Awaken your senses to Advent
When I think about smells, tastes, sights and sounds, they are often linked to a specific memory or two. The smell of fresh baked caramel rolls or fresh-cut pine, the taste of spritz cookies or krumkake, the glow of candles held in the dark, or the sound of Oh, Holy Night. Just reading the words “Oh Holy Night” might stir up memories of Christmas for you. Even the smell and taste of Lutefisk can bring back good memories for me—certainly not of eating that part of the Christmas meal, but the gathering of family and friends around a table to celebrate Christ’s birth and the blessing of time we spent together.
Music especially seems to evoke memories of specific events for me. There is a comfort in re-connecting with some memories through music. Christmas music is a favorite. I enjoy Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer as much as the next person, but it doesn’t stir my soul. Silent Night can stir memories of many family gatherings, parents and grandparents who have passed, and a sense of quiet waiting for a connection that will bring peace to my soul.
Sacred choral music can bring peace, hope, and a connection to the divine. Easter’s Advent Choral worship service in December helps to ground me in the Holy Christmas, and gives me a break from the Holly Christmas. A tradition of Holy Christmas music starts in my earliest years when I listened to my father sing in our church choir, to my singing in children’s choirs, through my years at Concordia College, more church choirs, and then to Easter’s tradition of vocal and instrumental music which lift sounds of praise to God. Whether I sing from the congregation or from the choir risers, the Holy in the music awakens a yearning and desire to connect with our God. It brings peace and joy to my soul as my senses awaken to the sights and sounds of the worship service through readings, art and music. It is a blessing that I don’t find elsewhere.
I encourage you to awaken your senses to Advent and the joy of preparing your heart for Christmas by attending Easter’s Advent Choral worship service on Sunday, December 19th. For in-person worship the service will be held at 9 and 10:30 am at Easter on the Hill. If you cannot attend in-person, log onto Easter’s website and experience the sights and sounds through the worship live-stream.
Awake! Awake, and greet the new morn, for angels herald its dawning. Sing out your joy, for soon he is born, behold! the Child of our longing. Come as a baby weak and poor, to bring all hearts together, he opens wide the heavenly door and lives now inside us forever.