Christmas Day
Preaching
Hear My Voice
Preaching The Lectionary Psalms for Cycles A, B, C
(Occurs in all three cycles of the lectionary; see Christmas Day, Cycle A; see also Easter 7, Cycle C, for an alternative approach.)
The lectionary includes two sets of readings for Christmas Day: those appointed for dawn services, and those appointed for services that take place later in the day. Psalm 97 is designated as one of these early-morning readings.
There are two possible reasons why this psalm has been included in the lectionary for Christmas Day. The first is its opening line: "The Lord is king! Let the earth rejoice; let the many coast-lands be glad!" (v. 1). The second is this line from later in the psalm: "Light dawns for the righteous, and joy for the upright in heart" (v. 11).
Otherwise, Psalm 97 is a peculiar choice, for it presents God as an austere and fearsome figure, enthroned above the heavens, casting down thunderbolts upon the earth. This is not the sort of imagery most preachers would like to haul out of the ecclesiastical attic, to display alongside the shepherds, angels, and Wise Men.
For those who are determined to use this psalm as the basis for a Christmas sermon, the two verses identified above could serve very well. Verse 1 celebrates divine kingship -- certainly an appropriate message at the birth of Jesus as king. Kingship, however, is not a theme that resonates strongly with most Americans. It is hard for most of our people to imagine the joy with which citizens of a monarchy could await the news of the birth of a new heir to the throne.
Verse 11 picks up the favorite Advent/Christmas theme of light. Advent and Christmas hymns are replete with images of inbreaking light and the dawning of a new day. The star of Bethlehem from Matthew's Gospel is also a potent image of light. Malcolm Muggeridge's meditation on the meaning of light is appropriate on this or any occasion:
It is precisely when every earthly hope has been explored and found wanting, when every possibility of help from earthly sources has been sought and is not forthcoming, when every recourse this world offers, moral as well as material, has been drawn on and expended with no effect, when in the shivering cold every log has been thrown on the fire, and in the gathering darkness every glimmer of light has finally flickered out -- it is then that Christ's hand reaches out, sure and firm, that Christ's words bring their inexpressible comfort, that his light shines brightest, abolishing the darkness for ever." (From A Twentieth-Century Pilgrimage by Malcom Muggeridge)
-- C. W.
The lectionary includes two sets of readings for Christmas Day: those appointed for dawn services, and those appointed for services that take place later in the day. Psalm 97 is designated as one of these early-morning readings.
There are two possible reasons why this psalm has been included in the lectionary for Christmas Day. The first is its opening line: "The Lord is king! Let the earth rejoice; let the many coast-lands be glad!" (v. 1). The second is this line from later in the psalm: "Light dawns for the righteous, and joy for the upright in heart" (v. 11).
Otherwise, Psalm 97 is a peculiar choice, for it presents God as an austere and fearsome figure, enthroned above the heavens, casting down thunderbolts upon the earth. This is not the sort of imagery most preachers would like to haul out of the ecclesiastical attic, to display alongside the shepherds, angels, and Wise Men.
For those who are determined to use this psalm as the basis for a Christmas sermon, the two verses identified above could serve very well. Verse 1 celebrates divine kingship -- certainly an appropriate message at the birth of Jesus as king. Kingship, however, is not a theme that resonates strongly with most Americans. It is hard for most of our people to imagine the joy with which citizens of a monarchy could await the news of the birth of a new heir to the throne.
Verse 11 picks up the favorite Advent/Christmas theme of light. Advent and Christmas hymns are replete with images of inbreaking light and the dawning of a new day. The star of Bethlehem from Matthew's Gospel is also a potent image of light. Malcolm Muggeridge's meditation on the meaning of light is appropriate on this or any occasion:
It is precisely when every earthly hope has been explored and found wanting, when every possibility of help from earthly sources has been sought and is not forthcoming, when every recourse this world offers, moral as well as material, has been drawn on and expended with no effect, when in the shivering cold every log has been thrown on the fire, and in the gathering darkness every glimmer of light has finally flickered out -- it is then that Christ's hand reaches out, sure and firm, that Christ's words bring their inexpressible comfort, that his light shines brightest, abolishing the darkness for ever." (From A Twentieth-Century Pilgrimage by Malcom Muggeridge)
-- C. W.
