A Fourth Century Advent Hymn

On this day St. Ambrose, Bishop of Milan in the fourth century, is remembered. One of thirty-six “Doctors of the Church,” among his significant contributions to the Christian faith (including being the teacher of St. Augustine) is a rich collection of hymns, some of which continue to be sung to this day. A few years ago I shared a Christmas hymn of Ambrose. Today I would like to share an Advent hymn, “O Splendor of God's glory bright.”

Since I posted on hymns in the Gospel of Luke last week, it is interesting to notice the way that some themes of the Lukan hymns are taken up in Ambrose’s hymn. Ambrose’s hymn has its primary focus on the coming of Jesus as bringing light and illumination to humanity. Jesus is “Light of light,” “true Day,” and “very Sun of heaven’s love.” And in the final stanza he ends with the notion of a new dawn arising, with Jesus as “our perfect Morn.” These ideas echo the song of Simeon with his emphasis on the coming of Jesus as “a light for revelation” (Luke 2:32). Zechariah as well strikes these notes: “By the tender mercy of our God, the dawn from on high will break upon us, to give light to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death” (Luke 1:78,79). One striking difference from Luke’s hymns, and from the hymns embedded in the New Testament, is the very personal dimension that can be seen in stanzas 2, 3, 4, and 5. These verses shift the focus to the congregation itself in asking for divine assistance to live lives that are reflective of those who are in the light and no longer in darkness. This more personal dimension is a trend that can be seen in the hymnody that developed in the second century and beyond. To me, such development in successive generations illustrates one way that Christians of later eras built on the earlier traditions and adapted them to the needs of their day.

1 O Splendor of God's glory bright,
from Light eternal bringing light,
O Light of light, light's living Spring,
true Day, all days illumining. 

2 Come, very Sun of heaven's love,
in lasting radiance from above,
and pour the Holy Spirit's ray
on all we think or do today. 

3 And now to Thee our pray'r ascend,
O Father, glorious without end;
we plead with sovereign grace for pow'r
to conquer in temptation's hour. 

4 Confirm our will to do the right,
and keep our hearts from envy's blight;
let faith her eager fires renew,
and hate the false, and love the true. 

5 O joyful be the passing day
with thoughts as pure as morning's ray,
with faith like noontide shining bright
our souls unshadowed by the night. 

6 Dawn's glory gilds the earth and skies,
let Him, our perfect Morn, arise,
the Word in God the Father one,
the Father imaged in the Son.

Source: Hymnary.org

While looking for this hymn, I was pleased to discover a contemporary setting of this hymn by Zac Hicks. I found it to be a very meditative piece that reflects the solemnity of the words but also the celebratory joy of being invited to live in the light.

The Unique Contributions of Luke's Gospel

Today is the feast day of St. Luke and thus a fitting day to recognize some of the remarkable contributions of Luke’s Gospel to our understanding of Jesus and his message.

First, as is well known, the Gospel of Luke has a clear emphasis on the good news being for the poor, the sick, and those on the margins of society: the gospel is “good news” for all people, not just those who outwardly appear to be favored by God. (See Luke 4:16-21)

Second, Luke alone includes some of the best known parables of Jesus. Without Luke we would not know of the Good Samaritan (Luke 10:25-37) or the Prodigal Son (Luke 15:11-32). The parable of the Good Samaritan is itself a powerful illustration of mercy and compassion for those in need, and a reminder that all people are our neighbors. It thus ties in directly with the first point above about Luke’s emphasis on the good news being for all people.

Third, Luke preserves some very early songs from the first century. These are particularly to be found in the birth narrative. In the first two chapters of the Gospel of Luke, four different characters respond to news of God’s salvation with joyful song that sounds very much like the psalmody of the Jewish Scriptures and the words of the prophets. Like characters in biblical narratives and other Jewish texts, they respond to good news with a psalm of praise. These four psalms are commonly referred to by their Latin names. Mary’s song is the Magnificat (1:46–55), Zechariah’s is the Benedictus (1:68–79), the angels’ song of praise is the Gloria in excelsis (2:14), and Simeon’s is the Nunc Dimittis (2:29–32). By quoting these four songs or parts of songs, Luke has preserved for us a rich treasure and gives us a glimpse into some of the earliest ways in which the advent of Jesus was celebrated through song and poetry in the early church.

For our vision of Jesus and the events and significance of his life, we owe much to Luke and his careful historical and literary work. We also can be thankful today that he had an ear for songs and hymns, and that he chose to include them in his Gospel for the benefit of all of his readers.

For more on Luke, see this reflection from the FaithND website.

For more specifically on the hymns in Luke's Gospel, see chapter six of my latest book.