Dear Caldwell,
Music – in its many forms – is an essential part of our faith. This time each Advent, I come again and again to appreciate the depth and meaning of the hymns of Advent and Christmas and how they capture our hope and waiting. As we travel from Sunday to Sunday – with an important stop Wednesday night – I’ll share a few this week, as we prepare for Christmas Eve. Perhaps, in the hustle and bustle of final Christmas preparations, they might help us all slow down and dwell with the Promise that is about to be fulfilled again, a promise that invites us to “come and see” with the hearts of children.
Yesterday in worship, we thought, heard and prayed a lot about Mary and her song of praise and justice, the Magnificat. With her in mind, I thought I might share a little-known 15th-century German carol. It echos a time when many more lives were tied to the maritime industry and when its language helped bring words and images alive. With our modern economy, most of us don’t know much at all about shipping and sailing. Take a moment to savor these words and how they remind us of what is fast approaching us, in just three days now. (My source does not note an author.)
There comes a ship a-sailing
With angels flying fast;
She bears a splendid cargo
And has a mighty mast.
This ship is fully laden,
Right to her highest board;
She bears the Son from heaven,
God’s high eternal Word.
And that ship’s name is Mary,
Of flowers the rose is she,
And brings to us her baby
From sin to set us free.
The ship made in this fashion,
In which such store was cast,
Her sail is love’s sweet passion,
The Holy Ghost her mast.
May we continue to pray and hope, as we wait on the dock for this precious cargo.
In Christ,
John