108 Of the Father’s Love Begotten
Of the Fathers' love begotten, ere the worlds began to be,
He is Alpha and Omega, he the source, the ending he,
Of the things that are, that have been, and that future years shall see,
Evermore and evermore!
By his word was all created; he commanded; it was done;
Heaven and earth and depths of ocean, universe of three in one,
All that sees the moon’s soft shining, all that breathes beneath the sun,
Evermore and evermore!
O, that birth forever blessed when the Virgin, full of grace,
By the Holy Ghost conceiving, bore the Savior of our race,
And the babe, the world’s Redeemer, first revealed his sacred face,
Evermore and evermore!
This is he whom seers in old time chanted of with one accord,
Whom the voices of the prophets promised in their faithful word.
Now he shines, the long-expected. Let creation praise its Lord.
Evermore and evermore!
O ye heights of heaven, adore him. Angel hosts, his praises sing.
Powers, dominions, bow before him, and extol our God and King.
Let no tongue on earth be silent; let every voice in concert ring,
Evermore and evermore!
Christ, to thee with God the Father, and, O Holy Ghost, to thee,
Hymn and chant and high thanksgiving and unwearied praises be.
Honor, glory, and dominion, and eternal victory,
Evermore and evermore! Amen.
Devotion
My father was quite inventive and incredibly ingenious and always loved a challenge. He was the proverbial do-it-yourself man; there wasn't anything he couldn't fix or repair. Growing up during the depression, he learned "waste not, want not." He saved everything, never knowing when that old part would be just the right gizmo for his next do-it-yourself project. When my mother passed away in 1978, dad remained at home for several years but then decided to live with my sister, Betty. However, he spent a great deal of time at our house always working on his projects.
Our Christmas tradition was to celebrate Christmas Eve with family. We have fond memories of dad, disguised as Santa, distributing presents to the children. Traditions changed over the years, as relatives moved away or passed on. However, we continued to celebrate by enjoying our sumptuous Christmas Eve meal, followed by a candlelight Christmas Eve church service and then gift exchange.
To continue this tradition after my mother died, my father would join us for Christmas Eve festivities and then travel 45 minutes to my sister's house to celebrate Christmas morning with her. Living in a mountainous area in Northwest New Jersey, we experienced a white Christmas more often than not. Memories come to mind of a Christmas just like that.
With Christmas festivities coming to a close, we encouraged dad to PLEASE spend the night with us and travel home on Christmas morning. "No, I promised Betty I would be home tonight." "All right, travel carefully! Are you warm enough? Call us when you get home." I said a little prayer and kissed my dad goodbye. The roads were snow-covered and icy. Temperatures dipped below zero.
Thinking about my father one last time, I crawled into bed. About midnight I was startled awake by the ringing telephone. The person on the other end was Officer Dunn from the West Milford police department calling from our driveway. Apparently, George and I experienced holiday exhaustion and didn't hear the knocking on our front door. Dad's car broke down on the highway. When the weather turned cold, dad saved on antifreeze by inserting cardboard in front of the radiator to block the cold air. However, this ingenious idea didn't work...this time! His radiator froze! Perhaps he would have too, if Officer Dunn hadn't come to his rescue.
Well, I thanked the officer, embraced dad, and warmed him up. Dad ended up spending the night with us after all. Fitfully awake all night, I could only think of what might've happened if he hadn't been rescued. I thought too about that Holy Night 2000 years ago....how God sent Jesus to rescue us, to embrace us, and warm us and to be our light in this world.
Evermore and evermore! Amen!
Our Christmas tradition was to celebrate Christmas Eve with family. We have fond memories of dad, disguised as Santa, distributing presents to the children. Traditions changed over the years, as relatives moved away or passed on. However, we continued to celebrate by enjoying our sumptuous Christmas Eve meal, followed by a candlelight Christmas Eve church service and then gift exchange.
To continue this tradition after my mother died, my father would join us for Christmas Eve festivities and then travel 45 minutes to my sister's house to celebrate Christmas morning with her. Living in a mountainous area in Northwest New Jersey, we experienced a white Christmas more often than not. Memories come to mind of a Christmas just like that.
With Christmas festivities coming to a close, we encouraged dad to PLEASE spend the night with us and travel home on Christmas morning. "No, I promised Betty I would be home tonight." "All right, travel carefully! Are you warm enough? Call us when you get home." I said a little prayer and kissed my dad goodbye. The roads were snow-covered and icy. Temperatures dipped below zero.
Thinking about my father one last time, I crawled into bed. About midnight I was startled awake by the ringing telephone. The person on the other end was Officer Dunn from the West Milford police department calling from our driveway. Apparently, George and I experienced holiday exhaustion and didn't hear the knocking on our front door. Dad's car broke down on the highway. When the weather turned cold, dad saved on antifreeze by inserting cardboard in front of the radiator to block the cold air. However, this ingenious idea didn't work...this time! His radiator froze! Perhaps he would have too, if Officer Dunn hadn't come to his rescue.
Well, I thanked the officer, embraced dad, and warmed him up. Dad ended up spending the night with us after all. Fitfully awake all night, I could only think of what might've happened if he hadn't been rescued. I thought too about that Holy Night 2000 years ago....how God sent Jesus to rescue us, to embrace us, and warm us and to be our light in this world.
Evermore and evermore! Amen!