(photo nicked from www)

Henry Burton's hymn "There's a light upon the mountains" is one of my favourite in the Advent section of BPW, where at No 149 it is the last entry (apart from a few prayers/liturgies).

"There's a light upon the moutains, and the day is at the spring" that first hint of dawn when the dark mountains gently emerge from the darkness as the sky lightens with the new day...

The first verse expresses so eloquently the weariness of waiting, but finally, it declares, the day we waited for is arriving.

But it is the first half second verse that I especially love:

There's a hush of expectation,

And a quiet in the air;

And the breath of God is moving

In the fervent breath of prayer

That palpable silence, heavy with anticipation... what used to be refered to back in the day as a 'pregnant pause' I guess.  The stillness and quiet that carries within it something momumental.

And the breath of God, the Spirit of God that brings dry bones to life, is active in the determined, continued breath of prayer...

Even when it's hard to keep going

Even when our hearts are weary with waiting

Even when the darkness seems interminable

Even when...

The verse continues:

For the suffering, dying Jesus

Is the Christ upon the throne,

And the travail of our spirits

Is the travail of his own.

or, to put it another way, Emmanuel, God is with Us.

So that's it for the BPW Advent hymns section; tomorrow begins the first of those identified in the "Index of Sectional Cross-References" giving us another ten, before I go back to pick up the liturgical offerings that are BPW 150-154 inclusive (with I think takes us up to Christmas Eve!)

BPW 148 is a simple Taize chant:

Wait for the LORD

[Whose] day is near

Wait for the LORD

Be strong, take heart.

I have sung this in many times and places.

Like many Taize chants it carries me back to the time I was part of a team staffing a 24/7 Prayer room in Leicestershire.  In the wee small hours, well out of my comfort zone being awake at that time, and alone in a large building with only a CD player for company, this chant, and others, somehow enfolded me in God's presence... the Lord's day is near, the Lord's presence is here.

Today has been that typical ministerial mixture... the precious and beautiful sharing of home communion with a centenarian and two other folk; the writing of a "minister's letter" for the January church magazine; the printing of leaflets for Thursday's lunchtime reflection; the making of hard copies of readings for the carol service to give to those not online...

And of course the saying of farewell to Holly.

In all of this, the LORD is near; in all of this the LORD is here

So I find strength

And I am heartened

Advent busyness,

Everyday business,

Grey-skied, wind-lashed, rain-soaked heaviness

Waiting for the LORD

Only to discover

That all the time the LORD is already here...

At 9:25 this morning, with her slave and vet-of-choice in attendance, Holly Bethany Cat, manse moggy, internet star (at least in social media land), cuddly companion and faithful feline slipped away peacefully.  Perhaps it is timely that the present Pope has asserted that animals go to heaven, because it is definitely comforting to think that she is now safely with her creator.

Born sometime in 2002, and originally known as Molly, this long-haired black and white cat stole the hearts of all who had the privilege to know her - and, as one of my friends expressed it yesterday, had me wrapped around her little paw.

Her first family decided that three human children and a cat was one too many, so Molly was sent to the Cat's Protection League.  She landed on her paws when a Roman Catholic former nun fell in love with her at first sight, and took her to a home where she was spoiled beyond belief, renamed Holly, and built up a huge fan-base.  Sadly, Holly's new human fell ill and died of cancer, leaving her with the shadow of the cat's home once again looming large. (It's a very lovely cat's home, but it's still a cat's home).

So I offered to take her for a trial, and of course she worked her magic, melting my heart and eventually wheedling her way into my bedroom where she would curl up at my feet and sleep soundly until about 4 a.m. when she'd walk up my legs, settle on my chest and ask for breakfast!

Three and a half years of happy memories, countless photos, more cat toys than Pets R Us, more chicken, ham and bits of fish (along with titbits of pastry and cheese) than a supermarket... Having Holly to share my life has been a real gift of grace - she has comforted me when I was sad, nuzzled me when I was anxious, listened when I needed a confidant beyond the human, and entertained me with her crazy antics.

I will miss her running to greet me, tail up, purr activated.  I will miss the hilarity of her feet skittering on the wooden floor as she ran so fast and got nowhere.  I will even miss the clawing of the rug (and carpet) when she was annoyed.

Rest in peace, faithful, feline friend... and if that there Pope is correct, purr in glory.

On Saturday I popped into my local branch of Sainsbury's (other supermarkets are availalble!) to purchase some alcohol-free Christmas puddings for our church Christmas Day community lunch, only to discover that they were not stocking them this year.  The person I spoke to could not have been more helpful, researching where they might be found (two "out of town" branches) and then offering to pick some up and bring them to my local store.

Today the phone rang to let me know they were in, so I trotted down to collect them - and posed them for this rather bad photo ('paint' does it's bnest but 'photoshop' it isn't).

I have a policy of not naming and shaming, but I am very happy to name and fame Mr Chris Murphy and the staff at Sainsbury's Partick for going the extra mile (or ten) for one customer.

Is it the tunes or the words or both that create the initial sense of "ooh, I like that" about a hymn, carol or song? 

The tune Winchester New, used both for "On Jordan's Bank the Baptist's cry" (BPW 147) and "Ride on, Ride on, in Majesty" has, for me, a strangely haunting quality, which combined with the juxtapostion of Advent and Passiontide combines beuaty with pathos.

The reminder that "the Lord is nigh" carries a very differentt sense this side of Calvary than it would have when John cried out in the wilderness regions.  God is at hand... the Lord is near... God's time is approaching... a variety of ways of reading/hearing this.

The hymn is overall pretty positive - we are called to make ourselves ready, but there is no big stick to beat us.  The echoes of Isaiah 40 are there in verse 3, along with hints of Isaiah 9.

Essentially, this is a hopeful hymn - the Lord is nigh, which is Good News!

On Jordan's bank the Baptist's cry
Announces that the Lord is nigh;
Awake and hearken, for he brings
Glad tidings from the King of kings!

Then cleansed be every life from sin;
Make straight the way for God within,
And let us all our hearts prepare
For Christ to come and enter there.

For thou art our salvation, Lord,
Our refuge, and our great reward;
Without thy grace we waste away
Like flowers that wither and decay.

To heal the sick stretch out your hand,
And bid the fallen sinner stand;
Shine forth, and let your light restore
Earth's own true loveliness once more.

All praise to you, eternal Son,
Whose advent has our freedom won,
Whom, with the Father, we adore,
And Holy Spirit, for evermore.

Jordanis oras praevia Charles Coffin (1676-1749) translated John Chandler (1806-1876)