Merry Christmas! 

Easy words to say.

Hard words to live out in the lives of so many around the world.

We’re a world of darkness and fear.  A world of terror and trouble.  A world of discord and destruction.  A world of social media and unfathomable loneliness. 

We are a world careening toward anarchy and lawlessness.

Yet, there’s hope because of what happened on Christmas Day. 

Isaiah 9: 5 Every warrior’s boot used in battle and every garment rolled in blood will be destined for burning, will be fuel for the fire. 6 For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. 7 Of the increase of his government and peace there will be no end. He will reign on David’s throne and over his kingdom, establishing and upholding it with justice and righteousness from that time on and forever. The zeal of the LORD Almighty will accomplish this.

No more suitable carol would match Christmas than a carol arising from such dark depths.  Its origin is a poem called Christmas Bells, penned by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow on Christmas Day in 1863.  He was going through personally dark days following the death of his beloved wife Fanny and the injury sustained by his eldest son Charles Appleton Longfellow in the Civil War.

Fanny died in 1861 and Longfellow’s journal that year at Christmas was silent.

The following Christmas, showing the enduring nature of grief, his journal stated, “’A merry Christmas’ say the children, but that is no more for me.”

Finally in 1863 on Christmas Day, Christmas Bells put ink to the longstanding grief and pointed Longfellow clearly upward to God.

The poem reads,

I heard the bells on Christmas Day
Their old familiar carols play,
And wild and sweet
The words repeat
Of peace on earth, good-will to men!

And thought how, as the day had come,
The belfries of all Christendom
Had rolled along
The unbroken song
Of peace on earth, good-will to men!

Till ringing, singing on its way,  The world revolved from night to day,
A voice, a chime,
A chant sublime
Of peace on earth, good-will to men!

Then from each black, accursed mouth
The cannon thundered in the South,
And with the sound
The carols drowned
Of peace on earth, good-will to men!

It was as if an earthquake rent
The hearth-stones of a continent,
And made forlorn
The households born
Of peace on earth, good-will to men!

And in despair I bowed my head;
“There is no peace on earth,” I said;
“For hate is strong,
And mocks the song
Of peace on earth, good-will to men!”

Then pealed the bells more loud and deep:
“God is not dead, nor doth He sleep;
The Wrong shall fail,
The Right prevail,
With peace on earth, good-will to men.”

You’ll note that the carol—with powerful music supplied by John Baptiste Calkin—has omitted the two stanzas which specifically referenced the American Civil War.  (Longfellow was a staunch abolitionist and Christmas Bells strongly reflects Longfellow’s life and times).  Calkin rearranged the 5 resulting stanzas in 1872, set them to music, and gave us a carol called I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day.

How appropriate that we conclude our series of Carol Me Christmas with words of hope that no matter how dark our world, God is not dead.  He doesn’t sleep.  We might want to cry out,

God, where are you?” 

Why can’t you do something?”

But on Christmas Day, God’s answer would be

I am Immanuel which you’ll remember means ‘God with us.’  And I did something already: I came to you as the True Light in darkness.  If you believe in Me, there is eternal life ahead.  No one can snatch you out of my hands.

As you listen to this version by The Carpenters, read through the poem.  Think about how Jesus’ coming as a baby in a manger changed everything.  Because of Him, there is hope.  Though the world is a dark one, the darkness is passing and the true light is already shining (1 John 2:8).

Merry Christmas!

It’s Christmas Eve.  I can’t think of a better carol to honor today than Go Tell It On the Mountain.  The exhilaration of joy at having heard proclaimed by the angels the birth of our Lord and Savior…the joy at seeing Him and adoring Him… ought to prompt us forward to share the Good News of great joy that we have heard.

Isaiah 52:7 How beautiful on the mountains are the feet of those who bring good news, who proclaim peace, who bring good tidings, who proclaim salvation, who say to Zion, “Your God reigns!”

Our greatest joy on Christmas morning is that Jesus entered into our human struggle as fully God but fully human.  His life and His death changed everything.

Romans 10:4 Christ is the end of the law so that there may be righteousness for everyone who believes. ..8 But what does it say? “The word is near you; it is in your mouth and in your heart,” that is, the word of faith we are proclaiming: 9 That if you confess with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. 10 For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved. 11 As the Scripture says, “Anyone who trusts in him will never be put to shame.” 12 For there is no difference between Jew and Gentile– the same Lord is Lord of all and richly blesses all who call on him, 13 for, “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.” 14 How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them? 15 And how can they preach unless they are sent? As it is written, “How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!”

It doesn’t matter whether we’re male or female, young or old, Jew or Gentile…and there is no difference in God’s love for us.  His love is immeasurable and magnificent and given to us no matter what color is our skin, what social strata we’re from, where we live, or what language we speak.  Every human bears the Image of God.  God’s Image is colorblind and His love is big enough for all.

For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.” (John 3:16)

Go Tell It on the Mountain was first published in a collection of slave songs and spirituals entitled New Jubilee Songs and Folk Songs of the American Negro (1907) by John Wesley Work, Jr..  His family before him and after him were devoted to preserving spirituals and he was actively involved with the Fisk Jubilee Singers whose name you might remember from the Overcomer’s series devotional on Swing Low Sweet Chariot.

As you read through the lyrics to this spiritual and enjoy this version from the incomparable Mahalia Jackson, ponder our Thought Focus for Today.

Thought Focus for Today:  In a world that seems to divide and tear apart on superficial demographics, what does it mean to you that there is no difference…that the same Lord is Lord of all? 

How ought our views of others along national and racial lines be changed by remembering that Jesus entered this human struggle as a Jewish man to save the entire world? 

