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 <><

In our Carol Me, Christmas (2014 Advent Devotional Series), we’re still looking at the shepherds in the field hearing the Good News proclaimed by the angels regarding Christ’s birth.  These shepherds are never named.  They’re just shepherds watching their flocks.  They could have been anybody.

Today’s carol goes by four different titles:  (1) How Great Our Joy! (2) While by the Sheep, (3) While by My Sheep, and (4) The Echo Carol.  Even the author is uncertain.

The words are apparently part of a traditional German carol dating back to the 1600s, but the music arrangement most common in our hymnals is one from 1890 by composer Hugo Jüngst who was born and raised in Dresden, Germany.  This is his only hymn of note.

All of this may be uncertain or certainly unspectacular, but this hymn is a great tribute to a spectacular event.

Luke 2:8 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.

I selected this hymn for two reasons.  First, it highlights that each of us must respond to the Good News.  The shepherds didn’t just hear the Good News and say,

Oh well, so many sheep, so little time.  I’m not going to herd all these sheep together to go see this.  I don’t have a baby gift, time to shop for one, and really, I don’t even know this couple.  I guess I can wait to go to Bethlehem next year when maybe I’ll know the family.  When you’ve seen one baby, you’ve seen them all.”

Even the lowest on the social scale among the Jews knew that the birth of the Messiah was a profound event, one that was not to be missed!  It was a drop-everything-and-go spectacular that they were privileged to witness.  They went and are only recorded in Scripture as shepherds.  We don’t even know who they were, but we do know their response.  They drop everything and go.

The second reason I chose this hymn is kind of sad, really.  It’s about opportunities lost.  So many of our hymns have been German, French, and English ones.  Those places were at one time the epicenter of the growth of Christ’s Kingdom.  Not anymore.

Today, Europe leads the way in moral relativism, secularism, and intellectual opposition to the Gospel.  America is rapidly becoming a contender for first place in those same categories.  I cannot help but reflect on the Germany that produced some of these great choral traditions and how much of Germany today greets the Gospel with a mighty yawn, if not a sneer.  It doesn’t excuse us from trying to echo the past and remind Europe of why the Gospel is Good News.  It doesn’t excuse us from trying to save America from the same apostasy and apathy we see overseas.

I like this hymn especially when performed the way the Expressions Choir and orchestra music  ministry of Calvary Lutheran Church, Golden Valley, MN does it.  It’s full of exuberance and a perfect echo response!  This is the kind of joy that we ought to know—just as the shepherds did—that we are blessed with an opportunity to respond to the best news one could ever have: the Savior is born!  It’s Good News that we should be joyfully echoing worldwide!

Thought Focus for Today:  That the shepherds are not named allows us to place ourselves in their sandals.  Can you remember the first time you heard the Good News?  How have you responded to it?  Do you know the Messiah, the Christ who is born on Christmas Day?  Do you know How Great Our Joy?

While by the sheep we watched at night,

Glad tidings brought an angel bright.

Refrain

How great our joy! (Great our joy!)

 Joy, joy, joy! (Joy, joy, joy!)

Praise we the Lord in heaven on high!

 (Praise we the Lord in heaven on high!)

There shall be born, so he did say,

In Bethlehem a Child today.

Refrain

There shall the Child lie in a stall,

This Child who shall redeem us all.

Refrain

This gift of God we’ll cherish well,

That ever joy our hearts shall fill.

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 <><

Lo How a Rose E’er Blooming is the next traditional Christmas carol in our Carol Me, Christmas (2014 Advent Devotional Series telling of the birth of Christ.  This time the focus is on His being born from the Virgin Mary.  Lo How a Rose E’er Blooming is not in all the Protestant hymnals with good reason: there’s debate about whether the Rose is Jesus (as asserted by Protestants) or Mary (as preferred by some Catholics).  I cannot explain it any better than in the notes offered here on a web site called Hymns and Carols of Christmas:

Originally published in 1582 (or 1588) in Gebetbuchlein des Frater Conradus, this 19-stanza Catholic hymn’s focus was Mary, who is compared to the mystical rose praised in the Song of Solomon 2:1: “I am a rose of Sharon, a lily of the valleys.” The hymn is believed to have originated in Trier, and once [sic] source stated that on one Christmas Eve, a monk in Trier found a blooming rose while walking in the woods. He placed the rose in a vase, and placed it before the alter [sic] to the Virgin Mary. Some sources indicate the hymn might date back into the 14th Century.

