Devotion on Hymns of the Church - Hymn 1 – Come Thou Long Expected Jesus – 28 November 2017, Anno Domini

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6 For thus saith the Lord of hosts; Yet once, it is a little while, and I will shake the heavens, and the earth, and the sea, and the dry land; 7 And I will shake all nations, and the desire of all nations shall come: and I will fill this house with glory, saith the Lord of hosts. 8 The silver is mine, and the gold is mine, saith the Lord of hosts. 9 The glory of this latter house shall be greater than of the former, saith the Lord of hosts: and in this place will I give peace, saith the Lord of hosts. (Hag 2:5-9)

            Today’s hymn is the first in the 1940 Hymnal since it represents the beginning of the Church Calendar. The Church Calendar is a rich spiritual resource since it observes every phase  of the life of our Lord Jesus Christ over the period of a year – among them, Advent, Christmastide, Epiphany, and Easter. In addition to hymns appropriate for the occasion, we are provided with a Lectionary that covers Old Testament readings, Psalms, Gospel readings, and Epistle readings for every Sunday in each of those Church seasons. This hymn is first since Advent begins the Church Year, and this next is the first Sunday in the Advent Season.

            Come Thou Long Expected Jesus is a hymn of the famous Anglican cleric and proponent of Methodism, Charles Wesley, which he composed in 1745. The most popular tune in many Protestant churches is HYFRYDOL, by Rowland Prichard (1830); but there are others that are commonly sung in Anglican Churches such as Cross of Jesus by John Stainer (1887); St. Hillary (anonymous); Stuttgart, by Charles F. Witt (1715); and my personal favorite, Wilson, arrangement from Felix Mendelsohnn (1905); However, Stuttgart is the tune provided in the Hymnal.

Come, Thou Long Expected Jesus

Come, Thou long expected Jesus,

     Born to set Thy people free,

From our fears and sins release us,

     Let us find our rest in Thee:

Israel's strength and consolation,

     Hope of all the earth Thou art,

Dear Desire of every nation,

     Joy of every longing heart.

Born Thy people to deliver,

     Born a child and yet a king,

Born to reign in us for ever,

     Now Thy gracious kingdom bring:

By Thy own eternal Spirit

     Rule in all our hearts alone,

By Thy all-sufficient merit

     Raise us to Thy glorious throne.

     A great darkness prevailed upon the earth from the Fall of Adam in the Garden at Eden until Abraham (who received the Promise of a Seed to redeem Israel). But that darkness was not abject, for it was punctuated by rays of hope and light from Heaven during the intervening times before Abraham, and for centuries after. Then the Children of God were blessed with prophets who spoke the Mind of God to them. These voices they seldom heeded and often put to death. But there was to come a far more intense darkness of the long night between the last prophet to utter his prophecies and the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ. That long night of silence lasted four hundred years during which there was not a Word or prophecy from the Mind of God to the people. 

            It is common knowledge that we take for granted the blessings of light until it is extinguished and the smothering darkness is all-pervasive. This was the case for those 400 hundred years of silence and darkness for Israel. Many began to question if a Redeemer would truly come as prophesied by Abraham and others. Job made the wonderful proclamation (according to the Honorable Bishop Ussher’s computations, around 1520 BC): For I know that my redeemer liveth, and that he shall stand at the latter day upon the earth: And though after my skin worms destroy this body, yet in my flesh shall I see God: Whom I shall see for myself, and mine eyes shall behold, and not another; though my reins be consumed within me. (Job 19:25-27)

            When a person lives in interminable darkness he begins to forget what light truly is. He no longer appreciates light because he can no longer imagine it in his blinded mind. Spiritual darkness is even more appalling. Such were the circumstances on that first Christmas at the coming of the Promised Seed of Abraham – our Lord Jesus Christ, in the City of David (Bethlehem).

