6th Day of Christmas: O Little Town of Bethlehem

Perhaps we could say that today's Christmas carol was written by a "one hit wonder." Although Episcopal Bishop Phillips Brooks was a prolific theological writer and great preacher of his day, I found no other record of him writing any other hymn besides "O Little Town of Bethlehem."

The carol was inspired by a trip Brooks took to Bethlehem in 1865. He rode on horseback from Jerusalem to Bethlehem were he attended the Christmas Eve celebration at the Church of the Nativity. It is said that this experience inspired him to write his thoughts down as a poem in 1867. Then a year later, in 1868, he took his poem to his church organist Lewis Redner who wrote the music. The new hymn was then preformed during the Christmas season that year by the children in the church's Sunday school classes.

The hymn itself paints a nice tranquil almost romantic picture of Bethlehem. I don't doubt that in 1865 that is the way Bethlehem appeared to Brooks, but one has to wonder if that was the case when Jesus was born? Did Bethlehem lie still? Or was it more likely that with all the people in town due to the census so that their was no room in the inn that the town had it's own 1st century hustle and bustle?

And I must add that Bethlehem today is anything but still and peaceful. Lying just inside the Palestinian border with Israel today, Bethlehem is often the scene of violent skirmishes. So the next time you sing this Christmas carol, lift up a prayer for the peace of Bethlehem.

(P.S. I read on Monday, December 31, that violence broke out in the Church of the Nativity this year. It was between two rival groups of priests. The church is controlled by several different branches of Christianity, each with its one space that they diligently guard. Apparently, on December 29 the church was being cleaned when an Armenian priest noticed that a Greek Orthodox monk's ladder was "across the line." This resulted in a full fledged fist fight! So another reason to pray for peace in Bethlehem.)

"O Little Town of Bethlehem"

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 tonight.

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.

How silently, how silently,
The wondrous gift is giv'n!
So God imparts to human hearts
The blessings of His heav'n.
No ear may hear His coming,
But in this world of sin,
Where meek souls will receive Him, still
The dear Christ enters in.

O holy Child of Bethlehem!
Descend to us, we pray;
Cast out our sin and enter in,
Be born in us today.
We hear the Christmas angels
The great glad tidings tell;
O come to us, abide with us,
Our Lord Immanuel.

5th Day of Christmas: Sweet Little Jesus Boy

Many people think that today's Christmas song is an African-American spiritual that dates back to the slave fields of the South. Actually, the song was written by Robert McGimsey on Christmas Eve 1932. As an African-American who grew up in the South, he knew well the genre of the spiritual and wrote this song in that style. The fact that so many people think it actually is a slave spiritual shows who effective he was in composing in this style.

According to the December 24, 2001 devotional from Our Daily Bread, McGimsey was walking home to his New York apartment after attending a Christmas Eve service at his church. The service had been an uplifting experience but he noticed that has we walked by several private clubs, he could hear people shouting and swearing. Some were so drunk that they were passed out on the sidewalk in front. This experience made McGimsey wonder if these people were aware of the significance of what took place on that first Christmas day. Did they not know who Jesus was?

The song itself takes the form of an apology to Jesus for us not recognizing the significance of his birth.

"Sweet Little Jesus Boy"

Sweet little Jesus Boy,
they made you be born in a manger.
Sweet little Holy Child,
didn't know who You was.

Didn't know you come to save us, Lord;
to take our sins away.
Our eyes was blind, we couldn't see,
we didn't know who You was.


Long time ago, you was born.
Born in a manger low,
Sweet little Jesus Boy.

The world treat You mean, Lord;
treat me mean, too.
But that's how things is down here,
we didn't know t'was You.

You done showed us how,
we is trying.
Master, You done showed us how,
even when you's dying.

Just seem like we can't do right,
look how we treated You.
But please, sir, forgive us Lord,
we didn't know 'twas You.

Sweet little Jesus Boy,
born long time ago.
Sweet little Holy Child,
and we didn't know who You was....

4th Day of Christmas: Hark! The Herald Angels Sing

Today's Christmas carol is one written by Charles Wesley in 1739. Charles Wesley was the younger brother of John Wesley who is the founder of the Methodist church.

The most interesting thing about this carol is that the words we are so familiar with are not the words that Charles Wesley originally wrote. This hymn has undergone significant changes by at least three other persons. For instance, the first two lines originally were "Hark, how all the welkin rings, 'Glory to the King of kings'."

The other change has occurred in the number of lines per verse. The original hymn only had four lines where the hymn we sing today has eight lines.

Now before I go any further, you are probably asking, "What the heck is a 'welkin'?" Well welkin is the Old English word for the sky or heavens. Now since it originates from the time when people thought the world was flat and the sky was like a bell shape dome that sat over it, there is an old phrase "to make the welkin ring" which means to make such a loud noise that it will case the welkin, the sky dome, to ring like a bell.

So when Charles Wesley wrote "Hark, how all the welkin rings" he was saying listen to how all of heaven is shouting "Glory to the King of kings."

So now maybe your second question is who and why did these lines get changed. The who is easy. George Whitefield changed the first two lines to the familiar, "Hark! The herald angels sing, "Glory to the newborn king." They why is only speculation, but I think it is because no one knew what a welkin was!