Will you Go Tell It On the Mountain that Jesus Christ is born?

Go, tell it on the mountain,

Over the hills and everywhere

Go, tell it on the mountain,       

That Jesus Christ is born.

While shepherds kept their watching

Over silent flocks by night

Behold throughout the heavens

There shone a holy light.

Refrain

The shepherds feared and trembled,

When lo! above the earth,

Rang out the angels chorus

That hailed the Savior’s birth.

Refrain

Down in a lowly manger

The humble Christ was born

And God sent us salvation

That blessèd Christmas morn.

Refrain

Joy to the World! is probably my all-time favorite Christmas carol in our Carol Me, Christmas (2014 Advent Devotional Series).  I don’t know if it’s the upbeat melody or if it’s the emphasis on joy, but it’s fully appropriate that as Advent progresses, we moved from anticipation in a dark world desperate for salvation from our earliest week, to the announcement of Jesus’ birth, to the adoration of Christ…now to exhilaration at how amazing it is that the Lord is come.

I always wondered why it is the Lord is come when it seemed like it should be “did” or “has” or simply “came.”  I’m guessing that Isaac Watts (who could arm-wrestle Charles Wesley for the title of Most Noted Hymn Writer) knew exactly what he was doing.

Of course!  Why didn’t I think of it before?  It’s the present tense!

Exactly what one would expect from a pastor and theologian.  The Lord is come.  Once for all time.  Jesus is alive in heaven at the right hand of the Father.  He came into the human struggle at a singular point in the past (what we call the Incarnation), but He is come (as an ongoing presence) in the hearts of an increasing population of saints.  He will never be re-incarnated.  One time in the flesh accomplished salvation forever!  The is connotes a continual presence.

Isaac Watts wrote more than 700 hymns plus numerous theological books during his time as a Nonconformist pastor in England.  Like the Puritans before him and the Reformed Protestants, Congregationalists, Baptists and Methodists after him, he did not conform to the uniform governance set forth by the Church of England.  Rather, he devoted himself to the Scriptures and to the proclamation of the Gospel’s truth in the footsteps of his father who was jailed as a Nonconformist pastor.

Most hymnals have many of his hymns including When I Survey the Wondrous Cross and O God Our Help in Ages Past.  Two classics to be sure!

The score is often noted as “from George Frederick Handel” which isn’t really a Handel composition but was likely inspired by the works of Handel.  In our modern world known for plagiarizing and pirating music without a second thought, it’s actually rather refreshing that credit would be given even for the inspiration for the music entitled Antioch (yes, after the place where believers were first called Christians according to Acts 11:26).  Today, Antioch is presumed composed by, and not simply arranged by, Lowell Mason (1839).

Consider the lyrics below and read Psalm 98 which inspired it.  Enjoy this version of Joy to the World! by the George Fox University Music Department Christmas program while pondering our Thought Focus for Today.

Thought Focus for Today:  How does a continual present accurately depict what Jesus has done for us in His Incarnation?

1. Joy to the world! The Lord is come.
Let earth receive her King;
Let every heart prepare Him room;
And heav’n and nature sing,
And heav’n and nature sing. And heav’n and heav’n and nature sing.

2. Joy to the world, the Savior reigns
Let men their songs employ.
While fields and floods, rocks, hills, and plains
Repeat the sounding joy,
Repeat the sounding joy
Repeat the sounding joy

3. No more let sin and sorrows grow,
Nor thorns infest the ground;
He comes to make His blessings flow
Far as the curse is found,
Far as the curse is found,
Far as, far as the curse is found.

4. He rules the world with truth and grace,
And makes the nations prove
The glories of His righteousness.
And wonders of His love,
And wonders of His love,
And wonders, wonders of His love.

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Carol Me, Christmas (2014 Advent Devotional Series) began November 30th.  There are only a few days left.  If you haven’t signed up yet, you can receive these devotional studies in your email by entering your email address on the SeminaryGal.com home page in the space provided in the sidebar.  Or “Like” the SeminaryGal Facebook page to access them there.  I will do another devotional series for Lent and will continue to post the sermons from the Acts of the Holy Spirit and Apostles series as well.  If you like these devotionals, I’d really appreciate your letting others know so I can continue to spread the Good News far and wide.  Blessings to you, in Christ always, Barbara <><

As we continue our Carol Me, Christmas (2014 Advent Devotional Series), we are in Bethlehem and seeing the Christ Child as the story of Christmas unfolds.  Once in Royal David’s City points to that royal city Bethlehem where both Joseph and Mary, both from the line of David, would register for the census.  Mary was over 12 years old, the legal age to be taxed.  She had to go to Bethlehem too.  She had to go personally and couldn’t leave the responsibility to Joseph to whom she was “pledged to be married.”

Luke 2:1 In those days Caesar Augustus issued a decree that a census should be taken of the entire Roman world. 2 (This was the first census that took place while Quirinius was governor of Syria.) 3 And everyone went to his own town to register. 4 So Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to Bethlehem the town of David, because he belonged to the house and line of David. 5 He went there to register with Mary, who was pledged to be married to him and was expecting a child. 6 While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born, 7 and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.

Mary and Joseph were legal citizens of the province of Syria, the part of the Roman Empire in which Palestine was located.  Mary and Joseph were both from the line of David, as were their parents.  One can only assume that since everyone went to his own town to register, both Joseph’s and Mary’s parents and their families would have been participating in the legal census too, especially since they were likely righteous Jews, having raised devout and observant children.

The fact that there was “no room” at the inn suggests that neither Mary nor Joseph were any longer welcomed by their families.  After all, what kind of parents would allow their pregnant daughter to sleep in the cold if they had a room at the inn to share?

