If you have something important to communicate to
someone, you first need to get their attention. And if you need to get
someone’s attention quickly, there are a number of approaches you could take.
Yes, there’s the always red exclamation point attached to the email, or the
allcaps text message. But what about when you’re when you’re within sight or
shouting distance of the people who need to know the news you need to share? To
get their attention, perhaps you whistle, wave your arms, or yell something.
There’s a lot of attention-getting that happens during
the season of Advent, and a lot of it is carried out by John the Baptizer.
While his choice of clothing and eating habits may have gained him attention,
we remember him, of course, not only for who he was, but for whom he was the attention-getter.
As John the Baptizer says in John the Evangelist’s gospel, in the pericope for this
Sunday, “I am the voice of one crying out in the wilderness, ‘Make straight the
way of the Lord,’ as the prophet Isaiah said.” (John 1:23 ESV) Throughout the
season of Advent, our attention is turned to look for the coming Christ, and as
our attention is turned, so are our lives are turned in repentance to receive
the gifts that Christ brings. We “cast away the works of darkness” and “haste,
with tears of sorrow” and receive the “pardon,” “mercy,” and “words of love” of
our coming Savior.
Whoever was the 6th -or-7th -century-or-so
writer of this hymn was also an attention-getter. The archaic “Hark!” which
begins this hymn—and which always reminds me of that one Brady bunch episode,
right?—is a translation of the original Latin ecce, which seems to be the go-to
attention-getting word in that language. It can also be translated as “Lo!” or
“Here!” or “Behold!” or “Look!” or “See!” It’s no accident that there are quite
a few Advent and Christmas hymns that begin with these words. There is
important news to share both in anticipation of and in response to “that birth
forever blessed” (to quote another Latin hymn).
But just as John’s attention-getting dress and diet
was not the point of it all but rather a way of pointing to his message and the
point of his message, so the hymn-writer’s attention-getting “Hark!” serves as
an opening to a hymn that is full of messages for us—images and ideas taken fairly
directly from scripture. Hymnal companion commentaries on this hymn point out
that almost every line of the Latin hymn is related to a passage from
scripture.
Consider the following connections between hymn and
scripture and allow them to lead you in prayer and meditation, being assured
that “Christ is near.”
Hark! A thrilling
voice is sounding!
“Christ is near,” we
hear it say.
“Cast away the works of darkness,
Besides this you know the time, that the hour has come
for you to wake from sleep. For salvation is nearer to us now than when we
first believed. The night is far gone; the day is at hand. So then let us cast
off the works of darkness and put on the armor of light. (Romans 13:11-12)[2]
Lord, free us from our sins and make us whole. Hear our prayer, and prepare us to celebrate the incarnation of Your Son, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, One God, for ever and ever. Amen[3] -10 December 2022
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