A New Hymn for Advent

In a season not for the faint of heart, a consideration of the coming of Christ.

From “My Little Book of the Church’s Year,” Enid Chadwick (1948), courtesy of Project Canterbury.

Recently, inspired by Enid Chadwick’s wonderful volume “My Little Book of the Church’s Year,” and I sought to encompass the themes of Advent in a hymn chiefly intended for an evening liturgy. The fruit of my labors, for your consideration, is below.

Christ comes in darkness, in our hour of peril; 
When fears are waxing, hopes and gladness waning:
To tempest-tossed hearts, stretching forth salvation,
Saving the sinner.

Christ came in winter, in a humble manger,
Far from the center of the glitt’ring empire;
‘Compassed by creatures, stewarded by shepherds,
Worshiped by Magi.

Christ comes to us each day in Great Thanksgiving,
In wine and bread, blest, broken, and bestowéd;
Poured out for many, cleansing sin and sorrow,
Feeding his faithful.

Christ will return one day at ages’ ending,
Gath’ring his people to his heav’nly Kingdom;
Princes and paupers, humble maids and matrons,
Praising his glory.

Into our shadow’d world, we pray Thee: “Come, Lord!”
Save us, in mercy, from our fears and terrors;
That, in thy love, O Father, Son, and Spirit,
We may yet see thee. 
Amen.

Meter: 11.11.11.5
©2022 John R. Wallace (1991-).  AMDG; free to use, with proper attribution.

EXPLANATION:

The first stanza borrows from the imagery of the Collect for Advent 1: Almighty God, give us grace that we may cast away the works of darkness, and put upon us the armor of light, now in the time of this mortal life in which thy Son Jesus Christ came to visit us in great humility…. The second, third, and fourth expound on Christ’s coming: first, through His birth; second, through His real presence in the Holy Eucharist; and third, in His return at the Last Great Day. The fifth is a poetic recapitulation of the third Evening Collect, For Aid Against Perils, which nicely echoes the theme of the Collect for Advent Sunday (and which, in turn, is customarily repeated at the Daily Office through the entire season.)

PERFORMANCE NOTES:

I had written this text in 11.11.11.5, with an eye towards having it sung to Richard Wayne Dirksen’s (1921-2003) wonderful tune Innisfree Farm, which is Hymn 34 (Christ, Mighty Savior) in the Hymnal 1982. That piece, of course, plays well on soft 8s and 4s, and with lots of strings and slush. Avoid the metricated version, Decatur Place, which trips over itself like a ballerina in Doc Martens. Unfortunately Innisfree Farm is still under copyright, so unless your director of music can transcribe it, or your congregation knows the tune well enough, you might be better-served using another option. Happily, many options exist, including Cælites Plaudant (no chamades - this isn’t Michaelmas) and Rouen, to which this piece has been inscribed by my friend Clinton Davis, and was field-tested in a few parishes this past year. A copy of his inscription to Rouen, made available with his gracious permission, is attached below.

Should you decide to use this in your Advent liturgies, by all means, please do! Just credit me, John Wallace, with the text - and leave a comment to tell me where it was, how it went, and (if applicable) a link to your telecast.