Righteous and observant doesn’t necessarily mean faithful in the eyes of God.  Sometimes people don’t and won’t understand that God does things in ways incomprehensible to us.  And that’s because our brains are far too small—even the smartest among us—to fathom the miraculous of God.

Instead, shepherds—the lowest of the pecking order—get it.  They hear the news.  They believe.  Meanwhile we have no record of Mary’s or Joseph’s parents ever coming to see this baby, Mary’s parents’ grandchild and Joseph’s parents’ presumed grandchild.  If the silence of Scripture is an indication, the Messiah comes—the One these righteous people would have been waiting for—and they miss it.  Completely.

Luke 18:10 “Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. 11 The Pharisee stood up and prayed about himself: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other men– robbers, evildoers, adulterers– or even like this tax collector. 12 I fast twice a week and give a tenth of all I get.’ 13 “But the tax collector stood at a distance. He would not even look up to heaven, but beat his breast and said, ‘God, have mercy on me, a sinner.’ 14 “I tell you that this man, rather than the other, went home justified before God. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.” 15 People were also bringing babies to Jesus to have him touch them. When the disciples saw this, they rebuked them. 16 But Jesus called the children to him and said, “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these. 17 I tell you the truth, anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it.”

Is it coincidence that Jesus says we need to have a childlike faith immediately after an example of the self-righteous and the self-abased?  This childlike faith is what Mrs. Cecil Frances Alexander’s poem Once in Royal David’s City (first published in 1848) talks about.

As you listen to this version by Ecclesium consider the Thought Focus for Today.

Thought Focus for Today:  The same God who says, “’Come now, let us reason together,’ says the LORD. ‘Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red as crimson, they shall be like wool’” (Isaiah 1:18) also tells us to demonstrate childlike faith that simply and humbly believes.  Where are you today?  Is it possible to spend so much time attempting to reason out the miraculous that we might miss the Miracle of Christ Jesus?

Once in royal David’s city,

Stood a lowly cattle shed,

Where a mother laid her Baby,

In a manger for His bed:

Mary was that mother mild,

Jesus Christ, her little Child.

He came down to earth from heaven,

Who is God and Lord of all,

And His shelter was a stable,

And His cradle was a stall:

With the poor, and mean, and lowly,

Lived on earth our Savior holy.

For He is our childhood’s pattern;

Day by day, like us, He grew;

He was little, weak, and helpless,

Tears and smiles, like us He knew;

And He cares when we are sad,

And he shares when we are glad.

And our eyes at last shall see Him,

Through His own redeeming love;

For that Child so dear and gentle,

Is our Lord in heaven above:

And He leads His children on,

To the place where He is gone.

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Carol Me, Christmas (2014 Advent Devotional Series) began November 30th.  By way of reminder, if you haven’t signed up yet, you can receive these devotional studies in your email throughout Advent 2014 by entering your email address on the SeminaryGal.com home page in the space provided in the sidebar.  Or “Like” the SeminaryGal Facebook page to access them there.  If you like these devotionals, I’d really appreciate your letting others know so I can continue to spread the Good News far and wide.  Blessings to you, in Christ always, Barbara <><

Everything sounds more theological in Latin.  Today’s Carol Me, Christmas (2014 Advent Devotional Series) hymn, O Come All Ye Faithful (also known as Adeste Fideles), is no exception.  I remember singing it in our high school choir…in Latin.  I especially liked singing Venite adoremus Dominum.

O Come All Ye Faithful is attributed to John F. Wade with the English translation by Frederick Oakeley and William T. Brooke among others.  The scene depicted in this carol is that of the angels having announced the birth of the Christ to the shepherds,

Luke 2:15 So it was, when the angels had gone away from them into heaven, that the shepherds said to one another, “Let us now go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has come to pass, which the Lord has made known to us.”

Some authors report that this was not designed as a pilgrimage to Bethlehem, but rather a carefully decipherable call to revolt by Wade, a Catholic exiled in France, to fellow faithful Jacobeans in exile to rise up against the English throne which was oppressing Catholics of the day.  Personally, I find this fairly incongruous with the plain words of the song.  Some people just can’t stand to let Jesus be worshiped without politicizing the whole thing.

The tune itself is regal and almost like a march, suitable for a pilgrimage.  It has been attributed to John Wade, or John Reading, as well as to Simao Portogallo which gives rise to another name for this hymn as being The Portuguese Hymn.

All of this said, the lyrics fit with the biblical story, but not for today.  Theologically speaking, Christianity is one religion in which pilgrimages no longer happen.  God would want it that way.  In the flow of Scripture, we don’t have Noah’s ark, the original copies of the Ten Commandments, the budded staff of Aaron, the golden jar of manna, or the Ark of the Covenant.  We don’t have Moses’ basket or the bronze snake.  We don’t have the stones lifted out of the River Jordan as a memorial.  We don’t have a Ripley’s Wax Museum marking the exact spot where the Christ Child was laid in the manger, which is a good thing because that’s kind of creepy.

Why wouldn’t God want us going to Bethlehem in a pilgrimage?

Jesus is Emmanuel, God with us.  Christianity is the only religion in which God reached down for us and came to us, Himself, to save us.  That’s what Christ, Messiah, means.

Isaiah 9:6 For unto us a Child is born, Unto us a Son is given; And the government will be upon His shoulder. And His name will be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. 7 Of the increase of His government and peace There will be no end, Upon the throne of David and over His kingdom, To order it and establish it with judgment and justice From that time forward, even forever. The zeal of the LORD of hosts will perform this.

