St Thomas Methodist Church, Exeter
Weekly Worship Resources
December 2024
Advent – Epiphany
01 December – 05 January
Hush the Noise
Join the Love Song
this Christmas
Advent 1 01 December 2024
HUSH THE NOISE
The good news to recognise
You can hush the noise and activity and reconnect with love and peace.
Jeremiah 33:14-16
The days are surely coming, says the Lord, when I will fulfill the promise I made to the house of Israel and the house of Judah. In those days and at that time I will cause a righteous Branch to spring up for David, and he shall execute justice and righteousness in the land. In those days Judah will be saved, and Jerusalem will live in safety. And this is the name by which it will be called: “The Lord is our righteousness.”
Luke 21:25-36
“There will be signs in the sun, the moon, and the stars and on the earth distress among nations confused by the roaring of the sea and the waves. People will faint from fear and foreboding of what is coming upon the world, for the powers of the heavens will be shaken. Then they will see ‘the Son of Man coming in a cloud’ with power and great glory. Now when these things begin to take place, stand up and raise your heads, because your redemption is drawing near.” Then he told them a parable: “Look at the fig tree and all the trees; as soon as they sprout leaves you can see for yourselves and know that summer is already near. So also, when you see these things taking place, you know that the kingdom of God is near. Truly I tell you, this generation will not pass away until all things have taken place. Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away. “Be on guard so that your hearts are not weighed down with dissipation and drunkenness and the worries of this life and that day does not catch you unexpectedly, like a trap. For it will come upon all who live on the face of the whole earth. Be alert at all times, praying that
you may have the strength to escape all these things that will take place and to stand before the Son of Man.”
Background notes
Throughout Advent and Christmas 2024 the Methodist Church is calling us all to ‘Hush the Noise.’ This is a phrase taken from the carol It Came Upon the Midnight Clear, which we will use each week as a basis for our worship. Advent is the start of the Church’s liturgical calendar, and the main Gospel used in the lectionary rotates to Luke. In this first Sunday in Advent we begin with a rather cryptic warning that we are going to explore through the lens of hushing the noise. Each week we have a symbol that can be used in worship to summarise the theme.
This first week’s is a picture of roaring waves.
This text is a continuation of Luke’s account of Jesus’ speech about the end times; the advent of the Son of Man and the coming of redemption.1 Many scholars think that it is based on Mark 13:5-37, and reuses some of the phrasing, but that Luke wove in some of his unique content.2 Luke distinguishes the end times from the historical fall of Jerusalem, which Mark conflates.
... the roaring of the sea and the waves ...
In the first section Luke abbreviates the quotation in Mark 13:24-25 taken from Isaiah 13:10. Luke adds a new image of
the roaring seas.3 This may be an allusion to Psalm 46:3, which uses the common scriptural imagery of the sea as a metaphor for chaos.4
... distress among nations confused by ...
The sea causes ‘distress’ (sunoche) for the nations, who are ‘confused’ (aporia) by it.5 ‘Confusion’ is perhaps too mild a translation of ‘aporia’, which usually carries a sense that there is no way to go on, people being ‘at their wits’ end’.6
Here we make the connection to the theme of this week: Hush the noise. Jesus encourages us to note the chaos around us and rather than being overwhelmed by it to respond to it in a way that recognises what is truly important. In that way the noise is, in effect, hushed. Andrew Root (a theologian interested in ministry, culture and younger generations) writes that we are in a time of unprecedented contemporary cultural acceleration. We see this in rapid changes in technology, in changing social ethics, and in the general pace of life speeding up. Root claims that this causes disorientation, since we cannot realistically keep up with all the changes around us. It leads to alienation and depression;7 a state of aporia, brought on this roaring sea of contemporary change. For Root, drawing on the work of sociologist Hartmut Rosa, the answer is to seek moments of ‘resonance’: times when we feel connected to our bodies, to our friends, to God.8 This sense is what we are expressing through the idea of ‘hushing the noise’ to hear the angels’ sing.