            Come, Thou long expected Jesus Born to set Thy people free; From our fears and sins release us, Let us find our rest in Thee.  Our Lord was born from a blessed woman’s womb (Mary) just as other men were born of their mothers. But Jesus had no earthly father. His Father was the Almighty God. He would walk as other men walk, only in perfect uprightness. He would suffer every pain and hunger as others, only not give in to it. He was a fulfillment of a great Promise made by God the Father to Abraham, and His coming was typified in the first death on earth of an innocent animal in the Garden to cover the nakedness (sins) of Adam and Eve. He was further typified by the only begotten son, Isaac, who traveled a journey of three days to Mt. Moriah – the same upon which our Lord was crucified. He carried the wood for his own sacrifice up the mount just as did our Lord at Calvary; but Isaac was spared. God would not exact such a heavy debt from man. He used Isaac as an example of what He would do in the fullness of time in sending His own only Begotten Son to die as our atoning sacrifice. Our Lord Jesus would become OUR Passover Lamb, as well as our Sabbath Rest.

            Israel’s Strength and Consolation, Hope of all the earth Thou art; Dear Desire of every nation, Joy of every longing heart. He is the only Strength and Consolation that the people of God both need and desire. He is the Desire of Ages. His consoling Word is a blessing to the whole world – even those who live in rebellion to Heaven. There are hearts that do not long to know God, unfortunately. Those have been destined from the foundation of the world to suffer the pains of Hell. But His sheep know the Voice of their Shepherd, and the shepherd knows them, loves them, and calls them by name.

            Born Thy people to deliver, Born a child and yet a King, Born to reign in us forever, Now Thy gracious kingdom bring. The beautiful baby boy born at Bethlehem to break an eerily somber darkness, and laid in a manger (a trough for feeding beasts of the field, which we are without God), would also be crucified thirty-three years hence on a device made of the same crude wooden construction – a cross – for us. He came serving and healing, yet, on His Return, He shall come leading the armies of Heaven as Lord of Lords and King of Kings. We should long for that soon return when all things will be brought to consummation and God’s Will shall be the only Will that is realized in Heaven and on Earth.

            Our Coming Lord is EMMANUEL. He is WITH US always. He was with us in a physical body, and He is with us now through the agency of the Holy Spirit. By Thine own eternal Spirit Rule in all our hearts alone; By Thine all sufficient merit, Raise us to Thy glorious throne. The only Free Will we have is that which is surrendered to Christ. The wills of the old man belong to Satan for man is incapable of doing anything good except through Christ. We have no native merit either. Whatever merit that God attributes to us is that merit of our Lord Jesus Christ which is imputed to those who are His. For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God; Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus. (Romans 3:23-24) For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them. (Eph 2:8-10)

            Just as men who had sat in darkness longed to see a great light, let us also look with faith and hope for the Lord’s soon coming for the darkness is pervasive once more in our land. 2 The people that walked in darkness have seen a great light: they that dwell in the land of the shadow of death, upon them hath the light shined. (Isaiah 9:2)

AOC Sunday Report - Sunday next before Advent

The entire AOC Sunday Report is RIGHT HERE!

Happy Sunday next before Advent!  This is IT!  The end of what you thought was the endless green season.  Next Sunday is Advent Sunday, the very first Sunday in the Liturgical Year.  Just in case you don't know what a Liturgical Year is, next week we will explain that concept.  In the mean time, you can download the AOC Sunday Report RIGHT HERE!

There are really really great sermons from Bishops Jerry and Dennis, as well as Revs Jack and Bryan.  Bishop Jerry and Rev Jack cover the propers or in Bishop Jerry's case a portion of them.  Bishop Dennis talks about the final SOLA, Sola Scriptura, which is, as he explains, actually the first of the five Solas.  And, Rev Bryan, marching as he oft does to the beat of a lectionary only he can decode, discusses  a portion of Paul's first letter to the Corinthians.  Thus, the sermons are even more different than usual.  I am confident you will find each quite helpful.

There are a lot of people who need your prayers.  Start with Jim Thornell, then Mary, Bob, Michael, Shamu and work on from there.

