John 14…
6Jesus answered, “I am
the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through
Me. 7If you
had known Me, you would know My Father as well. From now on you do know Him and
have seen Him.”
8Philip said to Him,
“Lord, show us the Father, and that will be enough for us.”
9Jesus replied, “Philip,
I have been with you all this time, and still you do not know Me? Anyone who
has seen Me has seen the Father. How can you say, ‘Show us the Father’? 10Do you
not believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in Me? The words I say to
you, I do not speak on My own. Instead, it is the Father dwelling in Me, performing
His works.
The word of the
Lord!
…
This evening, with God’s help, I’d like to spend a
few minutes introducing [reviewing] what is the oldest Christian hymn
known in history outside the Bible.
There are apparently ancient Christian hymns actually
INSIDE the Bible – for instance scholars believe that the passage we heard a few moments ago, John 1 – John's “prologue” … was an example of one.
There are others also.
Listen to some of them: They are
only a few verses long – listen and young people I want you to tell me something
that they are about – what sticks out to you about them.
Phil 2
5 Let this mind
be in you which was also in Christ Jesus, 6 who, being in the form of
God, did not consider it [b]robbery to be equal with God, 7 but [c]made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a
bondservant, andcoming in the likeness of men. 8 And being
found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient
to the point of death, even the death of the cross. 9 Therefore God
also has highly exalted Him and given Him the name which is above
every name, 10 that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and
of those on earth, and of those under the earth, 11 and that every
tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory
of God the Father.
Col 1.12-20
12 giving
thanks to the Father who has qualified us to be partakers of the
inheritance of the saints in the light. 13 He has delivered us
from the power of darkness and [c]conveyed us into
the kingdom of the Son of His love, 14 in whom we have redemption [d]through His blood, the
forgiveness of sins.
15 He
is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all
creation. 16 For by
Him all things were created that are in heaven and that are on earth, visible
and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or [e]principalities or [f]powers. All things were
created through Him and for Him. 17 And He is before all
things, and in Him all things consist. 18 And He is the head of
the body, the church, who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead,
that in all things He may have the preeminence.
19 For it
pleased the Father that in Him all the fullness should
dwell, 20 and by
Him to reconcile all things to Himself, by Him, whether things on earth or
things in heaven, having made peace through the blood of His cross.
Heb 1:1-3
God Has Spoken by His Son 1Long ago God spoke to our ancestors
in many and various ways by the prophets,2but in these last days he has spoken
to us by a Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, through whom he also
created the worlds.3He is the reflection of God's glory and the exact imprint
of God's very being, and he sustains all things by his powerful word. When he
had made purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on
high,
1Tim 3:16
16Without any doubt, the mystery of our religion is great: He
was revealed in flesh, vindicated in spirit, seen by angels, proclaimed among
Gentiles, believed in throughout the world, taken up in glory.
1Pet 2:21-25
21For to this you have been called, because Christ also suffered
for you, leaving you an example, so that you should follow in his steps.22“He
committed no sin, and no deceit was found in his mouth.”23When he was abused,
he did not return abuse; when he suffered, he did not threaten; but he
entrusted himself to the one who judges justly.24He himself bore our sins in
his body on the cross, so that, free from sins, we might live for
righteousness; by his wounds you have been healed.25For you were going astray
like sheep, but now you have returned to the shepherd and guardian of your
souls.
Many things stick out from these
Ancient Christian hymns INSIDE the Bible.
The major themes are these: God’s glory – appearing to us by Jesus’ appearing –
and just like in John 1 – this is often described in terms of our experience of
light and brightness.
This is ALSO the theme of the most ancient Christian
hymn OUTSIDE the Bible –
It is
called, in Greek – Phos Hilaron - Φῶς Ἱλαρόν
[Latin: Lumen
Hilare]
It is written in Koine Greek:
Phos – light
Hilaron – cheerful, joyful
One of the most common English versions puts it this
way: “O gladsome light”.
