Monday 10 December 2018

Hymns and carols in worship and teaching, the Nicene Creed & the Incarnation


Reflections on the Nicene Creed, Hymns, Carols and the Incarnation 
By William Lyon Tupman. For a Catechesis class at St. Michael's Croydon, 21st November 2018. 
Focus text: Nicene Creed; Come Thou Redeemer; A Great & Mighty Wonder; O Come All Ye Faithful. 
Hymns, carols, anthems, songs and other kinds of Christian music can help to enrich our worship of God; indeed, St. Augustine is widely believed to have once said "To sing is to pray twice." But hymns are also intended to help teach and remind us of some very important Christian doctrines, and in some cases as a response to some heretical strands of theology which conflict with more orthodox Christian doctrines. Let's now take a closer look at three Advent and Christmas carols, examining the theology they teach and what heresies they may be refuting - these carols being Come Thou Redeemer Of The Earth; A Great and Mighty Wonder; and O Come All Ye Faithful. It's best to now have have a copy of the Nicene Creed and the texts of these hymns ready at hand to see, and also access to an audio or visual recording, if possible. 

Come Thou Redeemer of the World was written by St Ambrose, who lived from 340-397 AD. He was an Archbishop of Milan, and was a staunch opponent of Arianism (the heresy which rejects Christ's divine attribute of pre-existence). He has also widely been regarded to be the Father of Western Hymnody; he was responsible for introducing metrical hymns into the liturgy. Perhaps his most famous hymn is the Te Deum – a hymn of praise to God, which has been set to countless musical settings in ancient and modern anthems and hymns. Here at St Michael's, we also pray the Te Deum during the Divine Office (Morning and Evening Prayer) on certain Feast Days and Solemnities. 

The hymn is very theologically sound. The Virgin Birth is emphasises all through from verses one to eight, and the heresy of Arianism is particularly countered in verses five and six, which clearly state that Jesus came from God the Father, is equal to Him, and goes back to Him. To reiterate the refute against Arianism, verse two sets the word "Begotten" on a melisma, for further emphasis - Christ is, as the Nicene Creed states, "Begotten, not made," and the text "the Word of God in flesh arrayed" is set to a descending melodic contour; would that is most appropriate for the Incarnation (using a musical technique called word-painting). Moreover, verse three reminds us of how Mary is the Mother of God, since God now dwells in her womb as His Temple - a title perhaps to clarify the often more frequently heard "Mother of Christ", and therefore emphasising how Christ is fully divine as well as fully human. The loud dynamics of verses six and eight, in addition, reflect and further emphasise some of the most important aspects of St. Ambrose's message - a nice, Credal summary. 

A Great and Mighty Wonder is a carol written by St. Germanus, who lived from 378-448 AD, set to music by the German composer Michael Praetorius, who lived from 1571-1621. This popular hymn, which is often performed at the annual carol service from King's College Cambridge, emphasises the nature of the Virgin birth of Jesus. 

The obedience of Mary is greatly contrasted with the disobedience of Eve, a theme initially bought into the spotlight by St. Ireneaus, Bishop of Lugdunum (now modern-day Lyon); this is particularly evident in verse one (“The Virgin bears the Infant, with virgin-honour pure!”). Moreover, the hymn alludes to both the First and Second Comings of Christ - first, how Christ comes in the flesh at Christmas, by His Incarnation (verse two), and how He will come again at the end of time (verse five) - all in the same hymn. This is highly relevant for our practice as Christians in Advent, a time in which we commemorate and celebrate the first coming of Christ, and also we prepare for and anticipate His second coming. 

O Come All Ye Faithful, is a Christmas carol usually attributed to the English hymn writer John Francis Wade (1711-1786). It is perhaps one of the most well-known and best-loved Christmas carols of all time; indeed, it is sung in Churches, Chapels, Cathedrals and in all kinds of settings every year, and is a perennial favourite. In addition, while it was written long after the heresy of Arianism first surfaced centuries ago, it is one of the most Credal carols we have today, as it sets to counter heresies as they resurfaced. 

The full divinity and full humanity of our Lord is emphasised throughout this carol - and, together with the words of glorification and praise to God, the text of the Nicene Creed features prominently in this carol. This is most clearly evident in the words of verse two, which quotes the Creed verbatim with "God of God, Light of Light... Very God, begotten, not created." This again strongly reiterates the Divine attribute of pre-existence which Christ has, while at the same time also rejecting Arianism. Additionally, with fewer words to set to the music, the notes are held for longer; one could almost imagine the Creed being spelt out in block capital letters in this verse, especially with the melisma clearly emphasising "Very God". Furthermore, in the final verse (which is normally only sung on Christmas Day itself, unless the tense of some of the words are cleverly altered just as the Cambridge Inter-Collegiate Christian Union do at their carol services!), Jesus is described as the "Word of the Father," set to a striking chord which draws much extra attention to the word it is set to. This clearly demonstrates a high Christological view of Jesus, that identifies Him as the "Word" of Genesis 1 and John 1. 

Hymns and carols, as these three examples demonstrate, are of course here to assist us in our worship and prayer to God – and to sing to Him the praise that is due. But they also reiterate vitally important Christian teachings and understandings, especially in order to maintain orthodoxy over heresy. 

So next time you're singing hymns or carols, perhaps ask yourself the following questions: 
Text: What is the message of this song? 
Music: How does the music express this message? 
Context: What was happening at the time; when and why was the text written? 

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