Hopefully, you each had a good Thanksgiving, the time can be stressful or fulfilling, depending solely on your attitude.  If yours was fulfilling, great; if not, look for a bit of help from that Third God Guy, the Holy Ghost, for help to approach Christmas from a great perch.

Have an Epic Week ahead with God's guidance and grace.

Godspeed,

Hap

Church of the Faithful Centurion

Descanso, California

Sermon Notes - Sunday next before Advent - Saint Andrew’s Anglican Orthodox Church - 26 November 2017, Anno Domini

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The Sunday next before Advent

The Collect.

S

TIR up, we beseech thee, O Lord, the wills of thy faithful people; that they, plenteously bringing forth the fruit of good works, may by thee be plenteously rewarded; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

W

HEN Jesus then lifted up his eyes, and saw a great company come unto him, he saith unto Philip, Whence shall we buy bread, that these may eat? 6 And this he said to prove him: for he himself knew what he would do. 7 Philip answered him, Two hundred pennyworth of bread is not

sufficient for them, that every one of them may take a little. 8 One of his disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter's brother, saith unto him, 9 There is a lad here, which hath five barley loaves, and two small fishes: but what are they among so many? 10 And Jesus said, Make the men sit down. Now there was much grass in the place. So the men sat down, in number about five thousand. 11 And Jesus took the loaves; and when he had given thanks, he distributed to the disciples, and the disciples to them that were set down; and likewise of the fishes as much as they would. 12 When they were filled, he said unto his disciples, Gather up the fragments that remain, that nothing be lost. 13 Therefore they gathered them together, and filled twelve baskets with the fragments of the five barley loaves, which remained over and above unto them that had eaten. 14 Then those men, when they had seen the miracle that Jesus did, said, This is of a truth that prophet that should come into the world. (John 6:4-14)

            What a wonderful and awe-inspiring realization that our Lord, on His first Advent, drew all of His chosen to Himself as a magnet draws a rod of steel. But on His Second Advent, we will look up and see His glorious return in the clouds. In our Gospel text today, Jesus lifts up His eyes and sees a multitude coming unto Him. But in that Second Advent, we will lift up our eyes and behold the Lord coming to us. Nevertheless, in both events, we are drawn to Him.

            It seems appropriate we should meditate upon the words of today’s processional hymn, “Lo, He Comes!”

1 Lo! He comes, with clouds descending,

once for our salvation slain;

thousand thousand saints attending

swell the triumph of His train.

Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia!

God appears on earth to reign.

2 Ev'ry eye shall now behold Him,

robed in dreadful majesty;

those who set at naught and sold Him,

pierced, and nailed Him to the tree,

deeply wailing, deeply wailing,

shall the true Messiah see.

3 Every island, sea, and mountain,

heav'n and earth, shall flee away;

all who hate Him must, confounded,

hear the trump proclaim the day:

Come to judgment! Come to judgment!

Come to judgment, come away!

4 Now redemption, long expected,

see in solemn pomp appear!

And His saints, by men rejected,

coming with Him in the air.

Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia!

See the day of God appear!

5 Yea, amen! Let all adore Thee,

high on Thine eternal throne;

Savior, take the pow'r and glory,

claim the kingdom for Thine own:

O come quickly, O come quickly,

Alleluia! Come, Lord, come!

            What a wonderful Season of the Church Year is Advent. All good things in the lives of men – Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, the Apostles, and us – begins with the Coming of Christ, both spiritually and physically - to us! Having longed to see the fulfillment of God’s promises in the Seed of Promise, Abraham hoped in the Gospel of Christ and was blessed to see His Coming. Christ comes to us that we may be enabled to come to Him. We see this truth enacted in today’s Gospel sermon text. Those who hunger for Christ will find Him if even on the mountain heights of the Galilean coasts. Those who hunger for Christ will:

1) discover (through the Word and Spirit) where He may be found; 

2) they will leave the place where that are presently (sin and error) and GO to Him; 

3) they will not give thought of what the morrow may bring, but trust in Him to provide their every need; and, 

4) they shall be fed with the Bread of Heaven.