Translated by Robert Bridges in 1899. [talk through it in a minute]
There is an early Church record of St Basil the Great
of Caesarea referring to Phos Hilaron as one of his favorite, old hymns. Our elder brother, Basil, lived and
ministered in the mid to late 300’s.
And he considered it an “old” hymn. Just to put that in perspective, the council
of Nicaea from which we get the Nicene Creed – took place in 325. So it is very likely that the Church Fathers
sung this hymn as they met together and forged the lines of the Creed we hold
so precious.
It’s sometimes called “the lamp lighting hymn”.
It is an evening Prayer Song- one that has been used in Eastern
Church liturgies for evening/vespers – at the time when the church candles are
lit –
So it is an evensong – one that accompanies the daily
rhythm of our lives. For many of us,
there is a quiet ritual when, the lamps of a house are lit. This is a song for when that takes
place. The world is going dark, but
light is brought in, so life and safety can continue.
Because it is sung as an evening prayer at the daily
lighting of the church candles in Eastern churches – that means it has very likely been
sung, every single day, by Christians across the world, for over 1,700 years.
That is a staggering fact!
It is worth noting that Biblically speaking, and in
the Eastern Church from what I understand, this is understood, the sunset marks
the beginning of a new day, not the end of an old day.
According to Wikipedia, the original melody in the
Greek liturgy is still sung in the Orthodox Church, but “is considered taxing on the voice as it spans almost two
octaves, with the voice peaking on the words "Heavenly" and "the
Father"”.
Our tune version comes from two men who were hired as Church musicians by John
Calvin, himself! Louis Bourgeois, a
French Calvinist hymn composer from the 1500s most famous for the doxology
tune. The harmony is by Claude Goudimel,
another French Calvinist hymn composer who has given us many of our favorite
Genevan tunes [62 hymn tunes in the Cantus Christi are attributed to him].
The translator is Robert Bridges, Britain’s Poet
Laureate from 1913 – 1930, close personal friend of Gerard Manley Hopkins [the
reason we have Hopkins' poems].
He translated Ah, Holy Jesus, how hast thou offended;
Jesus, best and dearest; Jesu, Joy of Man’s Desiring; O Splendor of God’s Glory
Bright [Ambrose]; and When Morning Gilds the Skies.
Let’s look at the words and then we’ll sing through
once together.
O gladsome light, O grace Of God the Father's face,
The ‘eternal splendour wearing; Celestial, holy, blest,
Our Saviour Jesus Christ,Joyful in thine appearing.
The ‘eternal splendour wearing; Celestial, holy, blest,
Our Saviour Jesus Christ,Joyful in thine appearing.
Now, ere day fadeth quite,We see the evening light,
Our wonted hymn outpouring;Father of might unknown,
Thee, his incarnate Son,And Holy Spirit adoring.
Our wonted hymn outpouring;Father of might unknown,
Thee, his incarnate Son,And Holy Spirit adoring.
To thee of right belongs All praise of holy songs,
O Son of God, Lifegiver; Thee, therefore, O Most High,
The world doth glorify, And shall exalt forever.
O Son of God, Lifegiver; Thee, therefore, O Most High,
The world doth glorify, And shall exalt forever.
*note – wonted means habit or regular. This is a daily prayer, sung while turning on
the lamps or lighting candles [something we do a lot in our old house with very
few ceiling lights].
Our Lord is described here as the light, radiating
from the Father’s face. In the beginning
of this service, we heard Psalm 4, a prayer that God would shine the light of
His countenance upon us and give us His peace and protection through the
night. This is the same idea contained in
the beautiful Aaronic benediction.
That God would shine the light of His face upon us.
Our Lord’s birth is the answer to this prayer, prayed
thousands upon thousands of times. The
Christchild in the manger was the fulfillment of that benediction, pronounced
thousands upon thousands of time. In
Jesus, the light of the Father’s face has shown upon us.
Thanks be to God for His indescribable Gift!
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