Hark! A Thrilling Voice Is Sounding (Evangelical Lutheran Worship 246)
1 Hark! a thrilling voice is sounding!
“Christ is near,” we hear it say.
“Cast away the works of darkness
all you children of the day!”
2 Wakened by the solemn warning,
from earth’s bondage let us rise;
Christ, our sun, all sloth dispelling,
shines upon the morning skies.
3 See the Lamb, so long expected,
comes with pardon down from heav’n.
Let us haste, with tears of sorrow,
one and all, to be forgiv’n;
4 So, when next he comes in glory
and the world is wrapped in fear,
he will shield us with his mercy
and with words of love draw near.
5 Honor, glory, might, and blessing
to the Father and the Son
with the everliving Spirit
while unending ages run!
Text: Latin hymn, 1632; Music: William H. Monk; Public Domain
Devotion
On this Fourth Sunday of Advent, there is no greater thrilling voice than the one that sings praise to God. Our hymn ends with the crescendo of the season. We give praise to the Creator of all things.
Many scholars have noted a theme in scripture: We become the God we worship. Humans craft gods out of the materials of the earth (wood, stone, metal), attach our own lusts onto them (money, power, sex), and then worship them. This creates a destructive feedback loop in which the worship of our gods is actually the worship of the darker parts of ourselves. So, we continually become the worst image of ourselves in a downward spiral.
The God of the Bible is not an object or another thing in the universe. God is the relationality of Creator–Redeemer–Sustainer, Lover–Beloved–Love, Father–Son–Spirit, in infinite, interdependent love. This is the ground from which all life springs forth. When we worship The Triune God, we become interdependent love.
Prayer
Oh God, Father, Son and Spirit, give us the grace to praise you. Transform us into the nature of your self-giving, interdependent love. Amen.