            When Jesus then lifted up his eyes, and saw a great company come unto him This is most prophetic of that company of souls that will come, over the expanse of centuries and millennia, to Him in faith and trust.  They shall come seeking that Bread of Life which will satisfy eternally and not temporarily. They shall, on the day of God’s own choosing – and not that of greedy spiritual speculators – come to meet Him in the air, and not a mountain, on His glorious Second Coming. For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord. (1 Thess 4:16-17)

            Christ often challenges the faith of His chosen vessels just as He tests that of Philip. Knowing the mind of Philip in His spiritual growth, Jesus asks: Whence shall we buy bread, that these may eat?  A lesser prophet than Christ once asked the same question of God in the Wilderness: Whence should I have flesh to give unto all this people? for they weep unto me, saying, Give us flesh, that we may eat. (Num 11:13) It is certain that Christ wants us to know that a greater prophet than Moses stands before us. Without the presence and power of Christ, the world is in constant worry about this matter sustenance. Shall we have bread to eat and raiment to wear? Of course, the world takes the matter a step further: How can we enjoy the most opulent of cuisine and the most fashionable and elegant raiment – delicacies and raiment that will set us apart from the common people and that will exalt us in our pride? The starving child on the backstreets of Calcutta does not wish for delicacies, but only a morsel of bread to appease his gnawing hunger. It is so because the starving child knows not of delicacies or of elegant silken robes, but only his desperate NEED. So the sinner (rich or poor), when he comes face-to-face with his depravity, can recognize no righteousness at all in his feeble works, but starves for the Redemption made available in Christ. Rather than the bread of wheat, he starves for the Bread of Heaven. This Bread cannot be bought with money, so Christ gives Philip a thought to nourish his soul. 

            Philip’s mind has not progressed to that perfection of understanding, as yet, that might be expected from so close a disciple! Clearly, under the terms of the world, a small fortune would be required to buy sufficient bread to feed so many. There were many more than five thousand present for there were five thousand men alone, plus women and children. Has Philip forgotten that He who provides food and lodging for the sparrows of the field is in his presence? Philip answered him, Two hundred pennyworth of bread is not sufficient for them, that every one of them may take a little. Two hundred pennyworth of bread would cost two hundred days of wages - And when he had agreed with the labourers for a penny a day, he sent them into his vineyard (Matt 20:2) And even at such an expense, there would certainly be no leftovers for each would only “take a little.” All of our labors and wages from our birth until now will not purchase a single morsel of that Bread from Heaven. The combined wealth of the world would not do so. It is a gift of pure Grace of the Lord Jesus Christ.

            There was one disciple among the lot who accepted that there was a mystery in the Person of Christ that enabled Him to provide plenty from little of nothing. He knew not the manner in which might do it, but he nonetheless believed that the mystery would be realized even in a meager amount. God takes our talents and multiplies them when we are willing to share them. One of his disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter's brother, saith unto him, There is a lad here, which hath five barley loaves, and two small fishes: but what are they among so many? What are five barley loaves among a multitude so great, yet, Andrew suspected that Christ would use even a small amount to supply a great need – and He did! Now, we must recognize the innocence of youth in this circumstance. The little lad had labored to bring his two fishes and five loaves over a great distance and even up the slopes of the mountain. Were he a mature man of wisdom, he probably would have refused to share so little claiming that it would not suffice so many hungers and, moreover, he had the foresight to bring them for himself and it would be consumed by him. But the little child has a heart that is closer to the Kingdom of Heaven and has not grown calloused by the world. The child willingly shared his small treat with the Lord. Though we have little, if we share what we have, the Lord will multiply the gift an hundredfold, or more!