By 1609, however, the Protestants had adopted the hymn, and changed its focus from Mary to Jesus (citing Isaiah 11:1). According to Keyte and Parrott, in medieval iconography, the tree of Jesse is often depicted as a rose plant. They also note that it’s unclear whether Ros’ (rose) or Reis (branch) was the original reading of line 1. The revision first appeared in Michael Praetorius’ Musae Sioniae in 1609. Praetorius is occasionally mistaken as the author.

The words and music of Es ist ein Ros entsprungen (Lo, How a Rose E’er Blooming) first appeared as 23 verses in the Alte Katholische Geistliche Kirchengesäng, (Cologne, 1599).  Gradually reduced to nineteen verses and then to six in the Catholic Church, it was translated into English as only verses 1 and 2 by Theodore Baker (1894).  A third stanza appears in some hymnals written by Harriet Krauth Spaeth as Behold, a Branch Is Growing.

The music itself has a madrigal sound—the tune appearing in most Protestant hymnals as an arrangement written by the aforementioned German composer Michael Praetorius.

Theologically, this is another weaker hymn in many regards.  Much of its focus has been devoted to the Virgin Mary (in the Feast of the Annunciation of the Blessed Virgin Mary) but I include it for a specific reason.  The prophecy from Isaiah underpinning this hymn points to something truly important.

Isaiah 11:1 A shoot will come up from the stump of Jesse; from his roots a Branch will bear fruit. 2 The Spirit of the LORD will rest on him– the Spirit of wisdom and of understanding, the Spirit of counsel and of power, the Spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the LORD– 3 and he will delight in the fear of the LORD. He will not judge by what he sees with his eyes, or decide by what he hears with his ears; 4 but with righteousness he will judge the needy, with justice he will give decisions for the poor of the earth. He will strike the earth with the rod of his mouth; with the breath of his lips he will slay the wicked. 5 Righteousness will be his belt and faithfulness the sash around his waist.

This Messianic prophecy goes back to Jesse, King David’s father.  That is the stump…and the Holy Seed will be the stump remaining in the land.  That comes a few chapters earlier in Isaiah.

Isaiah 6:8 Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, “Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?” And I said, “Here am I. Send me!” 9 He said, “Go and tell this people: “‘Be ever hearing, but never understanding; be ever seeing, but never perceiving.’ 10 Make the heart of this people calloused; make their ears dull and close their eyes. Otherwise they might see with their eyes, hear with their ears, understand with their hearts, and turn and be healed.” 11 Then I said, “For how long, O Lord?” And he answered: “Until the cities lie ruined and without inhabitant, until the houses are left deserted and the fields ruined and ravaged, 12 until the LORD has sent everyone far away and the land is utterly forsaken. 13 And though a tenth remains in the land, it will again be laid waste. But as the terebinth and oak leave stumps when they are cut down, so the Holy Seed will be the stump in the land.”

At a time when the world is at war, when desolation seems everywhere, when houses are deserted, fields ruined, lives torn up by discord, violence, and hatred, God’s solution is the Holy Seed in the stump.  A precious Branch that bears fruit.

This is the Messiah, Jesus Christ, whose birth we celebrate. 

He alone is the answer to the discord and chaos of the world then and our world today.

Jesus may be a son of David, but interestingly David isn’t the stump, his father Jesse is.  Jesus doesn’t come about as a man of human origin alone whose ancestry can be explained by simple human lineage.  He skipped generations spiritually, going back to the stump to prove that God didn’t send a really good regular guy who would grow up to be the Messiah by living a good life.  He sent His Son, born as our Savior; born as our Lord, and born as our King–all of which He was even before His birth because He is God.  He is Immanuel, God with us.  He is the eternal Word made flesh.  He is the Holy Seed, born of a virgin whose name was Mary.

As you listen to this version by the Baylor Bronze Hand Bell Choir, ponder the Thought Focus for Today.