As you ponder our Thought Focus for Today and listen to the Christmas Eve Service of Eucharist at Westminster Abbey, remind yourself about how wonderful it is that God accomplished for us what no human pilgrimage ever could.

Thought Focus for Today:  We don’t need to go on pilgrimages in a physical sense to worship God: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. How can Christians go on a spiritual pilgrimage without ever leaving home?

O come, all ye faithful, joyful and triumphant,
O come ye, O come ye, to Bethlehem.
Come and behold Him, born the King of angels;

Refrain

O come, let us adore Him,
O come, let us adore Him,
O come, let us adore Him,
Christ the Lord.

True God of true God, Light from Light Eternal,
Lo, He shuns not the Virgin’s womb;
Son of the Father, begotten, not created;

Refrain

Sing, choirs of angels, sing in exultation;
O sing, all ye citizens of heaven above!
Glory to God, all glory in the highest;

Refrain

See how the shepherds, summoned to His cradle,
Leaving their flocks, draw nigh to gaze;
We too will thither bend our joyful footsteps;

Refrain

Lo! star led chieftains, Magi, Christ adoring,
Offer Him incense, gold, and myrrh;
We to the Christ Child bring our hearts’ oblations.

Refrain

Child, for us sinners poor and in the manger,
We would embrace Thee, with love and awe;
Who would not love Thee, loving us so dearly?

Refrain

Yea, Lord, we greet Thee, born this happy morning;
Jesus, to Thee be glory given;
Word of the Father, now in flesh appearing.

Refrain

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Carol Me, Christmas (2014 Advent Devotional Series) began November 30th.  By way of reminder, if you haven’t signed up yet, you can receive these devotional studies in your email throughout Advent 2014 by entering your email address on the SeminaryGal.com home page in the space provided in the sidebar.  Or “Like” the SeminaryGal Facebook page to access them there.  If you like these devotionals, I’d really appreciate your letting others know so I can continue to spread the Good News far and wide.  Blessings to you, in Christ always, Barbara <><

Yesterday, in our Carol Me, Christmas (2014 Advent Devotional Series), I suggested that carols could be used as theological education for children.  Just don’t use this one.

Away in a Manger is a favorite of adults and children alike (despite its being wrong on two counts):

1. Its attributed subtitle as Luther’s Cradle Hymn
2. Its theology as a whole

That said, the little lullaby tune combined with sweet baby lyrics makes it a popular choice for children’s programs and Christmas pageants.

Let’s just be blunt: there is no way that Martin Luther–the same guy of 15 verses yesterday of pristine theology–would have written 2-3 verses of something so inaccurate. 

Some people have suggested that it was written for the anniversary of Luther’s birth with his name thrown in as a marketing plus, but either way, it was first published as two verses in Evangelical Lutheran Sunday School collection, Little Children’s Book for Schools and Families.  The Lutherans love Luther so much that perhaps these wanted to find him everywhere including in the Cradle Hymn.  Kind of like how Baptists find Satan under every rock and in the vast majority of US political offices.  (Aw, go ahead, insert a wink and a smile here.  Christians can laugh at ourselves without going to hell.)

Why do I say that the theology is inaccurate?

The cattle are lowing, the Baby awakes,

 But little Lord Jesus, no crying He makes;

Frankly, the little Lord Jesus did not wake up and say to his mother, the virgin Mary, in a calm soothing God-voice

Verily I say unto thee, I have food to eat that you don’t know about.”

Because Lord knows, the Son of God never had a dirty diaper (insert sarcasm here).  This is patently ridiculous.  Crying is not a sin!  Crying is how babies talk and Jesus was as human a baby as any other baby born in the completely natural way.  His conception in Mary’s womb by the Spirit of God was the only miracle here.

Luke 1:35 The angel answered, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God. 36 Even Elizabeth your relative is going to have a child in her old age, and she who was said to be barren is in her sixth month. 37 For nothing is impossible with God.”

Jesus was not a miracle baby who never cried, always slept through the night, and never had diaper issues.  He probably experienced teething pain, coughs, colds and flu during the span of His life.  He didn’t spoil His mother Mary by giving her an impossible frame of reference for her other children who would come after Him to fail to achieve.  Jesus was not superhuman.  He was human.  He only added complete humanity to His already complete divinity.

It’s not just a minor theological point.  It’s central.

But Away in a Manger is a cute song.  It’s cute when kids sing it and they love this one.  If you’re on the English side of the pond, the tune is one by William J. Kirkpatrick Cradle Song (1895) which was an adaptation of another known as Sweet Afton, and if you’re on the American side of the pond, the one most commonly used is James R. Murray’s Mueller (1887).  Some hymnals are bi-polar and include both variations.

As you read through the lyrics below, enjoy this Kirkpatrick version sung by children dressed in festive red and green with red Santa hats and Santa playing piano, and ponder our Thought Focus for Today.

Thought Focus for Today:  Why is it theologically important that Jesus was fully human and yet, not some superhuman being?

Away in a manger, no crib for a bed,

The little Lord Jesus laid down His sweet head.

The stars in the sky looked down where He lay,

The little Lord Jesus, asleep on the hay.

The cattle are lowing, the Baby awakes,

But little Lord Jesus, no crying He makes;

I love Thee, Lord Jesus, look down from the sky

And stay by my cradle till morning is nigh.

Be near me, Lord Jesus, I ask Thee to stay

Close by me forever, and love me, I pray;

Bless all the dear children in Thy tender care,

And fit us for Heaven to live with Thee there.