            And Jesus said, Make the men sit down. The rubrics of the Prayer Book indicate when we are to kneel, stand, or sit, and we must comply with each and every rubric of the Prayer Book if we are able. The Lord expects all things to be done in good order and, here, He is about to feed the multitudes with His Bread. The Bread of the Prayer Book is the Sermon delivered from the Lectionary appointed for the day. So the people sit to hear the Word preached. It is the means by which faith is received and increased. So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God. (Romans 10:17) Contrary to the Romanist approach, preaching takes precedence over every other act of worship including Communion for, without the Word, Communion is meaningless. So Christ asks that the men be seated to receive His blessing of Bread. When men receive from the Lord, they do not stand in their own power as if they contribute to His miracle. “Stop your labors, have a seat, and see the works of the Lord!”

            The Lord will always comfort our needs in green pastures - He maketh me to lie down in green pastures (Psalm 23:2) Now there was much grass in the place (vv 10), So the men sat down, in number about five thousand. Obedience before the Lord comes most surely when men realize their need. These men were hungry and were expectant that Jesus could, indeed, feed them. They obeyed Him.

            And Jesus took the loaves; and when he had given thanks Here, Jesus gives us the perfect example to follow in returning thanks for the blessings of Heaven. He never failed to thank His Father in Heaven for every blessing of food and drink. Do we do so, Friends? “….he distributed to the disciples, and the disciples to them that were set down; and likewise of the fishes as much as they would.” Please observe a stark lesson here for us. We do not serve ourselves at the Communion Rail, but kneel reverently (according to the Prayer Book form of worship – and the Holy Bible) to be served the Cup and the Bread. We do not innovate and do according to what seems right in our own eyes, but serve according to the good order required. The Lord allows His servants to have a hand in assisting in His important work. They servethe bread, but the Bread is given by Christ – it is not their own. We, as ministers, preach the Word, but the Word is His and not OURS! Note also, that each person on the grassy slopes received as much as they wanted of the bread and fish. The cupboard of the Lord has no bottom of blessings. There will always be more than enough to satisfy our hunger. We must return to the Bread Table daily for our “Daily Bread.”

            When they were filled, he said unto his disciples, Gather up the fragments that remain, that nothing be lost. Notice that all were FILLED! You never come to the Lord hungry and go away hungry. He fills you with the desperate need of your heart. Another important lesson in this verse is the one of stewardship. We are to be good a faithful stewards in the economy of resources with which God has blessed us. We are to use His blessings of talents we receive in satisfying the hunger of those God has placed in our hands (parents included) but we are to waste nothing! When we travel field and forest to gather souls for Christ, our efforts do not end at the early confession of faith – we must continue to teach and nourish the soul in the Word so that the convert will grow strong spiritual bones and muscles. We must not lose a single flower from the bouquet….that nothing be lost!

            Therefore they gathered them together, and filled twelve baskets with the fragments of the five barley loaves, which remained over and above unto them that had eaten. Let us count the balance sheet of the Lord here: there were a mere five loaves at the start. Now the remnants taken up fill TWELVE BASKETS! Do you believe this is too amazing? Do you believe that the Creation of the stars in the expanse of space too amazing, or the earth with all of its wondrous beauty too amazing, or billions of people – all with different faces and features – amazing? What is so amazing that the Word which created all that has been created could multiply a few morsels of bread into such an immense supply? He is able to likewise multiply the smallest mite of the widow’s heart when given out of her need to Christ! He is able to multiply that love scattered abroad from that heart brimming over with the love of God so that the residue is always of plenty.

            What is the result of receiving the blessed Bread of Heaven? How should our hearts respond to so mighty a miracle as salvation, forgiveness, grace, and faith? Then those men, when they had seen the miracle that Jesus did, said, This is of a truth that prophet that should come into the world. Faith is confirmed from pillar to post when we have tasted the Bread of Heaven. The multitude recognized that Christ was a prophet of even greater miraculous power and virtue than Moses – their greatest prophet beforehand. The LORD thy God will raise up unto thee a Prophet from the midst of thee, of thy brethren, like unto me; unto him ye shall hearken (Deut 18:15) Christ is, indeed, that Prophet! In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made. In him was life; and the life was the light of men…… And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth (John 1:1-4,14) Friend, believest thou this?