... he shall execute justice and righteousness in the land. In those days Judah will be saved, and Jerusalem will live in safety.
The passage from Jeremiah promises of a new era of ‘resonance’, a new eternal order dependent on the grace of God. Christ will bring justice and righteousness and well-being will flow into the land.9
Ways to respond
Take a couple of minutes now to hush the noise. Consider what you might choose not to do this Advent, to give yourself more time to pause.
Prayer of blessing
The angels are still singing.
Hush the noise, hear them sing, repeat the song.
And the blessing of God,
the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, be yours, now and always. Amen
Advent 2 08 December 2024
TO PROPHETS SHOWN
The good news to recognise
Listen to the people to whom God has shown the way.
Malachi 3:1-4
See, I am sending my messenger to prepare the way before me, and the Lord whom you seek will suddenly come to his temple. The messenger of the covenant in whom you delight – indeed, he is coming, says the Lord of hosts. But who can endure the day of his coming, and who can stand when he appears?
For he is like a refiner’s fire and like washers’ soap; he will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver, and he will purify the descendants of Levi and refine them like gold and silver, until they present offerings to the Lord in righteousness. Then the offering of Judah and Jerusalem will be pleasing to the Lord, as in the days of old and as in former years.
Luke 3:1-6
In the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar, when Pontius Pilate was governor of Judea, and Herod was ruler of Galilee, and his brother Philip ruler of the region of Ituraea and Trachonitis, and Lysanias ruler of Abilene, during the high priesthood of Annas and Caiaphas, the word of God came to John son of Zechariah in the wilderness. He went into all the region around the Jordan, proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins, as it is written in the book of the words of the prophet Isaiah,
“The voice of one crying out in the wilderness:
‘Prepare the way of the Lord;
make his paths straight.
Every valley shall be filled,
and every mountain and hill shall be made low,
and the crooked shall be made straight,
and the rough ways made smooth,
and all flesh shall see the salvation of God.’”
Background notes
This week we focus on the prophets: messengers from both the Old and New Testaments who received a vision for a new way. The symbol for this week, a lightbulb, commonly represents a new idea. We ask how we can continue the legacy of the prophets today.
The final verse of the carol jumps back and forth in time. A vision of the new era of peace that will come that has already been revealed to the prophets of old.
... I am sending my messenger ...
Malachi isn’t a name as such, but literally means ‘my messenger.’ Writing in the second temple period after the return from the exile, this Malachi was concerned that people should live in the right way. He uses metaphors of fire and soap to convey the sense of cleansing that people will need to get back on track: fire to melt metal and remove impurities, soap to remove dirt; both restoring the item to a purer state.10
... the word of God came to John son of Zechariah ...
This is the only New Testament example of the ‘word of God’ coming to an individual, which combined with the title ‘son of xxx’ (which mirrors the style of introduction of Jeremiah and Hosea11) indicates a desire to portray John as a contemporary prophet in the Old Testament style.12
... in the wilderness.
The wilderness was a place of expectation for the coming age, referring back to the time spent wandering in the wilderness,13 bringing hope of a new exodus from slavery.14 It is also an apt place for a political and religious revolution, away from the sight of both the rulers and high priests mentioned earlier in the passage.15 It is a place with less noise.
Prepare the way of the Lord
In Mark 1:2-3 John the Baptist is introduced with a quotation included in Isaiah 40:3-4. In Luke’s version, our Gospel passage for today, the quotation is extended to include Isaiah 40:5, which widens to the scope of salvation to ‘all flesh.‘16
Preparing the way involves removing barriers like mountains and valleys, and making an inhospitable landscape fertile and habitable once more.17
How might we, as modern day prophets, remove barriers for people to connect with God? A Methodist Way of Life uses the metaphorical language of ‘making easy entry points’ for new people to get on the train, the journey of faith. What might this look like in your community?
