Let All Mortal Flesh Keep Silence (stanza 3)
Rank on rank the host of heaven
Spreads its vanguard on the way,
As the Light of Light descendeth
From the realms of endless day,
That the powers of hell may vanish
As the darkness clears away
I have always loved this hymn because it inspires a sense of the mystery which lies at the heart of the incarnation, and which is part of all true worship. Because human intelligence cannot fully understand how the eternal Word of God became flesh in Jesus’ birth, I keep trying to find ways to express the awe that is awakened each year during the season of Advent. The hymn tune (Picardy) enhances the mysterious language of the text, especially stanza three. The language of the verse seems to an elaboration of language from the Nicene Creed which describes Jesus as “Light from Light.”
Sara and I attended a Lifelong Learning Conference at Montreat during October this year. Our keynote speaker unpacked the meaning of mystery by reminding us of the physics that I learned fifty years ago in college: that light is both wave and particle (depending on how it is measured). Making reference to more recent quantum physics he suggested that once sub-atomic particles like quarks become entangled, they continue to influence each other even at a distance. Perhaps relationships are the fundamental building blocks of the universe.
The Gospel of John knows that already: “in him was life, and the life was the light of all people. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness” has never snuffed it out (John 1:4, 5 my translation). We embrace the mystery of God through a relationship with Jesus Christ and that brings light to our darkness and confusion.
O Light of our dark world, illumine our personal dark places this Advent, so that our living may reflect your light and truth to all who cross our path, through Jesus, our light and our salvation Amen.
John Kipp
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