December 16: Come, O Key of David
Wednesday, December 16
Scripture: Isaiah 22:22 & Isaiah 42:7
And I will place on his shoulder the key of the house of David. He shall open, and none shall shut; and he shall shut, and none shall open...to open the eyes that are blind, to bring out the prisoners from the dungeon, from the prison those who sit in darkness.
Poem: O Clavis David
Author: Malcolm Guite
O Clavis David
Even in the darkness where I sit
And huddle in the midst of misery
I can remember freedom, but forget
That every lock must answer to a key,
That each dark clasp, sharp and intricate,
Must find a counter-clasp to meet its guard,
Particular, exact and intimate,
The clutch and catch that meshes with its ward.
I cry out for the key I threw away
That turned and over turned with certain touch
And with the lovely lifting of a latch
Opened my darkness to the light of day.
O come again, come quickly, set me free
Cut to the quick to fit, the master key
COME, O KEY OF DAVID
For many years it was my privilege to direct adult and high school drama teams at my church. For over twenty years at Christmas I directed a play about a family that no one would ever want to know. They were called the Herdmans and their story is told in a delightful book entitled The Best Christmas Pageant Ever.
The story, narrated by a brother and sister, takes place in a small town where the local church puts on a pageant every year on Christmas Eve. The pageant has been going on for years and it is always done the very same way, with all the same songs, and even the same awful bathrobes for the wise men and shepherds. All of the children in the church have grown up being a part of the pageant. As a result they are bored; with the story, the characters, the music, the ugly costumes and wish that the whole thing would just go away.
A family shows up one Sunday because they were told that there would be lots of food at church. They are the “horrible Herdmans,” six siblings described as “the worst kids in the history of the world.” Of course, they have arrived on the day that the brand new director is taking volunteers for the main characters of the pageant. In a scene that is hilarious to both read and act out, they take over the entire pageant.
Everyone is appalled at what has happened, but the beleaguered director vows to move forward with the Herdmans claiming that it will be “the best Christmas pageant ever!” Through the process of rehearsals and the actual performance the people of the church begin to see the Christmas story in a new light, through the eyes of a group of children who have never heard about Jesus before they walked through the door of the church.
The best scene takes place at the end when the oldest Herdman, Imogene, who is playing Mary breaks down crying as she sits next to the manger. As the narrator describes, she was “just sort of overcome by Christmas.” But I think something deeper happened. She had finally opened her eyes that had been blinded and left her prison of darkness. She was crying because for the first time in her life she had really seen Jesus.
As with every year, I am so tempted to complain about decorations that go up before Halloween is over, too much rich food, too many gifts to buy, way too much to do, and all of the issues that Christmas brings every year. It is a dungeon of my own making, and far too often I willingly sit in it and allow myself to be robbed of my ability to see the beauty of the message, the love of God so beautifully portrayed in the birth of a baby, and the desire of an all powerful and holy God to heal the blindness in the soul of mankind. There have actually been whole years where I have missed seeing Jesus. But not this year.
This year I am going to do my best every day to claim the truth that the key to freedom, relationship with God, and the ability to see the beauty of Christmas all around me is grasped in the hand of that beautiful baby boy lying in the manger. Jesus. The root of Jesse, the key of David, the light of the world, the giver of life—the Son of God.
PRAYER
O Christ, Key of David:
Sceptre of the House of Israel; you open and no one can shut;
you shut and no one can open: Come and lead the prisoners from the prison house,
those who dwell in darkness and the shadow of death.
Amen.
Lori Shanebeck, Biola Youth Theatre Executive Producer
Great Advent — O Clavis David
Gloriae Dei Cantores Video
About the Poet
Malcolm Guite (b. 1957) is a poet, author, Anglican priest, teacher and singer/songwriter based in Cambridge, England. He has published four collections of poetry: Saying the Names, The Magic Apple Tree, Sounding the Seasons: Poetry for the Christian Year, and The Singing Bowl. His writing has been acclaimed by Rowan Williams and Luci Shaw, and his Antiphons appeared in Penguin’s Best Spiritual Writing 2013, edited by Philip Zaleski. Guite’s theological works include What Do Christians Believe? and Faith, Hope, and Poetry: Theology and the Poetic Imagination. He is a scholar of J.R.R. Tolkien, C.S. Lewis, and the British poets and serves as Bye-Fellow and chaplain at Girton College at the University Cambridge, supervising students in English and theology and lecturing widely in England and America. Guite plays in the Cambridge rock band Mystery Train, whose albums include The Green Man and Dancing through the Fire.
Website: www.malcolmguite.wordpress.com
About the Music
“O Clavis David” and “The Magnificat Chant”
Lyrics
O key of David, and scepter of the house of Israel;
You who open, and no man shuts; you who shut, and no man opens.
Come, and lead out from the house of bondage the prisoner
Who is sitting in darkness and the shadow of death.
My soul glorifies the Lord and my spirit rejoices
In God my savior, for he has been mindful of the humble state of his servants
From now on all generations will call me blessed
For the mighty one has done great things for me;
Holy is His name.
His mercy extends from generation to generation,to those who fear him.
He has performed mighty deeds with his arm;
He has scattered those who are proud in their most inmost thoughts.
He has brought down rulers from their thrones, but has lifted up the humble.
He has filled the hungry with good things, but has sent the rich away empty.
He has helped his servant Israel, remembering to be merciful.
Even as he said to our fathers, to Abraham and his descendants forever,
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit.
As it was in the beginning, is now and will be forever. Amen.
O key of David, and scepter of the house of Israel;
You who open, and no man shuts; You who shut, and no man opens.
Come, and lead out from the house of bondage the prisoner
Who is sitting in darkness and the shadow of death.
About the Music
“O Clavis David” is one of the seven antiphons recited (or chanted) preceding the Magnificat during vespers of the Liturgy of the Hours in the western church. The antiphons cover the special period of Advent preparation known as the Octave before Christmas (Dec. 17-23). The exact origin of the O Antiphons is not known. Boethius (c. 480-524) referred to them in his writings, thereby suggesting their presence during his lifetime. By the 8th century, they were being used in liturgical celebrations in Rome. “O Clavis David” means “O Key of David”, which refers to prophecies in Isaiah that foreshadowed a new king, Christ the Messiah, arising out of the line of David.
About the Performers
Gloria Dei Cantores (Singers to the Glory) is a 44-voice American choir whose members range in age from 19 to 65. Under the direction of Elizabeth Patterson, the choir is in residence at the Church of the Transfiguration at the Community of Jesus, an ecumenical Christian community in the Benedictine monastic tradition located on the shores of Cape Cod, Massachusetts. The choir is dedicated to bringing the best professional standards to sacred choral literature from Gregorian chant to 20th century compositions. Their repertory includes American, British, European and Russian master composers. Gloria Dei Cantores have performed for audiences in North America, Eastern and Western Europe, and the U.S.S.R. with critical acclaim. The Cleveland Plain Dealer says, “Gloria Dei Cantores is one of America’s most accomplished choirs.”
Website: www.gdcchoir.org