Ways to respond
Take a couple of minutes now to hush the noise. Reflect on who’s the truth-teller in your life, and how could you pay attention to them.
Prayer of blessing
The angels are still singing.
Prophets are still speaking.
Hush the noise, hear them sing, repeat the song.
And the blessing of God,
the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit,
be yours, now and always. Amen
Advent 3 15 December 2024
BABEL SOUNDS
The good news to recognise
We need to work to end division, selfish ambition, disconnection and fragmentation.
Zephaniah 3:14-20
Sing aloud, O daughter Zion;
shout, O Israel!
Rejoice and exult with all your heart,
O daughter Jerusalem!
The Lord has taken away the judgments against you;
he has turned away your enemies.
The king of Israel, the Lord, is in your midst;
you shall fear disaster no more.
On that day it shall be said to Jerusalem:
“Do not fear, O Zion;
do not let your hands grow weak.
The Lord, your God, is in your midst,
a warrior who gives victory;
he will rejoice over you with gladness;
he will renew you in his love;
he will exult over you with loud singing
as on a day of festival.”
I will remove disaster from you,
so that you will not bear reproach for it.
I will deal with all your oppressors
at that time.
And I will save the lame
and gather the outcast,
and I will change their shame into praise
and renown in all the earth.
At that time I will bring you home,
at the time when I gather you;
for I will make you renowned and praised
among all the peoples of the earth,
when I restore your fortunes
before your eyes, says the Lord.
Luke 3:7-18
John said to the crowds coming out to be baptized by him, “You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the coming wrath? Therefore, bear fruits worthy of repentance, and do not begin to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our ancestor,’ for I tell you, God is able from these stones to raise up children to Abraham. Even now the axe is lying at the root of the trees; therefore every tree that does not bear good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire.”
And the crowds asked him, “What, then, should we do?” In reply he said to them, “Whoever has two coats must share with anyone who has none, and whoever has food must do likewise.” Even tax collectors came to be baptized, and they
asked him, “Teacher, what should we do?” He said to them, “Collect no more than the amount prescribed for you.” Soldiers also asked him, “And we, what should we do?” He said to them, “Do not extort money from anyone by threats or false accusation, and be satisfied with your wages.”
As the people were filled with expectation and all were questioning in their hearts concerning John, whether he might be the Messiah, John answered all of them by saying, “I baptize you with water, but one who is more powerful than I is coming; I am not worthy to untie the strap of his sandals. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. His winnowing fork is in his hand to clear his threshing floor and to gather the wheat into his granary, but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire.”
So with many other exhortations he proclaimed the good news to the people.
Background notes
The carol was written in America in 1849 as a response to geopolitical unrest, and as a protest about the horrors of slavery.18 It describes a “weary world” filled with “Babel sounds”, “sin and strife” and war. Sadly, 175 years later the carol is just as relevant. We long for harmony, justice and restoration. It might be helpful to explain that ‘Babel sounds’ is a reference to Genesis 11, the ancient story of people being divided into tribes with different languages so they cannot communicate with each other.
This week’s symbol is glue / sticky tape.
How can we mend things that are broken, be like glue in the community to reduce disconnection and disintegration?
Sing aloud, O daughter Zion ... he will exult over you with loud singing ... I will bring you home
The prophet Zephaniah wrote in the time of King Josiah, before the exile to Babylon. The book is full of cataclysmic visions of destruction but ends with this beautiful vision of God singing over people, who have been scattered, as they are brought home.19 The people are called to join in the song.
“What, then, should we do?”
Luke uses this phrase several times, in the mouths of tax collectors, soldiers, lawyers, rulers and jailors. An encounter with the redemptive grace of God demands a response.20 The carol has the same broad message: hush the noise, hear the song, and then repeat it back. The Methodist calling has a similar shape: grace impels us to live differently. A Methodist Way of Life is one way of answering the question of the crowd in this passage, with its twelve types of worship and mission.
“Whoever has two coats must share with anyone who has none, and whoever has food must do likewise.”
