Posted on by PaulHartC

O come, O come, Emmanuel

Verse 1:
O come, O come, Immanuel,
and ransom captive Israel
that mourns in lonely exile here
until the Son of God appear.

Refrain:
Rejoice! Rejoice! Immanuel
shall come to you, O Israel.

Verse 4:
O come, O Branch of Jesse’s stem,
unto your own and rescue them!
From depths of hell your people save,
and give them victory o’er the grave.
Refrain

Ah, another entry into the “You’re Singing It Wrong” series. O come, Emanuel offers another instance of poor phrase breaking. Looking at the first verse, there is only a single period, meaning that the whole thing is one sentence. That is something we too often forget, especially when looking to the meaning of this text. If you look through all six verses, the hymn is a plea for deliverance, for guidance, and for hope.

Why, then, post this so far from advent? I mean, keep it in a back pocket for a few months and do a Christmas in the summer, right? Well, maybe… But the reason I want to write about it now is because I think we have lost sight of something in the season of lent, which has just begun. Often, we phrase advent as the season of light, joy, and togetherness while we treat lent as a season of death, mourning, and darkness. Both celebrate something incredible done by God: life.

Advent is a Church season which culminates in Christmas, celebrating the coming of the Christ child. It is the incarnation of God into human flesh. The birth of our savior is truly something to celebrate. Lent is also a Church season which ends at Easter*, a celebration of new life. Christ’s death is meaningless without His resurrection, thus the story cannot end on Friday. The buildup to Easter ought to be as exciting or more than Christmas because it was the moment God fulfilled His word to so many generations who cried out for deliverance.

If we live Lent for death, then it is our own doing. Ultimately, humanity is responsible for bringing death into the picture. One could even say that we dishonor the God of life, of hope, of love, by ignoring the fact that preparing for death is preparing for a battle Christ has already won.

Someday, maybe I’ll see a church sing O Come, Emanuel for Lent, because in this season as much as any it is good to remember that the Son of God not only appeared, but fully and irrevocably ransomed the captive.

SDG,

-Paul Hart Cochran

*Some church calendars end Lent on Maundy Thursday, but given the continuation of events from that Thursday to Easter, I feel comfortable asserting Easter is the true end.

Posted on by PaulHartC

Blest Be the Tie That Binds

Verse 1:
Blest be the tie that binds
our hearts in Christian love;
the fellowship of kindred minds
is like to that above.
Verse 3:
We share our mutual woes,
our mutual burdens bear,
and often for each other flows
the sympathizing tear.

If you pay attention to the categories I’m using for these posts, you’ll notice this is the first in a category entitled, “You’re Singing It Wrong.” Apart from the strong implication of humor, I hope to address in these types of posts how incorrect performance of a particular hymn can actually effect our understanding of the meaning. Need to use that B.A. in Music for something, right?

Blest Be the Tie That Binds is a favorite of many, but most people do not have a lot of formal vocal training. So what is the issue? Breathing. And honestly, most music leaders don’t help, either adding extra beats or moving things too slow. What happens is a break in the first line of text which most people don’t consciously realize, but which diminishes the song’s meaning for many of us.

If you are like me, you tend to just think of the blest tie, unrelated to the later mentioned christian love. However, without the poetic breaks, the first verse reads:

Blest be the tie that binds our hearts in Christian love; the fellowship of kindred minds is like to that above.

The theme of this song, supported by the remaining verses, is the unity of the Church. Verse 3 emphasizes this as is discusses the shared nature of our burdens, even our tears. This is all well and good within our own congregation or small group. However, what about other Christians in the church down the road? What if they are not your same denomination? What if they have opposing political views? We might be more likely to slander than to share burdens.

Christians will never agree on everything in this fallen world. Paul had disagreements with Peter and Barnabus. But that diversity can be incredibly beneficial as long as we strive to always treat one another with Christian love.

SDG,

-Paul Hart Cochran