Thought Focus for Today: Jesus’ Incarnation was miraculous.  He was born of a virgin named Mary.  It’s an event that never happened before and will never happen again.  God went back to the stump in the land in a spiritual sense and yet the Holy Seed Jesus does have a physical lineage too. 

How does veneration of the Virgin Mary risk jumping the gap to becoming worship of a woman who was a really good woman, but not divine like her son Jesus, the unique Son of God?

Lo, how a Rose e’er blooming from tender stem hath sprung!

Of Jesse’s lineage coming, as men of old have sung.

It came, a floweret bright, amid the cold of winter,

When half spent was the night.

Isaiah ’twas foretold it, the Rose I have in mind;

With Mary we behold it, the virgin mother kind.

To show God’s love aright, she bore to men a Savior,

When half spent was the night.

This Flower, whose fragrance tender with sweetness fills the air

Dispels with glorious splendor the darkness everywhere

True man, yet very God, from sin and death He saves us

And lightens every load.

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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 <><

What Child Is This? is proof positive of the old Sunday School joke that the answer to every question is “Jesus.”  It’s the next carol in our Carol Me, Christmas (2014 Advent Devotional Series).  The lyrics are actually select verses from a poem by William Chatterton Dix entitled The Manger Throne written in 1865.

Born in Bristol, England, Dix was given a middle name that was not a family name, but rather from Dix’ father’s biography of the poet Thomas Chatterton, demonstrating that family names may not always be passed on to the next generation, but avocations and passions often do.

Dix worked as a marine insurance company manager but was, in God’s strange providence, afflicted with a severe illness, leaving him bedridden and depressed, but during which he experienced the saving grace of God.  His spiritual rebirth resulted in writing lyrics and poetry to some of the most beloved hymns we know: today’s carol, What Child is This?, Alleluia! Sing to Jesus!, and As with Gladness Men of Old.  His near-death experience had brought him through the depths of depression and What Child is This? is one of the most evangelistic carols of Christmas.  Dix would carry his passion for Christ through the remainder of his life.

What Child is This? may have been written in England, but its popularity in the United States surpasses that of its country of origin.  Perhaps it’s due to the haunting beauty, the soulful sentiment of the tune Greensleeves which was, even at the time, a well-known traditional English folk song.

No one seems to know who associated the lyrics with Greensleeves, but this tune is quite old and this link will take you to an extensive history of the tune with talk of Tudors and disputes dating back to the 1500s regarding ownership rights.

Far more certain than who owned the actual rights to the tune, however, is the carol’s theology.  The lyrics discuss the adoration of the shepherds who visited the Christ Child at the manger, and in true Victorian tradition, it suggests the Wise Men come (although less explicitly) to the manger.

The question and response characterizing this carol’s style is what each of us does when we come to meet Jesus.  The question is:

What Child is this?  (And by association, “Who is Jesus?”)

To this question, each of us individually responds by answering who we believe He is.  Ironically, in most hymnals even, the powerful refrain to the second verse of Dix’ poem has been changed to

This This is Christ the King
Whom shepherds guard and angels sing
Hail, hail the Word made flesh,
The Babe, the Son of Mary.

By doing so, many secular artists embrace this as a less religious song of Christmas and many Christian hymnals strip this carol of its most powerful words, removing the Cross, the nails, and the spear—all of which point to the sacrifice of Christ which made Him our Savior.  Dix’ words made clear that each of us must come to know Jesus, the babe, the Son of Mary as the unique Son of God, as the perfect Sacrifice for sin, born to be our Savior, and born to be Christ our King.

As you listen to this version by the incomparable Norwegian soprano  Sissel Kyrkjebø, ponder the Thought Focus for Today.

Thought Focus for Today:  What Child is This?  Who is He?  Why do we celebrate His birth?

1. What Child is this who, laid to rest

On Mary’s lap is sleeping?

Whom angels greet with anthems sweet,

While shepherds watch are keeping?

This, this is Christ the King,

 Whom shepherds guard and angels sing;

 Haste, haste, to bring Him laud,

 The Babe, the Son of Mary.

2. Why lies He in such mean estate,

Where ox and ass are feeding?