John gives to the crowd an ethical rather than a religious answer.21 In MWOL language, his advice would sit in the open, care and serve actions. Greater equality is the goal.22
“Collect no more than the amount prescribed for you... Do not extort money from anyone ...”
The tax-collectors and soldiers are impelled to act more justly, with a hidden implication that corruption was the norm. They are asked to challenge injustice.
Ways to respond
Take a couple of minutes now to hush the noise. Consider how God is calling you to share what you have with others, and where you might bring connection and harmony.
Prayer of blessing
The angels are still singing.
Prophets are still speaking.
Hush the noise, hear them sing,
repeat the song, bring harmony.
And the blessing of God,
the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit,
be yours, now and always. Amen
Advent 4 22 December 2024
THE LOVE SONG
The good news to recognise
In her song of praise Mary thanks God for the child Jesus, who will announce God’s kingdom which “brings down the powerful from their thrones and lifts up the lowly.” To engage in God’s mission and be part of that transformation, we believe the Methodist Church is called to become an increasingly evangelistic, inclusive and justice-seeking Church.
Micah 5:2-5a
But you, O Bethlehem of Ephrathah,
who are one of the little clans of Judah,
from you shall come forth for me
one who is to rule in Israel,
whose origin is from of old,
from ancient days.
Therefore he shall give them up until the time
when she who is in labour has brought forth;
then the rest of his kindred shall return
to the people of Israel.
And he shall stand and feed his flock in the strength of the Lord,
in the majesty of the name of the Lord his God.
And they shall live secure, for now he shall be great
to the ends of the earth,
and he shall be the one of peace.
If the Assyrians come into our land
and tread upon our soil,
we will raise against them seven shepherds
and eight rulers.
Luke 1:39-55
In those days Mary set out and went with haste to a Judean town in the hill country, where she entered the house of Zechariah and greeted Elizabeth. When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the child leaped in her womb. And Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit and exclaimed with a loud cry, “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb. And why has this happened to me, that the mother of my Lord comes to me? For as soon as I heard the sound of your greeting, the child in my womb leaped for joy. And blessed is she who believed that there would be a fulfilment of what was spoken to her by the Lord.”
And Mary said,
“My soul magnifies the Lord,
and my spirit rejoices in God my Saviour,
for he has looked with favour on the lowly state of his servant.
Surely from now on all generations will call me blessed,
for the Mighty One has done great things for me,
and holy is his name;
indeed, his mercy is for those who fear him
from generation to generation.
He has shown strength with his arm;
he has scattered the proud in the imagination of their hearts.
He has brought down the powerful from their thrones
and lifted up the lowly;
he has filled the hungry with good things
and sent the rich away empty.
He has come to the aid of his child Israel,
in remembrance of his mercy,
according to the promise he made to our ancestors,
to Abraham and to his descendants forever.”
Background notes
On the final Sunday of Advent we focus on Mary and her song, the Magnificat. The theme of the President and Vice-President of Conference this year is Praise and Protest, both of which aspects are clear in Mary’s song.
The symbol this week is a protest banner, to represent the imperative to challenge injustice that is present in the song.
... he shall be the one of peace.
Micah wrote in the style of Hosea and Amos, echoing their passionate calls for justice. This passage has traditionally been used in Advent as it refers to a child coming from Bethlehem, who will bring peace to the ends of the earth.23
And Mary said ...
Mary’s song, the Magnificat, is one of four similar songs in Luke: the Benedictus (Luke 1:67-69), the Nunc Dimittis (Luke 2:28-32) and the Angel’s song (Luke 2.13-14),24 which will be
LOVE
the focus on Christmas Day. It draws on Hannah’s song, from 1 Samuel 2, which we will mention next Sunday.
The song has a similar structure to many of the Psalms, with a word of praise followed by reasons for the praise.25
“My soul magnifies the Lord ...
