sailing

Today the lights and some ornaments got put on the Christmas tree, so there's that. Tomorrow will officially be my last day of being responsible for the playgroup at church - rather a technicality since no one has come since the beginning of November, but still something of an emotional hurdle. Goodbye for now, ministry dreams, maybe see you again someday?

I'm feeling blue and confused so here is a blue and confusing Advent hymn: Es kommt ein Schiff, geladen. (Yes I know that's a bit of an odd recording, I had trouble finding one I liked. Ignore the coughing child.) According to Wikipedia this is one of the oldest documented German-language hymns. The first three verses, which date back to the 14th century, are: 

Es kommt ein Schiff, geladen
bis an sein’ höchsten Bord,
trägt Gottes Sohn voll Gnaden,
des Vaters ewigs Wort.

Das Schiff geht still im Triebe,
es trägt ein teure Last;
das Segel ist die Liebe,
der Heilig Geist der Mast.

Der Anker haft’ auf Erden,
da ist das Schiff am Land.
Das Wort will Fleisch uns werden,
der Sohn ist uns gesandt.

Translation by Brigitte Mueller:

A ship is coming

fully loaded to the very brim

bearing the Son of God, full of grace,

the Father's eternal Word.

The ship is moving steadily,

it bears a treasured freight,

Love is its very sail,

the Holy Ghost its mast.

And now the anchor touches ground;

the ship arrives on land.

For us, the Word becomes now flesh.

The Son is sent, for us.

I do love a maritime analogy, but so...the ship that is bearing the Son of God is Mary - which seems a bit rude really, but towards the end of both my pregnancies I may indeed have resembled an aquatic vessel, so I guess I'll buy it. But I'm not sure about the Holy Spirit being the mast and Love being the sail. Wouldn't it make more sense for Love to be the wind moving this whole tortured analogy forward, and the Holy Spirit the sail within us that catches it? Never mind. The anchor stands for hope, of course - hope that someday our troubles will be over and Love will reign, or maybe just that we'll get through the holidays without disaster.

tree: check. lights: check. ornaments: working on it.