Good Christians, fear, for sinners here

The silent Word is pleading.

Nails, spear shall pierce Him through,

 The cross be borne for me, for you.

 Hail, hail the Word made flesh,

 The Babe, the Son of Mary.

3. So bring Him incense, gold and myrrh,

Come peasant, king to own Him;

The King of Kings salvation brings,

Let loving hearts enthrone Him.

Raise, raise a song on high,

 The virgin sings her lullaby.

 Joy, joy for Christ is born,

 The Babe, the Son of Mary.

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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 <><

I have been wrong a lot in my life.  I had always thought that The First Noel was French because Noël sounded French and had the dieresis above the letter ë like the French sometimes do.  I guess I was naïve.  A lot of carols were French after all, including the Cantique de Noël.  But not The First Noël.

The First Noel is a traditional English carol, of Cornish origin apparently.  It is well known, having been brought again to public attention in Carols Ancient and Modern (1823) by William Sandys whose book offered the first appearance of traditional English carols such as God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen, I Saw Three Ships, and yes, The First Noel during the Victorian revival of the Christmas holiday.

Perhaps this is where the confusion arose.  Many people have thought that The First Noel is much older, even back to the 13^th century.  Why?  Largely due to writers such as Charles Dickens, for whom the revival of Christmas was steeped in a nostalgia of uncertain origin, even from within the mind of the writer himself.  Books like A Christmas Carol (1843), looked back on the past and encouraged child-centric reminiscing in many Christmas traditions.  In such an environment, these hymns developed reputations for being sixteenth century or even earlier as Christmases past were romantically rewritten.

In the minds of writers who wanted the dream-like Christmas of the imaginary childhood, the Christmas narrative of England was in need of fixing.  You see, they were living in the aftermath of the time Christmas had been publically banned.

According to Time-travel Britain here’s reality:

In January 1645 parliament enlisted the help of a group of ministers to create a Directory of Public Worship establishing a new organisation of the church and new forms of worship that were to be adopted and followed in both England and Wales…

As well as disliking the waste and debauchery that went along with the celebration of Christmas, the Puritans viewed the festival (Christ’s mass) as an unwanted remnant of the Roman Catholic Church and, therefore, a tool of encouragement for the dissentient community that remained in both England and Wales. They argued that nowhere in the Bible had God called upon his people to celebrate the nativity in this manner. They proposed a stricter observance of Sundays, the Lord’s Day, along with banning the immoral celebration of Christmas — as well as Easter, Whitsun and saints’ days. Preferring to call the period Christ-tide, and thus removing the Catholic ‘mass’ element, the Puritans reasoned that it should remain only as a day of fasting and prayer.

The Victorian Web goes on to describe how Christmas had become, for a period of time, a non-holiday:

Christmas, with its apparently timeless customs and traditions, often seems to have been around forever. However, as late as the 1820s, the writer Leigh Hunt labeled it an event “scarcely worth mention,” (Qtd in Pimlott, 85), and it was widely believed that the holiday, both in England and throughout Europe and North America, was destined to die out. Banned under Oliver Cromwell, Christmas in England was restored with the monarchy in 1660, where it appears to have flourished as an increasingly less and less religious event. Nonetheless, by the 1800s, it had shrunk almost beyond recognition. In the 1840s, holidays observed by governmental departments had decreased from roughly a week in 1797 to just Christmas day itself (Pimlott, 77). But in a remarkable turn of events, under the Victorians Christmas flourished to an extent unprecedented in earlier centuries. This reemergence during the nineteenth-century gave birth to many of the traditions that are today indistinguishable from the holiday itself. Christmas trees, cards, dinners, presents, and carols are all either products of, or were revived during, the Victorian period.

Christmas, a less and less religious event.  Does that sound like today, or what?

The theology of The First Noel is right out of Scripture and the inclusion of “Born is the King of Israel” and pointing to the Crucifixion are both helpful in filling in the Christmas story.

That said, the timing is inaccurate.  Here we have introduced—taught through song—the notion that the Three Wise Men came to our nativity scenes with gold, frankincense, and myrrh.   In reality, the un-numbered Magi (aka 3 Wise Men) didn’t show up until later…in the unromanticized version we see in the Bible where Jesus is at home already.  Not in the manger.

