This Sunday we will celebrate Christ the King Sunday as the final Sunday of our church year. Our Processional hymn will be Crown him with many crowns. One of the most effective and simple costume changes is to put on a hat. When you walk off stage and return wearing a top hat, you are suddenly a different person. A “man of many hats” is someone who can be a different person in different contexts or crowds. This hymn declares that we are to crown our Lord with many crowns, but this does not mean that Jesus is a “man of many hats.” Christ was not simply a prophet, He was not simply the carpenter’s son, and He was not simply human, nor simply divine. Rather, this call to “crown him with many crowns” is a simple and yet profound declaration that Christ is many things, and everything. He is Lord of all, to be crowned for many things that all add up to Him being Savior of the world. Each crown represents a different aspect of who Christ is – Lord of life, Lord of love, Lord of years, Lord of heaven, the Lamb upon the throne. Christ is King, Servant, Lamb, Shepherd, and we celebrate this all-encompassing, paradoxical nature of our Savior by crowning Him the Lord of all. The original text was written by Matthew Bridges, and later revised in his second edition of Hymns of the Heart, published in 1851. The tune Diademata was composed for this text by George J. Elvey in 1868. The name is derived from the Greek word for “crowns.” (Hymnary.org)
The Sequence hymn will be Let all mortal flesh keep silence. One of the lesser sung Christmas hymns, this paraphrase of Gerard Moultrie is based on a text that has been used by the church since the late fourth century: the Liturgy of St. James. Moultrie’s words come from a part of that liturgy known as the Cherubic Hymn, which would be chanted as the bread and wine of Holy Eucharist were brought forward. This old text evokes a sense of majesty at the incarnation of Christ, and the slow, almost chant-like melody in a minor tone wonderfully expresses that awe and mystery. We come before Christ in silence and in awe to reflect upon the mystery of the incarnation, joined even by the hosts of heaven to witness the miracle. Singing this hymn, one can imagine him or herself standing in the stable, angels above, in reverent silence to worship the King, born a child to banish the darkness away. The tune to which Moultrie’s text is set is Picardy, a French carol dating from the seventeenth century. The minor tonality of this tune perfectly expresses the sense of awe and majesty that the text evokes. (Hymnary.org)
St. Martin’s Choir will sing a new Offertory: Oh, the life of the world, written by Kathy Galloway to music by Ian Galloway. This is one of the rare songs published by the Iona Community that was actually written while living in Iona by the co-wardens of the Iona Abbey. Kathy Galloway was ordained in the Church of Scotland and joined the Iona Community in 1977. In 2002 she served as the Community’s leader, the first woman to occupy this post. She recalls the creative process of writing the text: “I wrote the words sitting in the garden…and it was a beautiful summer’s day, the kind when Iona is at its best…the 1st verse was inspired by the island itself…the 2nd and 3rd verses reflect the concerns and values of the Iona Community: healing, singing, fighting against poverty, justice and peace…the 4th verse leads us into gratitude as we explicitly acknowledge the creator, redeemer and sustainer of life. As the song concludes its journey, so do we, as the days of our living are done.” (2018 Sunday by Sunday RSCM guide Issue 84) Oh, the life of the world is a joy and a treasure, unfolding in beauty the green growing tree, the changing of seasons in mountain and valley, the stars and the bright restless sea. So give thanks for the life and give love to the Maker, and rejoice in the gift of the bright risen Son, and walk in the peace and the power of the Spirit till the days of our living are done. (Arranged by David Ogden for Royal School of Church Music 2018)
Our final hymn will be the African-American spiritual He is King of Kings. “The slaves’ imagination was powerfully captivated by the notion of having a king who was powerful enough that absolutely no one could ‘hinder’ him. If Jesus could not be hindered, then they had agency in terms of their own lives as well. Some versions of this life-affirming song add ‘He is the King of Kings, He is the Lord of Lords, Jesus Christ, the First and Last, no man hinders me’! This song captures the aspiration of the hearts of enslaved peoples. Jesus was born a baby, yes, but He was also a king, recalling his triumphal, un-hindered entry into Jerusalem.” (Eileen Gurnther/CMH hymnology.co.uk/r/ride-on.-king-jesus)