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Carol Me, Christmas (2014 Advent Devotional Series) began November 30th.  By way of reminder, if you haven’t signed up yet, you can receive these devotional studies in your email throughout Advent 2014 by entering your email address on the SeminaryGal.com home page in the space provided in the sidebar.  Or “Like” the SeminaryGal Facebook page to access them there.  If you like these devotionals, I’d really appreciate your letting others know so I can continue to spread the Good News far and wide.  Blessings to you, in Christ always, Barbara <><

Today’s carol in our Carol Me, Christmas (2014 Advent Devotional Series) is less familiar to me.  Perhaps that’s because it was written by Martin Luther and A Mighty Fortress is Our God eclipses his other hymns outside of Lutheran circles.

From Heaven Above to Earth I Come was written by Martin Luther (yes, of Reformation fame) for family devotionals.  It is said Luther wrote this carol especially for his five year old son Hans and was performed a man dressed up as an angel (or sung by the parents) pronouncing the opening verses that one would expect would be straight out of Scripture.  (After all, this is Martin Luther we’re talking about.  Mr. Sola Scriptura—by Scripture alone!)

Luke 2:1 In those days Caesar Augustus issued a decree that a census should be taken of the entire Roman world. 2 (This was the first census that took place while Quirinius was governor of Syria.) 3 And everyone went to his own town to register. 4 So Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to Bethlehem the town of David, because he belonged to the house and line of David. 5 He went there to register with Mary, who was pledged to be married to him and was expecting a child. 6 While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born, 7 and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn. 8 And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. 9 An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. 10 But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. 11 Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord. 12 This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.” 13 Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying, 14 “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men on whom his favor rests.” 15 When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let’s go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about.” 16 So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the manger. 17 When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child, 18 and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them.

According to the Virginia Lutherans ELCA,

This Christmas hymn is Luther’s own composition, dated around 1535 when Luther’s own children would have been old enough to sing. The scholarly conjecture is that the hymn originated in Luther’s family devotion, with the part of the angels in verses one to five being sung by the parents, individual children singing the various verses eight through fourteen, and all together singing verse seven and fifteen (LW 53: 267). Luke’s depiction of the angels’ proclamation of the good news to the shepherds structures the first part. Thus the parents lead the children to sing their parts to the Christ‐child by concluding the introductory verses with the exhortation of the shepherds in verse six “to go and see this thing which the Lord has made known.” The hymn concludes with all voices joining the angels in the praise of God.

This carol was sung not only for the an­nu­al Christ­mas Eve fes­ti­val at the Lu­ther home, but 4 years later would be published to a folk tune and then to the one written by Luther himself,  Vom Himmel hoch, da komm’ ich her. Variations on this tune were written by Johann Sebastian Bach and the carol itself was later translated for us into English in 1855 by Catherine Winkworth (who we’ve seen before as a great translator of the German chorale tradition for English audiences).

While present in a few hymnals in all fifteen verses (!), the only hymnals that I have even containing this carol will include only the 4 verses highlighted below.

As you read all 15 verses, listen to this version on double-bass by deaf performer Hector Tirado and ponder our Thought Focus for Today.

Thought Focus for Today: Here we see a prime example of how Christmas carols can teach the Bible.  How might you do family devotions (especially for children) using Christmas carols?

1. “From heaven above to earth I come

 To bear good news to every home;

 Glad tidings of great joy I bring,

 Whereof I now will say and sing:

2. “To you this night is born a child

 Of Mary, chosen virgin mild;

 This little child, of lowly birth,

 Shall be the joy of all the earth.

3. “This is the Christ, our God and Lord,

Who in all need shall aid afford;

He will Himself your Savior be

From all your sins to set you free.

4. “He will on you the gifts bestow

Prepared by God for all below,

That in His kingdom, bright and fair,

You may with us His glory share.

5. “These are the tokens ye shall mark:

The swaddling-clothes and manger dark;

There ye shall find the Infant laid

By whom the heavens and earth were made.”

6. Now let us all with gladsome cheer

Go with the shepherds and draw near

To see the precious gift of God,

Who hath His own dear Son bestowed.

7. Give heed, my heart, lift up thine eyes!

What is it in yon manger lies?

Who is this child, so young and fair?

The blessed Christ-child lieth there.

8. Welcome to earth, Thou noble Guest,

Through whom the sinful world is blest!

Thou com’st to share my misery;

What thanks shall I return to Thee?

9. Ah, Lord, who hast created all,

How weak art Thou, how poor and small,

That Thou dost choose Thine infant bed

Where humble cattle lately fed!

10. Were earth a thousand times as fair,

Beset with gold and jewels rare,

It yet6 were far too poor to be

A narrow cradle, Lord, for Thee.

11. For velvets soft and silken stuff

Thou hast but hay and straw so rough,

Whereon Thou, King, so rich and great,

As ’twere Thy heaven, art throned in state.

12. And thus, dear Lord, it pleaseth Thee

To make this truth quite plain to me,

That all the world’s wealth, honor, might,

Are naught and worthless in Thy sight.

13. Ah, dearest Jesus, holy Child,

 Make Thee a bed, soft, undefiled,

 Within my heart, that it may be

 A quiet chamber kept for Thee.

14. My heart for very joy doth leap,

My lips no more can silence keep;

I, too, must sing with joyful tongue

That sweetest ancient cradle-song:

15. Glory to God in highest heaven,

 Who unto us His Son hath given!

 While angels sing with pious mirth

 A glad new year to all the earth.