The song begins with praise and giving thanks for God’s greatness and majesty. This is reminiscent of Psalm 69:31.26
He has brought down the powerful from their thrones and lifted up the lowly; he has filled the hungry with good things and sent the rich away empty.
These verses are structured in a parallel chiasm, where the first ideas are later mirrored in reverse order: the bad things that are coming to the rich and powerful are given to the lowly and poor, who feature in the most prominent place in the centre of this arrangement.27
It might sound like a call to a revolution, but in the song the agency and initiative primarily lies with God. However, we may partner with God.28
Ways to respond
Take a couple of minutes now to hush the noise. Consider the ways in which you are powerful and need to step back. In what ways are you ‘lowly’, where God is inviting you to step into your power?
Prayer of blessing
The angels are still singing.
Prophets are still speaking.
Hush the noise, hear them sing, repeat the song, seek justice.
And the blessing of God,
the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit,
be yours, now and always. Amen
CHRISTMAS DAY 25 December 2024
HEAR THE ANGELS SING
The good news to recognise
Christmas is loud, isn’t it? So much expectation. So many voices. Telling us how to celebrate, what to wear, what to eat and drink, what to watch and what to buy.
Instead, this Christmas we’re inviting everyone to hush the noise. To listen for the love song that the angels bring this and every year. They sang it for the first time more than 2,000 years ago, on the midnight clear. They’re just waiting for us to join in.
Isaiah 9:2-7
The people who walked in darkness
have seen a great light;
those who lived in a land of deep darkness –
on them light has shined.
You have multiplied exultation;
you have increased its joy;
they rejoice before you
as with joy at the harvest,
as people exult when dividing plunder.
For the yoke of their burden
and the bar across their shoulders,
the rod of their oppressor,
you have broken as on the day of Midian.
For all the boots of the tramping warriors
and all the garments rolled in blood
shall be burned as fuel for the fire.
For a child has been born for us,
a son given to us;
authority rests upon his shoulders,
and he is named
Wonderful Counsellor, Mighty God,
Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
Great will be his authority,
and there shall be endless peace
for the throne of David and his kingdom.
He will establish and uphold it
with justice and with righteousness
from this time onward and forevermore.
The zeal of the Lord of hosts will do this.
Luke 2:1-20
In those days a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be registered. This was the first registration and was taken while Quirinius was governor of Syria. All went to their own towns to be registered. Joseph also went from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to the city of David called Bethlehem, because he was descended from the house and family of David. He went to be registered with Mary, to whom he was engaged and who was expecting a child. While they were there, the time came for her to deliver her child. And she gave birth to her firstborn son and wrapped him in bands of cloth and laid him in a manger, because there was no place in the guest room.
Now in that same region there were shepherds living in the fields, keeping watch over their flock by night. Then an angel of the Lord stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid, for see, I am bringing you good news of great joy for all the people: to you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, who is the Messiah, the Lord. This will be a sign for you: you will find a child wrapped in bands of cloth and lying in a manger.” And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host, praising God and saying,
“Glory to God in the highest heaven,
and on earth peace among those whom he favours!”
When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let us go now to Bethlehem and see this thing that has taken place, which the Lord has
made known to us.” So they went with haste and found Mary and Joseph and the child lying in the manger. When they saw this, they made known what had been told them about this child, and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds told them, and Mary treasured all these words and pondered them in her heart. The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen, just as it had been told them.
Background notes
On this special day it is time to hear the midnight song of the angels referred to in the carol. The symbol today is, naturally, an angel.
... and there shall be endless peace.
This passage from Isaiah is full of light, joy and gladness. The child will bring peace and justice; salvation is described in a communal, not individualistic frame.29
“Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace among those whom he favours!”
The song of the angels is a mini-canticle, with two parallel chiastic lines.30 As in the Isaiah passage above, the whole saving event of Christ coming is summed up as peace. This is not merely an absence of war, but a state of abundance and well-being that comes from God.31 Or, as our carol puts it, ’Peace on the earth, good will to men... [sic.]’
