The Lutheran Hymnal, "Open Now Thy Gates of Beauty."  This gathering would not have used TLH, so the text may vary slightly.  They disabled the embed code, so you have to click over to hear it.

Not to be left out, though, here is an organ arrangement of the same tune.

On the 5th Day of Christmas: Lutheran High School Music Concert

Over at Composing My Thoughts, high school music teacher (and composer) Dale Witte posted the Christmas Concert from Winnebago Lutheran Academy in Fond du Lac, Wisconsin.

WLA is an Area Lutheran High School of the Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod (WELS).

A highlight for me was hearing the kids rock it out to Michael W. Smith's Lux Venit/Gloria.

If you have not heard some of Dale Witte's compositions, you will find some of them on this recording, including "This Little Light of Mine" and selections from his setting of the Office of Compline - Prayer at the Close of the Day.

Coming January 10 (the Baptism of our Lord), the honors choir from the Evangelical Lutheran Synod (ELS) gives us "To Jordan's River Came the Lord."

Know of any other Lutheran high schools with postings of their choir on line, please drop a note in the comment section and it will be considered for a future post.

On the 4th Day of Christmas: The Holy Innocents

December 28 marks the commemoration of the Holy Innocents.  Who are the "Holy Innocents?"  These are the children who were killed by Herod after the visit of the Magi.

Curiously enough, the church celebrates the Magi on January 6, so it would seem our celebration of the Holy Innocents is a bit early. 

The Holy Innocents, like the Feast of Stephen, falls on the day the saint(s) or martyr(s) entered into eternal glory.  Church tradition holds that the date of the slaughter of the Innocents is December 28.

The Feast of Epiphany was placed into the church calendar to help us celebrate the life of Christ during the church year, so it comes at the end of the 12 Days of Christmas.

An excellent carol that celebrates the Holy Innocents is the Coventry Carol.

Lully, lullay, Thou little tiny Child,

By, by, lully, lullay.

Lully, lullay, Thou little tiny Child,

By, by, lully, lullay.

O sisters too, how may we do,

For to preserve this day

This poor Youngling for Whom we sing

By, by, lully, lullay?

Herod the king, in his raging,

Charged he hath this day

His men of might, in his own sight,

All young children to slay.

That woe is me, poor Child for Thee!

And ever morn and day

For Thy parting neither say nor sing,

By, by, lully, lullay.

Lully, lullay, Thou little tiny Child,

By, by, lully, lullay.