Matthew 2:1 After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the time of King Herod, Magi from the east came to Jerusalem 2 and asked, “Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews? We saw his star in the east and have come to worship him.” 3 When King Herod heard this he was disturbed, and all Jerusalem with him. 4 When he had called together all the people’s chief priests and teachers of the law, he asked them where the Christ was to be born. 5 “In Bethlehem in Judea,” they replied, “for this is what the prophet has written: 6 “‘But you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are by no means least among the rulers of Judah; for out of you will come a ruler who will be the shepherd of my people Israel.'” 7 Then Herod called the Magi secretly and found out from them the exact time the star had appeared. 8 He sent them to Bethlehem and said, “Go and make a careful search for the child. As soon as you find him, report to me, so that I too may go and worship him.” 9 After they had heard the king, they went on their way, and the star they had seen in the east went ahead of them until it stopped over the place where the child was. 10 When they saw the star, they were overjoyed. 11 On coming to the house, they saw the child with his mother Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped him. Then they opened their treasures and presented him with gifts of gold and of incense and of myrrh. 12 And having been warned in a dream not to go back to Herod, they returned to their country by another route.

The gold, incense, and myrrh would come in very handy to fund the family’s escape to Egypt, demonstrating that where God sends, He also aims to provide.  So the timing on God’s part was perfect.  Sandys’ was a little off.

Furthermore, in the final verses less commonly included in our hymnals we see perpetuated the belief that our good works contribute to our salvation when they do not.  There is also a hint at universal salvation when that doesn’t happen either.  So most hymnals leave that verse out.

Still, the carol is among the best known and favorite hymns of Christmas.  It’s been performed in many different genres from jazz to choral to pop to gospel to classical.  To prove my point, enjoy these versions by

• Victorian carolers at Disney to fill that Victorian caroler idea
• Aretha Franklin from the Christmas Tree Lighting Ceremony  
• Sierra Boggess and Lindsay Mendez singing The First Noel as a medley with Still, Still, Still,
• And finally, Ricky Barbas as a One Man A Cappella 

Thought Focus for Today: How has the true meaning of Christmas disappeared in favor of traditions?  How might we regain the Christmas story from within our traditions?

The first Noel the angel did say

Was to certain poor shepherds in fields as they lay;

In fields where they lay tending their sheep,

On a cold winter’s night that was so deep.

Refrain 

Noel, Noel, Noel, Noel,

Born is the King of Israel.

They lookèd up and saw a star

Shining in the east, beyond them far;

And to the earth it gave great light,

And so it continued both day and night.

Refrain 

And by the light of that same star

Three Wise Men came from country far;

To seek for a King was their intent,

And to follow the star wherever it went.

Refrain 

This star drew nigh to the northwest,

Over Bethlehem it took its rest;

And there it did both stop and stay,

Right over the place where Jesus lay.

 Refrain

 Then did they know assuredly

Within that house the King did lie;

One entered it them for to see,

And found the Babe in poverty.

Refrain

Then entered in those Wise Men three,

Full reverently upon the knee,

And offered there, in His presence,

Their gold and myrrh and frankincense.

Refrain 

Between an ox stall and an ass,

This Child truly there He was;

For want of clothing they did Him lay

All in a manger, among the hay.

Refrain 

Then let us all with one accord

Sing praises to our heavenly Lord;

That hath made Heaven and earth of naught,

And with His blood mankind hath bought.

Refrain 

If we in our time shall do well,

We shall be free from death and hell;

For God hath prepared for us all

A resting place in general.

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 <><

Today in Carol Me, Christmas (2014 Advent Devotional Series) we continue our look at the angels communicating the good news of great joy to the shepherds.  One of the great surprises of the Christmas story is that it was announced to shepherds who were considered the dregs of society.  Seriously, shepherds?  (That might have been the popular reaction at the time.)  You’ve got the birth announcement of royalty—the King of Kings—being announced… to shepherds?  (Insert hysterical laughter here.)