Who is included in this outpouring of peace? What might seem like an exclusive limit in the words of the angels (‘among those whom he favours’) is really a universal blessing for the whole earth and all who inhabit it: God favours it all.32
... they made known what had been told them ...
The shepherds ‘repeat the song’ that they have heard from the angels to Mary and Joseph. There was new information here; Mary and Joseph already knew that the child would be the Messiah (Luke 1:32-35) and Lord (Luke 1:43) but from the shepherds they learn that the child will also be a saviour.
Ways to respond
Take a couple of minutes now to hush the noise. Consider how you might help others hear the angel’s love song in your community. How might you amplify the song?
Prayer of blessing
The angels are still singing.
Hush the noise, hear them sing, repeat the song.
And the blessing of God,
the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit,
be yours, now and always. Amen
Christmas 1 29 December 2024
HUSH THE HUSHING
The good news to recognise
You’re never too young or old to find your place in God’s kingdom.
1 Samuel 2:18-20, 26
Samuel was ministering before the Lord, a boy wearing a linen ephod. His mother used to make for him a little robe and take it to him each year when she went up with her husband to offer the yearly sacrifice. Then Eli would bless Elkanah and his
wife and say, “May the Lord repay you with children by this woman for the loan that she made to the Lord,” and then they would return to their home.
Luke 2:41-52
Now every year his parents went to Jerusalem for the festival of the Passover. And when he was twelve years old, they went up as usual for the festival. When the festival was ended and they started to return, the boy Jesus stayed behind in Jerusalem, but his parents were unaware of this. Assuming that he was in the group of travellers, they went a day’s journey. Then they started to look for him among their relatives and friends. When they did not find him, they returned to Jerusalem to search for him. After three days they found him in the temple, sitting among the teachers, listening to them and asking them questions. And all who heard him were amazed at his understanding and his answers. When his parents saw him they were astonished, and his mother said to him, “Child, why have you treated us like this? Your father and I have been anxiously looking for you.” He said to them, “Why were you searching for me? Did you not know that I must be in my Father’s house?” But they did not understand what he said to them. Then he went down with them and came to Nazareth and was obedient to them, and his mother treasured all these things in her heart.
And Jesus increased in wisdom and in years and in divine and human favour.
Background notes
Our Bible passages this week both feature children in a place of worship. There is a risk that the title of this campaign, Hush the Noise, might inadvertently encourage a belief that children in church should be seen and not heard. This is the last thing that we want to do. Children come to worship as they are, as part of the diverse family of God. All are welcome.
This week, instead, calls us to ‘hush the hushing.’ The noise that we should hush in order to better hear the song of the angels is not the literal noise that beloved children of God make, which can be a source of learning for us if we just pay attention.
Samuel was ministering before the Lord, a boy ...
The passage from 1 Samuel follows the song of his mother, Hannah, which provided the basis for Mary’s song that we used last Sunday. But this passage jumps forward in time to when her long awaited son, Samuel, was a boy. Samuel was ministering in the place of worship in Shiloh alongside the priest Eli. This young child was the harbinger of God’s new future.33
Now every year his parents went to Jerusalem for the festival of the Passover. And when he was twelve years old, they went up as usual for the festival.
Jesus’ family regularly travelled to Jerusalem for the Passover festival; this implies a regular practice of family worship as Jesus grew up. 34 The custom was that children aged 13 and over were expected to go too, so Jesus either went a year early or was preparing for the Bar Mitzvah.35
... they found him in the temple, sitting among the teachers, listening to them and asking them questions.
The word translated here as ‘asking them questions’ (eperōtōnta) usually implies a vigorous debate or dispute, rather than a gentle inquiry. The boy Jesus was right in the thick of it.
... were amazed at his understanding and his answers ...
