Salvation Is Created (Artful Devotion)

The LORD has bared his holy arm before the eyes of all the nations; and all the ends of the earth shall see the salvation of our God.

—Isaiah 52:10

For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation to all.

—Titus 2:11

To you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is the Messiah, the Lord.

—Luke 2:11

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SONG: “Salvation Is Created” (Op. 25, no. 5) by Pavel Tchesnokov, 1912 | Performed by St. Olaf Choral Ensembles, on What Child Is This? The St. Olaf Christmas Festival, vol. 3 (1991)

Salvation is created in the midst of the earth, O God, O our God. Alleluia!

A Russian composer, choral conductor, and teacher, Pavel Tchesnokov (1877–1944) wrote over four hundred sacred choral works up until 1912, when he was forced by the Soviets to focus exclusively on secular compositions; “Salvation Is Created” was his last one. It’s a communion hymn based on a synodal Kievan chant melody and Psalm 74:12: “For God is my King of old, working salvation in the midst of the earth.”

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Wisnu Sasongko is an artist from the Indonesian island of Java. In 2004–05 he served as artist in residence at the Overseas Ministries Study Center in New Haven, Connecticut, out of which came a catalog of his work, Think on These Things: Harmony and Diversity, published in 2007. He was also one of five artists featured in the 2007 exhibition The Christian Story: Five Asian Artists Today at the Museum of Biblical Art in New York City.

This post belongs to the weekly series Artful Devotion. If you can’t view the music player in your email or RSS reader, try opening the post in your browser.

To view all the Revised Common Lectionary scripture readings for Christmas Day, cycle C, click here.