Advent Devotions

Today’s author is Prince of Peace member, Paul Sponheim.

There are many reasons why I like this hymn. I will give you three. The comprehensiveness of the text is grand. All three persons of the triune God are recognized in God’s work in the world. Moreover, that work is spelled out in narrative form with the coming of Christ and the Spirit particularly emphasized. The hymn is often sung on Pentecost Sunday and could counter any weakness or neglect on the Spirit of God. Singing this hymn fits well the rhythm of the narrative lectionary.

I appreciate that the gospel story is clearly good news. We sing here of joy and healing. Lutherans particularly can sometimes seem to join the gloom and doom parade to the cross. Lent reminds us that the Cross did happen, and sin needs to be addressed. But Calvary was not the divine child abuse feminists have wisely attached. There is the violence of wrongful shaming in the history of Christianity. May that be banished as we sing.

I’m glad that in singing this hymn the Lutheran church claims the legacy of the great Danish Lutheran composer, Nikolai Frederick Severin Grundtvig. Grundtvig is often portrayed as an adversary of another famous Dace, his younger contemporary, Soren Kierkegaard. It is true that the two men did not appreciate each other but i think we need them both. Kierkegaard can teach us that being a good Dane does not mean you are thereby a good Christian. Grundtvig can remind us that God’s call to us to be fully human is not wiped out by the call to faith.