Obviously Jesus was a special case, but this principle still applies to us today: older people can and should appreciate the insights that young people have, and vice versa. As John Hull says:
Congregations where children are found a distraction should stop thinking about their ministry to children and start to think about the ministry of children to them. Learning breakthroughs occur when barriers suggested by the experience of distraction are broken through.36
Ways to respond
Take a couple of minutes now to hush the noise. What’s your unique gift that only you can be or do?
Prayer of blessing
The angels are still singing.
Hush the noise, hear them sing, repeat the song, welcome everyone.
And the blessing of God,
the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit,
be yours, now and always. Amen
Christmas 2 05 January 2025
JESUS, THE LOVE SONG
The good news to recognise
The eternal love song took on human form in Jesus.
Jeremiah 31:7-14
For thus says the Lord:
Sing aloud with gladness for Jacob,
and raise shouts for the chief of the nations;
proclaim, give praise, and say,
“Save, O Lord, your people,
the remnant of Israel.”
See, I am going to bring them from the land of the north
and gather them from the farthest parts of the earth, among them the blind and the lame,
those with child and those in labour together;
a great company, they shall return here.
With weeping they shall come,
and with consolations I will lead them back;
I will let them walk by brooks of water,
in a straight path where they shall not stumble,
for I have become a father to Israel,
and Ephraim is my firstborn.
Hear the word of the Lord, O nations,
and declare it in the coastlands far away;
say, “He who scattered Israel will gather him
and will keep him as a shepherd does a flock.”
For the Lord has ransomed Jacob
and has redeemed him from hands too strong for him. They shall come and sing aloud on the height of Zion,
and they shall be radiant over the goodness of the Lord, over the grain, the wine, and the oil,
and over the young of the flock and the herd;
their life shall become like a watered garden,
and they shall never languish again.
Then shall the young women rejoice in the dance,
and the young men and the old shall be merry.
I will turn their mourning into joy;
I will comfort them and give them gladness for sorrow.
I will give the priests their fill of fatness,
and my people shall be satisfied with my bounty,
says the Lord.
John 1:1-18
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things came into being through him, and without him not one thing came into being. What has come into being in him was life, and the life was the light of all people. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overtake it.
There was a man sent from God whose name was John. He came as a witness to testify to the light, so that all might believe through him. He himself was not the light, but he came to testify to the light. The true light, which enlightens everyone, was coming into the world.
He was in the world, and the world came into being through him, yet the world did not know him. He came to what was his own, and his own people did not accept him. But to all who received him, who believed in his name, he gave power to become children of God, who were born, not of blood or of the will of the flesh or of the will of man, but of God.
And the Word became flesh and lived among us, and we have seen his glory, the glory as of a father’s only son, full of grace and truth. John testified to him and cried out, “This was he of whom I said, ‘He who comes after me ranks ahead of me because he was before me.’” From his fullness we have all received, grace upon grace. The law indeed was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. No one has ever seen God. It is the only Son, himself God, who is close to the Father’s heart, who has made him known.
Background notes
In this final week in the season of Christmas, we wrap up the Hush the Noise series with two beautiful passages that give us a broad perspective on God’s saving work, and an invitation to join in. We see Jesus as the cosmic, eternal Word – maybe we
can think of Jesus as the song that the angels have been singing, that we can sing too.
In Jewish tradition a song is a valid metaphor for God. The phrase ‘The Lord is my strength and my song’ (Ozi v’Zimrat Yah)37 is the only one that features in all three sections of the Hebrew Bible – Torah (Exodus 15.2), Psalms (Psalm 118.14) and Prophets (Isaiah 12.2.) The word zimrat derived from zamar (instrumental music) has proved hard to translate to English;38 the NRSV chooses ‘defence‘, and gives the alternative ‘song’ in a footnote.
The God-as-song metaphor is explored in Rob Bell’s Nooma film ‘Rhythm’:
When I think of God I hear a song, a song that moves me. It has a melody and it has a groove. It has a certain rhythm. And people have heard this song for thousands and thousands of years. Across continents and cultures and time periods people have heard the song, and they’ve found it captivating, and they’ve wanted to hear more. There have always been people who say there is no song and who deny the music, but the song keeps playing. And so Jesus came to show us how to live in tune with the song.39
Then shall the young women rejoice in the dance, and the young men and the old shall be merry.
