About the Hymn
Some Scripture texts want only to be told. To over-analyze them is to deplete them of their power. To extract an application for our lives of sanctification is to dilute them.
So it is with the Annunciation. We simply sit with this text. Read, hear, ponder. Let the beauty wash over us.
The otherworldly magnificence of an angel. The equal measures of modesty and bravery, submission and strength, in the Virgin. The wonder of the divine becoming human, the eternal fullness of God seeking shelter in a woman’s womb.
The text and tune attempt to transport us to this quiet moment that made all the difference in the world.
The hymn should be performed at a fervent♩. = ca. 60.
Text
1. Sudden comes the angel, Gabriel by name,
strong and splendid creature, radiant as flame,
bearing the Almighty’s message to proclaim,
message to proclaim.
2. Softly sings the virgin fair of Nazareth,
unaware that she is favored, chosen, blessed,
when the angels’ presence steals her very breath,
steals her very breath.
3. Gently fall the raindrops, greening all the trees;
fierce and brave the maiden in her modesty.
She will be the vessel for divinity,
for divinity.
4. Wondrous is the moment heaven touches earth.
Wind and sea are dancing in their holy mirth.
Mary is with child! The stars await the birth,
stars await the birth.
© 2017 Laurie F. Gauger
Lectionary Reading
Annunciation of the Lord: Luke 1:26–38
Year B, Fourth Sunday of Advent: Luke 1:26–38
The Birth of Jesus Foretold
In the sixth month of Elizabeth’s pregnancy, God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a town in Galilee, to a virgin pledged to be married to a man named Joseph, a descendant of David. The virgin’s name was Mary. The angel went to her and said, “Greetings, you who are highly favored! The Lord is with you.”
Mary was greatly troubled at his words and wondered what kind of greeting this might be. But the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary; you have found favor with God. You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you are to call him Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over Jacob’s descendants forever; his kingdom will never end.”
“How will this be,” Mary asked the angel, “since I am a virgin?”
The angel answered, “The Holy Spirit will come on you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God. Even Elizabeth your relative is going to have a child in her old age, and she who was said to be unable to conceive is in her sixth month. For no word from God will ever fail.”
“I am the Lord’s servant,” Mary answered. “May your word to me be fulfilled.” Then the angel left her.
Scriptures taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.™ Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide. www.zondervan.com The “NIV” and “New International Version” are trademarks registered in the United States Patent and Trademark Office by Biblica, Inc.™
