1. |
Opening narrative
00:30
|
|||
|
Shout Glory, and pierce the darkness with a thousand Alleluias! The Word is made flesh, and dwells among us, and by grace we build God’s kingdom: by proclaiming the news of God’s love for us; by braving to do great things; by bearing unexpected burdens; by sharing unexpected joy; by finding the meaning in our life’s work.
Shout Glory, and pierce the darkness with a thousand Alleluias!
|
||||
2. |
Opening Alleluia
00:32
|
|||
|
Alleluia!
|
||||
3. |
Gabriel appears to Mary
00:44
|
|||
|
Generation after generation, prophets foretold the coming of a savior, the Messiah, the Prince of Peace, to bring the kingdom of God to earth. And generation after generation, the world waited with longing and with hope.
There was a woman in Galilee named Mary, young and strong, whom God chose to be the mother of Jesus. The angel Gabriel appeared to Mary in her house and told her that she would bear a child, conceived through the Holy Spirit and called the son of God. The child would be great, and show God’s love to all people. And Mary was filled with a longing for the kingdom of God, and agreed be Jesus’ mother.
|
||||
4. |
Mary
01:43
|
|||
|
Justice shall reign, and by this birth
enfold a world alone;
and I shall anchor in the Earth
the glorious kingdom’s throne.
My body, soul, and heart, and mind,
my “yes” a gift for humankind;
all shall I bless when I caress
the world’s foundation stone.
God’s is the power — in God alone
is power with power blessed;
and I shall see the day when might
on love alone shall rest.
The pride and hate that rule today
shall in due time be washed away
by milk of peace, that loving flows
from our Creator’s breast.
|
||||
5. |
||||
|
Mary was engaged to a man named Joseph, loyal and kind. And Gabriel appeared to Joseph while he slept and told him about Mary’s child: about the great deeds that Jesus would do, and the great dangers that he would face. And Joseph awoke shaken; but gathering his courage, he promised to raise Jesus as his own, and to protect him throughout his childhood.
|
||||
6. |
Joseph
01:16
|
|||
|
My father’s path before me stood, known and straight and fair:
of work and worship, town and kin and wife;
prepared I was for all my life
to walk uprightly there.
And now this friendly, traveled, smooth way on which I smiled
has crumbled down and disappeared like smoke,
and in its place an unfamiliar yoke
that makes of me a baffled, frightened child.
But now, my God, I beg of you, my anger pay with grace;
for righteousness and courage here,
oh, open my two eyes and draw me near;
I cannot see a yard before my face.
|
||||
7. |
The journey to Bethlehem
00:42
|
|||
|
In those days the Emperor ordered that all people should go to their families’ home cities to pay a tax. Mary and Joseph accordingly made their way to Bethlehem, since Joseph was a descendent of King David.
While they were there, the time came for Mary to give birth. Bethlehem was thronged with crowds of people, and there was no room for Mary and Joseph in any house or inn. Finally, a kind innkeeper told Mary and Joseph to take shelter in his stable. There Mary gave birth to Jesus. That night, child, mother and father rested, with angels hovering above and the animals warming the darkness.
|
||||
8. |
Lullaby
00:58
|
|||
9. |
||||
|
Outside the town were shepherds watching their flocks. The shepherds were poor, with hard and lonely lives. In the middle of the night, the sky suddenly brightened with a great chorus of angels, and the shepherds were terrified. But the angles told the shepherds that their savior was born in the town, who would bring peace, justice, and joy to all people. And the shepherds felt hope and gladness wash over them, and hastened to Bethlehem to see Jesus. And when they had seen Jesus they returned to their flocks, the same but not the same, knowing that God was near them.
|
||||
10. |
Shepherds
01:06
|
|||
|
Gray as today tomorrow’s dawn, and just as cold the air;
as hard the ground we lie upon, our pockets just as bare;
and yet my trembling body sings
with joy in Him who made all things;
to my befriended soul He brings
His balm of loving care.
Glory to God! Glory to God!
Glory to God, my heart is overflowing!
|
||||
11. |
The Magi see the star
00:32
|
|||
|
At the same time, far to the east lived three Magi. All their lives they had been searching for signs of God’s coming in the sky, in the trees, in the seas, and in the ground. They did not know exactly what the sign would be, or if they would live to see it. But when Jesus was born a great star appeared in the sky, and the magi were filled with joy. And they followed the star to Bethlehem to bear witness to the miracle they had awaited for so long.
|
||||
12. |
Magi
01:58
|
|||
|
At last, at last, at last, at last,
when years of patient toil have passed,
this burning star that does not set
proclaims our lives may blossom yet.
We’ve strained to reckon, night by night
the ember that will set alight
the shroud that heaven and earth apart
constrains, and tangles every heart.
Is it so? We must know.
we’ll brave the desert, rain, and snow ---
oh let us go!
|
||||
13. |
Closing narrative
00:21
|
|||
|
These were the first lives that Jesus transformed. Jesus transforms us still today, and grows the kingdom of God today --- thanks be to God.
Shout Glory, and pierce the darkness with a thousand Alleluias! The Word is made flesh, and dwells among us, and by grace we build God’s kingdom!
|
||||
14. |
Closing Alleluia
00:43
|
|||
|
Alleluia!
|
||||
Population Puppet Records Gettysburg, Pennsylvania
If you like A Gettysburg Nativity, you may also like:
Laid-back, country-fried soul project from Ben Lamdin (Nostalgia 77) and starring the velvet vocals of Jeb Loy Nichols.
go to album
First as Farce
by Hein Westgaard
The Hein Weingard Trio mix free improvisation and controlled composition, making music for avant-garde jazz adventurers.
go to album
Brazilian singer Tetel Di Babuya delivers smoky vocal jazz performances on her new LP.
go to album
Hearts Full of Grace
by Al Swainger's Pointless Beauty
Moonlit melodic jazz on the latest from Al Swainger’s Pointless Beauty that ponders humanity’s place in the universe.
go to album
Rich electroacoustic music from Belgium, Glass Museum find the halfway point between sweeping orchestral passages and gentle dance music.
go to album
featured on Bandcamp Radio Mar 12, 2024
go to album
Puttin' In Time On Planet Earth
by Ben Sidran
featured on Bandcamp Radio Mar 12, 2024
go to album
