Creator of the Stars of Night (ELW 245)
1 Creator of the stars of night,
your people’s everlasting light,
O Christ, redeemer of us all,
we pray you hear us when we call.
2 When this old world drew on toward night,
you came; but not in splendor bright,
not as a monarch, but the child
of Mary, blessed mother mild.
3 At your great name, O Jesus, now
all knees must bend, all hearts must bow:
all things on earth with one accord,
like those in heav’n, shall call you Lord.
4 Come in your holy might, we pray,
redeem us for eternal day;
defend us while we dwell below
from all assaults of our dread foe.
5 To God the Father, God the Son,
and God the Spirit, Three in One,
praise, honor, might, and glory be
from age to age eternally. Amen.
Text: Latin hymn, 9th cent.; tr. Hymnal 1940, alt.
Text © 1940 Church Pension Fund, admin. Church Publishing Incorporated. All rights reserved.
Reprinted under OneLicense.net #A730924
Devotion
Our theme hymn imparts visions of a night sky with sensations of both majesty and serenity. Close your eyes and think about what it feels like to stand under a starry sky. Remember the darkness and quiet. The stars—their bright points of light barely pricking through a vast blanket of darkness—are a perfect image for this Advent season. There is so much we cannot perceive, and yet, we are surrounded by their light.
This hymn captures much of Advent’s mystery and power—the God who strung the stars in the sky is cradled in the arms of a young woman as night falls heavy around them. But we’re not there yet. During Advent, we wait—and we hope, as from creation to redemption our hymn casts a vision of a world united in praise of an extravagant, complex, three-in-one God. Our dark midwinter sanctuary is lit by only a handful of candles in a simple circle of evergreen—it’s not much, but it’s enough.
Prayer
Creator of the stars of night, we wait eagerly for you, looking for the signs of your reconciling work, trying to remember that you like to come in ways we don’t expect. Hear our prayer when we call to you—for we know that your Word is trustworthy. And so with the hosts of heaven we pray, come, Lord Jesus. Amen.