Memento Nostri
Sunday, December 22 (Advent IV)
Remember us, O Lord, with the favor that Thou bearest unto Thy people:
Oh, visit us with Thy salvation;
That we may see the good of Thy chosen in the gladness of Thy nation,
That we may glory with Thine inheritance.
Oh, give thanks unto the Lord; For He is good:
For His mercy endureth forever.
—Psalm 106:4–5; 1b
A writing for Momento Nostri:
The Church will soon celebrate the Nativity of our Lord. This festive Advent season has run its course, and has led the Church to its joyful end: the celebration of the Incarnation of our Lord. We have been prepared to celebrate this feast with joy, gladness, and reverence. We have heard the faithful testimony of God’s faithful prophets. We have awaited faithfully the fulfillment of the Gospel originally preached to Adam and Eve in the Garden and handed down throughout all generations.
St. John the Baptist, the blessed Forerunner of Jesus, humbly confessed, “I am not the Christ.” Later, he proclaimed that “I am the voice of the one crying in the wilderness, ‘Make straight the way of the Lord.’” Having been given the singularly unique role to be the Forerunner of Jesus, John the Baptist pointed in all his preaching and baptizing to the Messiah. He prepared his disciples for the coming of their true Master.
John the Baptist recognized that his authority came from the One about whom he preached. He taught his disciples that the One would come after him would baptize with the Holy Spirit. Elsewhere, John the Baptist taught that he must decrease in order that Christ might increase. Truly this man was a faithful witness to the One whose way he was sent to prepare! Certainly John the Baptist held fast to the Word.
That very Word is being fulfilled among us. That very Word has been made flesh and dwelt among us. That very Word is the glory of the Father and the salvation of His people, to whom He has bestowed His favor. Even now that very Word is present in the Church. Christ Himself is present when the Word is faithfully preached and the Sacraments are rightly administered. The blessings about which John preached are given abundantly when we gather to hear the Word preached and receive the Sacrament. The manifestation of God’s glory even now is present among us!
Advent is coming to a close. Its natural liturgical course is run, and now we progress closer toward the festive celebration of the Nativity. We pray that as the Church celebrates the Feast of the Nativity, two-thousand years after it has taken place, that the Lord would remember His people. He has promised to send His people salvation, which He has done in the birth of Jesus. Our salvation is made manifest in the Incarnation of the Godhead of Jesus Christ.
His mercy endures forever. His grace is given to us in the Person of Christ. His salvation is made available to us in the Incarnation of His Son. Let us pray for those who do not know the glory of the Lord, who look upon the Christmas season without the comforting knowledge that the Word has been made flesh for us. Let us pray for those who have forsaken the faithful testimony of St. John the Baptist, who have looked in derision upon the witness of the prophets. Let us pray that all the world might know the glory of the Lord and receive the salvation that He has promised all who would have faith in Him. Come, Lord Jesus!
Hymn of the Day for Momento Nostri (LSB 347):
1 "Comfort, comfort ye My people,
Speak ye peace," thus saith our God;
"Comfort those who sit in darkness,
Mourning 'neath their sorrows' load.
Speak ye to Jerusalem
Of the peace that waits for them;
Tell her that her sins I cover
And her warfare now is over."
2 Yea, her sins our God will pardon,
Blotting out each dark misdeed;
All that well deserved His anger
He no more will see or heed.
She hath suffered many a day,
Now her griefs have passed away;
God will change her pining sadness
Into ever-springing gladness.
3 Hark, the herald's voice is crying
In the desert far and near,
Calling sinners to repentance,
Since the Kingdom now is here.
O that warning cry obey!
Now prepare for God a way;
Let the valleys rise to meet Him
And the hills bow down to greet Him.
4 Make ye straight what long was crooked;
Make the rougher places plain.
Let your hearts be true and humble,
As befits His holy reign.
For the glory of the Lord
Now o'er earth is shed abroad,
And all flesh shall see the token
That His Word is never broken.
Collect of the Day for Memento Nostri:
Stri up, O Lord, we beseech Thee, Thy power, and come and help us with Thy great might, that by Thy grace whatsoever is hindered by our sins may be speedily accomplished through Thy mercy and satisfaction; who livest and reignest with the Father in the unity of the Holy Ghost, ever one God, world without end. Amen.
Liturgical and theological notes on the Fourth Sunday in Advent:
Perhaps the most important note to which our attention must be drawn is the historic Introit appointed for the Fourth Sunday in Advent, from which its liturgical name is drawn: Is the Fourth Sunday in Advent Rorate Caeli or Momento Nostri? Many today would suggest the former; historical lectionaries and liturgical calendars would suggest the latter.
The editors and contributors of The Lutheran Missal (TLM) have a far greater analysis of the history of this discrepancy, to which I will direct you; thus, I will offer only this brief note. While only a handful (perhaps only a few) medieval lectionaries appoint the Intorit Rorate caeli, many more medieval and Reformation-era lectionaries appoint the Introit Memento nostri.
The name Momento nostri, as most liturgical names, comes from the opening line of the Latin text of the appointed Introit, which in this case is “Remember us, O Lord, with the favor that Thou bearest unto Thy people” (Latin: momento nostri Memento nostri domine in beneplacito populi). It is a beautiful bridge as the Church enters the Christmastide season, as the Lord showers immeasurable favor on His people through the birth of His Son.
Thank you! Blessed Nativity!
I never get tired of thinking about the Logos!