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Carol Me, Christmas (2014 Advent Devotional Series) began November 30th.  By way of reminder, if you haven’t signed up yet, you can receive these devotional studies in your email throughout Advent 2014 by entering your email address on the SeminaryGal.com home page in the space provided in the sidebar.  Or “Like” the SeminaryGal Facebook page to access them there.  If you like these devotionals, I’d really appreciate your letting others know so I can continue to spread the Good News far and wide.  Blessings to you, in Christ always, Barbara <><

Continuing our theme of the holy night (with holiness meaning set apart) today’s selection in Carol Me, Christmas (2014 Advent Devotional Series) is O Holy Night, known also as Cantique de Noël.  The words in the original French poem by Placide Cappeau would be literally translated as:

Midnight, Christians, it is the solemn hour,

When God as man descended unto us

To erase the stain of original sin

And to end the wrath of His Father.

The entire world thrills with hope

On this night that gives it a Saviour.

People kneel down, wait for your deliverance.

Christmas, Christmas, here is the Redeemer,

Christmas, Christmas, here is the Redeemer!

May the ardent light of our Faith

Guide us all to the cradle of the infant,

As in ancient times a brilliant star

Guided the Oriental kings there.

The King of Kings was born in a humble manger;

O mighty ones of today, proud of your greatness,

It is to your pride that God preaches.

Bow your heads before the Redeemer!

Bow your heads before the Redeemer!

The Redeemer has broken every bond:

The Earth is free, and Heaven is open.

He sees a brother where there was only a slave,

Love unites those that iron had chained.

Who will tell Him of our gratitude

For all of us He is born, He suffers and dies.

People stand up! Sing of your deliverance,

Christmas, Christmas, sing of the Redeemer,

Christmas, Christmas, sing of the Redeemer!

These lyrics are beautiful and yet ironic.  Here’s why:  Cappeau was invited by a parish priest in Roquemaure to write a poem because Cappeau was a home town favorite as an occasional poet and wine merchant.  You’d never know given the beauty of the poem that Cappeau was both anticlerical and an atheist according to published reports.  He was also an abolitionist and there is a hint in verse 3 of his passion in that area.

Truly He taught us to love one another;

His law is love and His gospel is peace.

Chains shall He break

for the slave is our brother;

And in His name all oppression shall cease.

To add further intrigue, the musical composer, Adolphe Adam, was kind of a carousing sort and best remembered for Giselle (a ballet dating to 1841).  He was considered a rogue because of his lifestyle and his compositions for light and comedic opera.  Consequently, many churches shunned this carol as inappropriate due to Adam’s wild living.  Nevertheless, the carol premiered in Roquemaure in 1847.

Oh, but we’re not done.  The most common translation into English was done by John Sullivan Dwight who was another Unitarian pastor with the resulting lyrics talking about Jesus as the Christ.  The Unitarians do not believe that Jesus is God so either Dwight did a translation without believing a word of it, or maybe he didn’t adhere closely to Unitarian teachings.

Here is his translation.

O holy night!

 The stars are brightly shining

It is the night of our dear Saviour’s birth

Long lay the world in sin and error pining

‘Til He appear’d and the soul felt its worth

A thrill of hope the weary world rejoices

For yonder breaks a new and glorious morn

Fall on your knees!

O hear the angel voices!

O night divine,

O night when Christ was born;

O night divine, O night,

O night Divine.

Led by the light of Faith serenely beaming

With glowing hearts by His cradle we stand

So led by light of a star sweetly gleaming

Here come the wise men from Orient land.

The King of Kings lay thus in lowly manger;

In all our trials born to be our friend.

He knows our need,

 our weakness is no stranger,

Behold your King!

Before Him lowly bend!

Behold your King,

Before Him lowly bend!

Truly He taught us to love one another;

His law is love and His gospel is peace.

Chains shall He break

for the slave is our brother;

And in His name all oppression shall cease.

Sweet hymns of joy in grateful chorus raise we,

Let all within us praise His holy name.

Christ is the Lord!

O praise His Name forever,

His power and glory evermore proclaim

His power and glory evermore proclaim.

This brings us to a really important point for us today.  What makes music sacred?  Is it the lyrics?  Is it the tune?  Is it the meter or beat of the music?  Must the people writing it be Christians?  What kind of litmus test must we place upon their lives in order to judge whether they’re sufficiently Christian in their practice as well as in their theology?  Does the spirit of the music still speak, just differently for those who have the Spirit of Christ dwelling in them?

1 Corinthians 2:14 But the natural man does not receive the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; nor can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.

When I was in seminary, we were required to do a cross-cultural field education experience and I begged to break with traditional field eds and to do my 13 week cross-cultural experience by attending Shabbat services at our local Reform Jewish synagogue.  It was a real highlight of my time at seminary.  The rabbi’s wife, who was also Jewish, taught the New Testament at a local seminary that was more liberal than where I was being educated.  I remember talking with the rabbi and asking him,

How is that possible?

He said she could teach what the words on a page say without believing a word of its veracity in her life.  As I began to ponder that, I figured it’s the flip side of my telling you what Unitarians believe without agreeing with them.

All of this to say that this hymn might not be in many hymnals and the rationale may be varied by the hymnbook editors, but it’s still a lovely poem.  It does point to holiness, to the Christ as the Kings of Kings and of His Lordship.  To His birth as what we celebrate at Christmas.  It’s a night Divine, a holy night.  Sure, it’s got the wise men coming to the manger, but it’s not the only hymn that did that and those are hymns that we include without a second thought.

As you listen to Sam Tsui on piano accompanied by Yasmeen Al-Mazeedi  on violin, reflect upon our Thought Focus for today and reread the two sets of lyrics above.

Thought Focus for Today: 

What makes a carol sufficiently religious for Christmas?

