Fr Matthew Reese

“Be silent, all flesh, before the Lord; for he has roused himself from his holy dwelling.”
—Zechariah 2:13

“Behold, I stand at the door and knock; if any one hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and eat with him, and he with me.”
—Revelation 3:20

“Therefore you also must be ready; for the Son of man is coming at an hour you do not expect.”
Matthew 24:44

Dear Friends in Christ,

One of my favorite Advent anthems is the wonderful setting of “Let all mortal flesh keep silent” by the English composer, Edward Bairstow.

Part of what I love about it is the spare, slow, haunting opening of the piece. The tenors and basses enter out of the depths, in exposed octaves. As the upper voices enter, and then the full choir sings the staccato line, “for the King of Kings and Lord of Lords, Christ our God,” it is clear that we are headed to something, but what?

Then, in a drastic change of character, full choir, all forte, “cometh forth to be our oblation,” and just as quickly, a dramatic decrescendo, “… and to be giv’n for food to the faithful.” The piece wends its way until three cataclysmic “alleluias” and then, again, sinks into the depths: “Let all mortal flesh keep silence, and stand with fear and trembling.”

What Bairstow captures masterfully in this piece is the sense of expectation, of waiting.

Bairstow’s text comes from the ancient Liturgy of Saint James, but it is a cento on Habakkuk 2:20 and Zechariah 2:13, with clear allusions also to the Revelation to John. And each of these passages reminds us to stop, to stay awake, to keep watch, to wait for the promised coming of our Lord—roused from His holy dwelling, and coming into the world through another holy dwelling, the womb of his mother Mary.

It’s such a beautiful passage of Scripture. Such an arresting call to stop in our tracks. Such a difficult task to be still, to be quiet, to wait.

So, my prayer for us today, in the busy swirling activity of the season is that we might heed Zechariah’s exhortation. Stop, be still, listen.

The Lord is coming into the world.

Yours in Christ,

—Fr Matthew