In this vision of the future, all kinds of people will be caught up in a dance, moving with all their being in response to the song they hear. Mourning will turn into dancing. God has the power to transform all things, and has promised to do it.40
In the beginning was the Word ...
There are clear parallels with Genesis 1, both the use of the word ‘beginning’ and the motifs of light and dark.41
The term ‘Word’ (logos) is used frequently in the Old Testament, both for the creative work of God speaking (singing?) new things into being, and for communication through the prophets. The word always conveys action.42
Ways to respond
Take a couple of minutes now to hush the noise. How could you pay more attention to the song of love that’s always being sung, and join in with it?
Prayer of blessing
The angels are still singing, and the Word has become flesh. Hush the noise, hear them sing, repeat the song.
And the blessing of God,
the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit,
be yours, now and always. Amen
REFERENCES
1 Joel B. Green, The Gospel of Luke (1997) Eerdmans, Grand Rapids, p. 740.
2 Joseph A. Fitzmeyer, The Gospel According to Luke (1981)
Doubleday, New York, p. 1324.
3 Fitzmeyer, p. 1349.
4 Artur Weiser, The Psalms (1962) SCM, London, p. 368.
5 Fitzmeyer, p. 1349.
6 Evans, p. 755
7 Andrew Root, The Congregation in a Secular Age (2021) Baker
Academic, Michigan ch. 13.
8 Root, ch. 14.
9 Walter Brueggemann, Jeremiah 26-52 To Build, To Plant (1991)
Eeerdmans, Grand Rapids pp. 98-99
10 Bruce C. Birch, Walter Brueggemann, Terence E. Fretheim, David
L. Petersen, A Theological Introduction to the Old Testament
(1999) Abingson, Nashville, p. 438.
11 C. F. Evans, Saint Luke (1990) SCM, London, p. 234
12 Green, p. 167.
13 Evans, pp. 234-235.
14 Green, p. 170.
15 ibid. pp. 166-167.
16 Fitzmeyer, p. 461.
17 Joseph Blenkinsopp, Isaiah 40-55 (2002) Doubleday, New York
p. 182.
18 methodist.org.uk/for-churches/resources/hymns/it-came-upon-the-
midnight-clear-StF-205/
19 Birch et al. pp. 316-317.
20 Green, p. 177.
21 Fitzmeyer, p. 469.
22 Evans, p. 240.
23 Craig A. Evans, Matthew (2012) Cambridge, New York, pp. 54-55.
24 Fitzmeyer, p. 358.
25 Green, p. 99.
26 Fitzmeyer, p. 366.
27 Green, p. 99.
28 ibid. p. 99
29 David Stacey, Isaiah 1-39 (1993) Epworth, London, p. 73.
30 Evans, p. 206.
31 Fitzmeyer, pp. 224 – 225.
32 Green, p. 137.
33 Birch et al. pp. 224-225.
34 Green, p. 155.
35 Fitzmeyer, pp. 440-441.
36 John M. Hull, What Prevents Christian Adults from Learning?
(1985) SCM, London, p. 19.
37 rabbishefagold.com/ozi-vzimrat-yah/
38 Brevard Childs, Exodus (1974) SCM, London, p. 242.
39 Rob Bell, NOOMA: Rhythm – 011,
youtu.be/1FNHoYl8a78?si=TvKmL8vgDAf-obx1
40 Walter Brueggemann, Jeremiah 26-52, To Build, To Plant (1991)
Eeerdmans, Grand Rapids, pp. 61-63.
41 Raymond Brown, The Gospel According to John (1966) Doubleday.
New York, p. 4.
42 C.K. Barratt, The Gospel According to St. John (1978) SPCK,
London, p. 153.
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