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Carol Me, Christmas (2014 Advent Devotional Series) began November 30th.  By way of reminder, if you haven’t signed up yet, you can receive these devotional studies in your email throughout Advent 2014 by entering your email address on the SeminaryGal.com home page in the space provided in the sidebar.  Or “Like” the SeminaryGal Facebook page to access them there.  If you like these devotionals, I’d really appreciate your letting others know so I can continue to spread the Good News far and wide.  Blessings to you, in Christ always, Barbara <><

Today’s carol in our Carol Me, Christmas (2014 Advent Devotional Series) is arguably the all-time favorite Christmas carol of many people.  It’s often sung as the final song at Christmas Eve services to the glow of handheld candles.  It’s beautiful.  It’s peaceful.  It’s sentimental.  It’s Silent Night, Holy Night.

I don’t want to be the one to destroy all the romanticized stories regarding its origin.  So I’ll let hymns and carols of Christmas.com break the news.

The traditional story is that Rev. Josef Mohr (1792-1848) and Franz Xaver Gruber (1787-1863) wrote it in Oberndorf, Austria, on Christmas Eve when they discovered the church organ was damaged (different versions say it rusted out, or mice chewed through vital parts3). Charming as those stories are, they are fiction. In fact, in a letter written by Franz Gruber, son of the composer, he noted that “During the time when my father was the organist of the church of St Nikola, there was a very poor almost unusable organ there. This may well explain why the Reverend Mohr preferred to accompany the carol on a well-tuned guitar than on an off-pitch organ.”

An old manuscript has reportedly been discovered that shows Rev. Mohr wrote the lyrics in 1816, and that Franz Gruber wrote the score two years later at Rev. Mohr’s request (the manuscript is now located at the Salzburg Museum, Carolino Augusteum; unfortunately, the English version has disappeared).  Mohr never said what his inspiration was. Gruber did not disclose why Mohr made the request to add music to the poem (and you can safely disregard as purest fiction any stories about Mohr walking through the forest on a snowy night, or that invent any dialogue between the two men).

Seriously?  Of course, the original song was entitled Stille Nacht, Heilige Nacht (yes, it’s German like many of the other hymns and carols we’ve enjoyed).  It all began when Joseph Mohr who was the curate of a church in Oberndorf gave his poem to Franz Gruber requesting a composition for two solo voices, a choir, and accompanied by guitar.

It was first performed in 1818 at the midnight mass on Christmas Eve.  Mohr played the guitar and was the tenor solo, Gruber was the bass solo with the church choir singing the refrains.

Every hymnal I have lists the English translation by Rev. John Freeman Young with the dates of translation and publication listed as 1863 though hymns and carols asserts it was published in 1859.  Who knows what to believe on the Internet?  (OK, I’m still in shock from the mice not chewing the organ.  I’d pictured Cinderella’s mice…)

Theologically, I’d like to trust this hymn…even more than the stories of how the carol came about.  Although, no one really knows if the night was actually silent.  After all, stop and think about it: Bethlehem was buzzing about with a whole crowd of people who had come to register.

Luke 2:1 In those days Caesar Augustus issued a decree that a census should be taken of the entire Roman world. 2 (This was the first census that took place while Quirinius was governor of Syria.) 3 And everyone went to his own town to register. 4 So Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to Bethlehem the town of David, because he belonged to the house and line of David. 5 He went there to register with Mary, who was pledged to be married to him and was expecting a child

Why were they registering? To pay their taxes.  The Romans wanted a detailed understanding of who existed for both military service (from which Jews were exempted) and who could fund the government. A census to them wasn’t like the US Census where they’re looking to find out race, education, and household income.  Nope.  A census then was for the purpose of collecting taxes from both men and women.  (Yes, Mary had to go too.)  So here is the great irony, the most powerful man on earth, Caesar Augustus, issues a decree with the result that the most powerful man ever to be born would have His humble earthly beginnings in a manger.   And Bethlehem as prophesied in Micah 5:2 would be fulfilled.

Micah 5:2 “But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, though you are small among the clans of Judah, out of you will come for me one who will be ruler over Israel, whose origins are from of old, from ancient times.”

Whether the night was silent, calm, or bright, we will never know.  But we do know it was holy because that’s how God would come to be among us.  And it was certainly clear enough for a star.  Jesus was the Holy Infant, He is our Savior, and He is Lord at His birth.  Strange to think that a baby would be Lord, but that’s the truth and we don’t need to take the Internet’s word for it.

I hope I haven’t ruined this hymn for you since I’m still reeling from that whole Cinderella’s mice revelation, but maybe listening to this version will help you like it helped me.  Since I’ve spent recent days ripping Europe as in spiritual decline, this group is Dutch and sings Silent Night Holy Night as Stille Nacht.

Thought Focus for Today:  Consider how amazing it is that God uses such mundane things as registering both Joseph and Mary, both from the line of David, at Bethlehem to fulfill the prophecy regarding Jesus’ birth.  What mundane thing in your life is God looking to use?

Silent night! Holy night!

All is calm, all is bright

Round yon virgin mother and Child

Holy Infant so tender and mild

Sleep in heavenly peace!

Sleep in heavenly peace

Silent night! Holy night!

Shepherds quake at the sight

Glories stream from heaven afar

Heavenly hosts sing Alleluia

Christ the Savior is born

Christ the Savior is born!

Silent night! Holy night!