While Shepherds Watched Their Flocks was versified by Irishman Nahum Tate, a hymn writer and Poet Laureate.  Of the many works with which Tate was involved, this time in collaboration with Nicholas Brady, While Shepherds Watched Their Flocks is really the only one to endure and appear in our present-day hymnals at all. Tate, in spite of his continual striving for public favor, ended his years fleeing from his creditors.  Perhaps it’s a good time to revisit our own ideas of what it means to be a success.  For many of us, our legacy won’t be a hymn or carol; it won’t even be money or property of any kind, but rather our legacy will be in the lives we touched with the Gospel message that the angels proclaimed!

Luke 2:8 Now there were in the same country shepherds living out in the fields, keeping watch over their flock by night. 9 And behold, an angel of the Lord stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were greatly afraid. 10 Then the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid, for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy which will be to all people. 11 “For there is born to you this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. 12 “And this will be the sign to you: You will find a Babe wrapped in swaddling cloths, lying in a manger.” 13 And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying: 14 “Glory to God in the highest, And on earth peace, goodwill toward men!”

Do you see how the angels pointed to Jesus?  They succeeded in the most important way possible: showing the Way, the Truth, and the Life even though at the time, He was but a baby in a manger.

In the Church of England at the time of this carol, only the Psalms of David were permitted to be sung.  Therefore, this work was included in a supplement to New Version of the Psalms of David (1696) and became the only Christmas hymn permitted to be sung in addition to the Psalms.  The reason for that is many carols (like some of the French ones we’ve seen) had their roots in folk music.  Therefore, they were considered commoner’s secular music, insufficiently holy to be used in church services.  This persisted until the end of the 18th century as Christianity moved to the wider culture of the unchurched (folk, commoners, seculars and the slave community) in revivals such as those in the Great Awakening.

The carol is most commonly sung to Winchester Old (United Kingdom) and an arrangement of a George F. Handel aria arranged by Lowell Mason (United States).  Two other tunes Martyrdom and Shackelford—both from the 1880s—are less commonly associated with While Shepherds Watched Their Flocks.

Theologically, not surprisingly given the Church of England’s tight control over what was sung at the time, While Shepherds Watched Their Flocks is pretty much straight out of the Gospel of Luke.  As you enjoy this beautiful version on harp ponder our Thought Focus for Today:

Thought Focus for Today: the angels proclaimed a message that they were compelled to share though they had no stake in its blessing.  Yet they rejoice in this Good News and praise God….in the presence of shepherds.  If they had any reservations about sharing the Good News with the lowest of society, they certainly did not show it.  What is known about angels is that the angelic host of God do exactly what God tells them to do!  God says, share the Good News with shepherds.  Boom.  Done. 

How ought we view sharing the Good News, even with those who are from different social circles?

While shepherds watched their flocks by night,

All seated on the ground,

The angel of the Lord came down,

And glory shone around,

And glory shone around.

“Fear not!” said he, for mighty dread

Had seized their troubled mind.

“Glad tidings of great joy I bring

To you and all mankind

To you and all mankind.

“To you, in David’s town, this day

Is born of David’s line

A Savior, who is Christ the Lord,

And this shall be the sign,

And this shall be the sign.

“The heavenly Babe you there shall find

To human view displayed,

All meanly wrapped in swathing bands,

And in a manger laid,

And in a manger laid.”

Thus spake the seraph and forthwith

Appeared a shining throng

Of angels praising God on high,

Who thus addressed their song,

Who thus addressed their song:

“All glory be to God on high,

And to the Earth be peace;

Good will henceforth from Heaven to men

Begin and never cease,

Begin and never cease!”

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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 <><

It Came Upon a Midnight Clear is the next carol in our Carol Me, Christmas (2014 Advent Devotional Series).  This one is a beautiful song of peace written during a time of great strife in the United States.  In 1849, we were seeing great westward expansion as “gold fever” was driving people to rush for their share of riches to be found in American soil.  The Industrial Revolution—a blessing and yet also a distraction away from our ancient faith to self-reliance in a new industrial material world—was consuming America.  We were in the last days of slavery before the Civil War would set the slaves free at the cost of many abolitionists’ lives.  With all these dark events drawing America to division and greed, times not unlike today, Edmund Sears would pen this hymn to peace that we’ve come to associate with Christmas because of the message given by the angels to shepherds in the field.

