Advent 4 +Rorate Coeli
A recent article in the Minnesota Star Tribune was headlined, “Study claims that ‘Frosty the Snowman’ is the riskiest Christmas song of all for drivers.”
Naturally, I had to read it.
Why is “Frosty the Snowman” so dangerous?
The tempo of the music has a profound impact on an individual’s behavior. As the beats per minute of a song increase, there is a corresponding effect on a person’s cardiovascular and psychological response. Consequently, this escalation can lead to more aggressive and reckless driving habits, which in turn can result in accidents.
Under this study, the same principle applies when listening to heavy metal music or any music with a tempo exceeding 120 beats per minute.
The higher the beats per minute in a song, the more one becomes stirred up and likely to have an accident.
Throughout the Advent season, have you observed that the Collects of the Day frequently begin, albeit differently, with the phrase, “Stir up Your power, O Lord.”
These opening words derive from Psalm 80, where the people of Israel are petitioning God to awaken and restore them. You see, they had been overtaken; they had come to the belief that God was no longer with them or acting on their behalf, so they called out for Him to stir Himself up, awaken, and come to aid them.
Is this how you feel while the hustle and bustle lead you barreling towards Christmas Day? Have you concluded that God has left you?
There’s no love in your homes as children bicker and fight. Gift-giving has become more of a chore than an act of joy and love. The family Christmas traditions of old have become a checklist to be managed among the other things to do and places to be.
Might this all be due to the pace at which you approach Christmas? The increased strain on your schedules and the numerous events and festivities you attempt to attend.
The beat of this life is more than one can handle. The psychological stress is wearing down your heart, your cardiovascular health, but, more importantly, your faith.
It has you wondering, is this what Christmas is all about?
If you are experiencing such feelings, revisiting today’s collect and reflecting on how God remains present with you may be helpful.
Begin by saying, “Stir up Your power, O Lord and come and help [me] by Your might, that the sins which weigh [me and my family] down may be quickly lifted by Your grace and mercy.”
Why do we ask God to come?
To forgive us, remove the weight of this world, and grant us His grace, mercy, and forgiveness.
Because we are not the Christ, and we cannot be trusted to save ourselves, let alone others, from the weight of this life or the wilderness of this world.
Instead, the words of John the Baptist are for us as well today as he says, “I am the voice of one crying out in the wilderness, ‘Make straight the way of the Lord.’”
The opposite of straight is crooked; if the path is crooked, it can be hazardous for you to traverse, especially at such a high pace of life.
The only thing that will help you at this moment in time is to slow down, examine your life, do what no one wants to do at this time of year, examine the sins that have made your life so crooked, or in other words, what’s been leading you away from your Savior, Jesus Christ, this Christmas?
If you depart from Him, then the beat of this world will lead you; it’s a fast beat, a beat that causes greed, anxiety, and depression, among other symptoms.
The rhythm and beat of this world will only leave you with a deep sense of longing, never fulfilling your desires or bringing the tranquility that your heart so desperately craves.
No, the peace you need only comes from “The Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!”
Your sin.
So, learn again to call out to God in these waning days of Advent. Permit the season its place in your lives. Permit God’s word to slow you down, to quiet your hearts, and to guide you as you examine yourself and learn again to confess your sin.
That the way of this life might be made straight again through the forgiveness the Christ child won for you upon the cross.
This is why Jesus comes.
He comes to be led down the path to Calvary, to end the war between siblings, to grant you the greatest love, His grace, and mercy, and to be the focus and center of every family.
For this reason, as the world and your life appear to be ramping up in these final days before Christmas, the time has arrived for you to slow down, examine your hearts, and pray for the coming of your Savior.
And if you are unsure about how to proceed, please take your bulletin home today and use the Great “O” Antiphons, printed at the back, as a guide. Pray them every day, pray them multiple times, grow in them.
These wonderful prayers can accompany the singing of the hymn, “O Come, O Come, Emmanuel.”
A hymn that quiets the world around you, it slows the heart, gives your mind peace, and prepares you to welcome the newborn King.
So in these final days of Advent, let us pray, “O Come, O Come, Emmanuel.”
That is, “Come, Lord Jesus,” come quickly, be with us, quiet us, and redeem us. +INJ+
Rev. Noah J. Rogness
Good Shepherd Lutheran Church
Tomah, WI