Son of God love’s pure light

Radiant beams from Thy holy face

With the dawn of redeeming grace,

Jesus, Lord at Thy birth

Jesus, Lord at Thy birth

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Carol Me, Christmas (2014 Advent Devotional Series) began November 30th.  By way of reminder, if you haven’t signed up yet, you can receive these devotional studies in your email throughout Advent 2014 by entering your email address on the SeminaryGal.com home page in the space provided in the sidebar.  Or “Like” the SeminaryGal Facebook page to access them there.  If you like these devotionals, I’d really appreciate your letting others know so I can continue to spread the Good News far and wide.  Blessings to you, in Christ always, Barbara <><

Today’s carol in our Carol Me, Christmas (2014 Advent Devotional Series) is one of the more famous of the Christmas carols, O Little Town of Bethlehem.  The words to this carol were written in 1868 by an Episcopal priest by the name of Phillips Brooks who was Rector of the Church of the Holy Trinity, Philadelphia, PA.  The inspiration for this hymn was Brooks’ reflection back to a trip he had taken to the town of Bethlehem in 1865. Notes by Louis Redner on this hymn state,

“As Christmas of 1868 approached, Mr. Brooks told me that he had written a simple little carol for the Christmas Sunday-school service, and he asked me to write the tune to it. The simple music was written in great haste and under great pressure. We were to practice it on the following Sunday. Mr. Brooks came to me on Friday, and said, ‘Redner, have you ground out that music yet to “O Little Town of Bethlehem”?’ I replied, ‘No,’ but that he should have it by Sunday. On the Saturday night previous my brain was all confused about the tune. I thought more about my Sunday-school lesson than I did about the music. But I was roused from sleep late in the night hearing an angel-strain whispering in my ear, and seizing a piece of music paper I jotted down the treble of the tune as we now have it, and on Sunday morning before going to church I filled in the harmony. Neither Mr. Brooks nor I ever thought the carol or the music to it would live beyond that Christmas of 1868.

Redner’s composition, which another pastor—Rev. Dr. Huntington—asked to publish in his Sunday-school hymn book called The Church Porch, became titled by Huntington simply as Saint Louis.  The music’s simplicity accounts for a good deal of the carol’s ongoing popularity.

The theology is solidly present, although the song itself is addressed to the town of Bethlehem.  Odd as that sounds, it’s not without biblical precedent.

Micah 5:1 Marshal your troops, O city of troops, for a siege is laid against us. They will strike Israel’s ruler on the cheek with a rod. 2

But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, though you are small among the clans of Judah, out of you will come for me one who will be ruler over Israel, whose origins are from of old, from ancient times.”

3 Therefore Israel will be abandoned until the time when she who is in labor gives birth and the rest of his brothers return to join the Israelites. 4 He will stand and shepherd his flock in the strength of the LORD, in the majesty of the name of the LORD his God. And they will live securely, for then his greatness will reach to the ends of the earth. 5 And he will be their peace. When the Assyrian invades our land and marches through our fortresses, we will raise against him seven shepherds, even eight leaders of men. 6 They will rule the land of Assyria with the sword, the land of Nimrod with drawn sword. He will deliver us from the Assyrian when he invades our land and marches into our borders. 7 The remnant of Jacob will be in the midst of many peoples like dew from the LORD, like showers on the grass, which do not wait for man or linger for mankind. 8 The remnant of Jacob will be among the nations, in the midst of many peoples, like a lion among the beasts of the forest, like a young lion among flocks of sheep, which mauls and mangles as it goes, and no one can rescue. 9 Your hand will be lifted up in triumph over your enemies, and all your foes will be destroyed. 10 “In that day,” declares the LORD, “I will destroy your horses from among you and demolish your chariots. 11 I will destroy the cities of your land and tear down all your strongholds. 12 I will destroy your witchcraft and you will no longer cast spells. 13 I will destroy your carved images and your sacred stones from among you; you will no longer bow down to the work of your hands. 14 I will uproot from among you your Asherah poles and demolish your cities. 15 I will take vengeance in anger and wrath upon the nations that have not obeyed me.”

Not exactly the picture of stillness and lullaby sounds.  This is the dark side of Christmas.  We are in the dark streets but the everlasting Light is shining.  At some point, those of us alive will experience the Second Advent, the Return of Christ. It will not be the peaceful quiet Bethlehem of the hymn, but with righteousness as Christ’s banner, He will enter in as victorious.

As you read the poem by Brooks and listen to this version on cello by Nicholas D. Yee, ponder our Thought Focus for Today.

Thought Focus for Today:  Sometimes you’ll hear proverbs like “It’s always darkest before the dawn” or “There’s always calm before the storm.”  How does O Little Town of Bethlehem remind us of the dark stillness before the Advent and Second Advent of Christ?

1. O little town of Bethlehem,

How still we see thee lie;

Above thy deep and dreamless sleep

The silent stars go by:

Yet in thy dark streets shineth

The everlasting Light;

The hopes and fears of all the years

Are met in thee to-night.

2. For Christ is born of Mary;

And gathered all above,

While mortals sleep, the angels keep

Their watch of wondering love.

O morning stars, together

Proclaim the holy birth;

And praises sing to God the King,

And peace to men on earth.

3. How silently, how silently,

The wondrous gift is given!

So God imparts to human hearts

The blessings of His heaven.

No ear may hear His coming,

But in this world of sin,

Where meek souls will receive Him still,

The dear Christ enters in.

4. O holy Child of Bethlehem,

Descend to us, we pray;

Cast out our sin, and enter in,

Be born in us to-day.

We hear the Christmas angels

The great glad tidings tell;

O come to us, abide with us,

Our God Emmanuel.

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Carol Me, Christmas (2014 Advent Devotional Series) began November 30th.  By way of reminder, if you haven’t signed up yet, you can receive these devotional studies in your email throughout Advent 2014 by entering your email address on the SeminaryGal.com home page in the space provided in the sidebar.  Or “Like” the SeminaryGal Facebook page to access them there.  If you like these devotionals, I’d really appreciate your letting others know so I can continue to spread the Good News far and wide.  Blessings to you, in Christ always, Barbara <><