Luke 2:10 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.”

Theologically, however beautiful this hymn to peace is, It Came Upon a Midnight Clear is incredibly weak in its Scriptural underpinnings.  The focus is on peace, not the Peace-giver.  The focus is on the angels, not on the message they gave of the baby who was the Christ Child and Savior.  Sears’ good news was that the angels sing of peace to a world in distress, but the real Good News is that Jesus Christ was born into the world–a world in distress because of human sin–and yet this world could be reconciled to God because of who this Savior is, fully man and fully God.

In case you might think it’s a minor point, part of the backstory of this hymn is that Edmund Sears was a Unitarian pastor and the Unitarians do not believe in the unique divinity of God’s only Son, Jesus Christ.  If you read his lyrics carefully, you will note that Jesus isn’t mentioned at all.  Peace is exalted.  The Prince of Peace is not.  The “King of heaven” is the Unitarian idea of God the Father, not the orthodox Christian view of God the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

The tune, entitled simply Carol was written by Richard Storrs Willis who was a noted composer and publisher of hymns including his arrangement of Fairest Lord Jesus.

I have included this hymn, not only because it points to the angelic message of our Savior’s birth and telling the Christmas story fully, but because it raises an important point for our faith.  No matter how beautiful is peace, no matter how desirous we are of unity as people, no matter how tired we are from the wrongs of this world, and no matter how we might seek other human ways of solving them, peace is not that simple.  We cannot forget that peace with God came at a much higher cost to release us as slaves to sin than even the Civil War cost to set American slaves free.  Peace with God cost God His Son, our Savior whose shed blood makes our peace possible by bearing the full weight of God’s wrath against sin.  Reconciliation with God is of greater worth than gold…even gold of harps, streets, or gold mined from the ground in gold fever.  And we must always check everything against the Word of God to understand its truth.

For this reason, many variations of this hymn have arisen to change the fourth verse to the much improved:

For lo! the days are hastening on,
By prophet seen of old,
When with the ever circling years
Shall come the time foretold;
When the new heav’n and earth shall own The Prince of Peace their King

And the whole world send back the song Which now the angels sing.

Enjoy this version by Jana Mashonee from her album American Indian Christmas    I cannot understand a word of the Oneida language, but her voice is splendid.  I do not know if she’s singing the lyrics below or with the revision above, but the message proclaimed by the angels as it appears in the NKJ version still rings true:

Luke 2:14 “Glory to God in the highest, And on earth peace, goodwill toward men!”

Thought for Today’s Focus:  Knowing the rest of the story, read Sears’ original lyrics in light of American culture and his Unitarian background.  Revisit the new fourth verse that states Jesus explicitly as the Prince of Peace instead of leaving Him for the hearer to read Him between the lines. 

Remember that Christmas celebrates the birth of our Prince of Peace, our King, Lord Jesus.  His birth as God’s only Son made peace with God–the only true peace–possible.

It came upon the midnight clear,
That glorious song of old,
From angels bending near the earth,
To touch their harps of gold;
“Peace on the earth, good will to men,
From Heaven’s all gracious King.”
The world in solemn stillness lay,
To hear the angels sing.

Still through the cloven skies they come
With peaceful wings unfurled,
And still their heavenly music floats
O’er all the weary world;
Above its sad and lowly plains,
They bend on hovering wing,
And ever over its Babel sounds
The blessèd angels sing.

Yet with the woes of sin and strife
The world has suffered long;
Beneath the angel strain have rolled
Two thousand years of wrong;
And man, at war with man, hears not
The love-song which they bring;
O hush the noise, ye men of strife
And hear the angels sing.

And ye, beneath life’s crushing load,
Whose forms are bending low,
Who toil along the climbing way
With painful steps and slow,
Look now! for glad and golden hours
Come swiftly on the wing.
O rest beside the weary road,
And hear the angels sing!

For lo! the days are hastening on,
By prophet-bards foretold,
When with the ever circling years
Comes round the age of gold;
When peace shall over all the earth
Its ancient splendors fling,
And the whole world send back the song
Which now the angels sing.

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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 <><