The irony is that Whitefield's lyrics are less scriptural than Charles Wesley and have contributed to a modern romantic misconception that angels sang at Jesus' birth. In fact, Luke 2:13-14 clearly says the angles were "praising God saying" and not singing. And also notice that their praises were directed to God in heaven (the King of kings) and not to the newborn Jesus.

There is a goggle amount of good theology in the other verses originally written that I don't have the time to go into right now. But let me conclude by giving you the original words of Charles Wesley.

"Hark, How all the Welkin Rings"

Hark, how all the welkin rings,
"Glory to the King of kings;
peace on earth, and mercy mild,
God and sinners reconciled!"

Joyful, all ye nations, rise,
join the triumph of the skies;
universal nature say,
"Christ the Lord is born today!"

Christ, by highest Heaven adored,
Christ, the everlasting Lord:
late in time behold him come,
offspring of a Virgin's womb!

Veiled in flesh, the Godhead see,
hail the incarnate Deity!
pleased as man with men to appear,
Jesus, our Emmanuel here!

Hail, the heavenly Prince of Peace,
Hail, the Sun of Righteousness!
Light and life to all he brings,
risen with healing in his wings.

Mild he lays his glory by,
born that man no more may die;
born to raise the sons of earth;
born to give them second birth.

Come, Desire of nations, come,
fix in us thy humble home;
rise, the woman's conquering Seed,
bruise in us the serpent's head.

Now display thy saving power,
ruined nature now restore;
now in mystic union join
thine to ours, and ours to thine.

Adam's likeness, Lord, efface,
Stamp thy image in its place.
Second Adam from above,
Reinstate us in thy love.

Let us thee, though lost, regain,
Thee, the life, the inner man:
O, to all thyself impart,
Formed in each believing heart.

3rd Day of Christmas: O Holy Night

"O Holy Night" is perhaps one of the most beloved Christmas songs of our day. It usually is heard as a music special in services of worship. I actually don't think I have ever heard it sung as a congregational hymn. However, it's origins are as a congregational piece.

The carol was written in 1847 by Placid Cappeau. Cappeau was a French wine merchant, but his local parish priest asked him if he could write a Christmas poem. So while traveling to Paris, Cappeau penned the poem "Minuit, chrétiens" or "Cantique de Noël." He then decided that what was needed was not a poem, but a song. So he took his words to his friend, the accomplished comic opera, vaudeville, and ballet composer Adolphe Charles Adam. The song was performed just three weeks later at the Midnight Christmas Eve mass.

At first the carol was wholehardtely accepted by French Catholics finding it's way into many Christmas Eve masses. But when it was discovered that Cappeau had become an aethiest and part of the French socialist movement later in life and that Adam's other compostitions were considered inappropriate for someone who also wrote Chruch music, "O Holy Night" fell out of favor. In fact, one French bishop denounced the song for its "lack of musical taste and total absence of the spirit of religion."

The resurgence of the carol came about becuase of American music critic John Sullivan Dwight. In 1855 he translated the French words into English. Dwight losely translated the words allowing for his own abolitionist views to come through especially in these words from the third verse: "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."

The song continued to gain in popularity in America especially in the North during the Civil War. The song eventually regained its position in France and has now been translated into many different languages around the world.

The most interesting piece of trivia to me about the carol occured on Christmas Eve 1906. This is when Reginald Fessenden demonstrated how voice and music could be transmitted over the radio but reading the Christmas story in Luke 2 and then playing "O Holy Night" on his violin. Thus the carol is considered to be the first piece of music to be broadcasted on radio.

"O Holy Night"

Oh 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,
Till 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! Oh, hear the angels' voices!
Oh night divine, Oh night when Christ was born;
Oh night divine, Oh night, Oh 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, to our weakness is no stranger,
Behold your King! Before Him lowly bend!
Behold your King, Behold your King.

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.

2nd Day of Christmas: Good King Wenceslas

In the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand, today is an official holiday known as Boxing Day. In Ireland, today is called the Feast of St. Stephen in honor of the first martyr in the Book of Acts. What ever name you give to today, a traditional celebration includes giving out gifts to your employees (the origin of Christmas bonuses) or to the poor.

The Christmas carol "Good King Wenceslas" is unique in that it does not mention the nativity or Jesus in any way. So why is it a Christmas carol? Because the story it tells occurs on the second day of Christmas - the Feast of St. Stephen.

It may surprise you to learn that Wenceslas is a real person. He was the Duke of Bohemia from 925 AD until his martyrdom in 935. At the age of 13, his father Ratislav died and his mother Drahomira became regent. Although she had been baptised as a Christian to marry Ratislav, she tried to bring Bohemia back into paganism and began a persecution of Christians.

At 18, Wenceslas overthrew his mother and stopped the persecution of priests. Although history considers him a stern but fair monarch, many in the nobility were not happy with his reforms and his support of the Christian faith. So in 935 AD Boleslav, Wenceslas' own brother, had him assassinated as Wenceslas was traveling to attend mass.

Today, Wenceslas is remembered as the patron saint of the Czech People and his feast day of September 28 is also celebrated as a national holiday in Czech Republic.

The carol was written by John Mason Neale in 1853. The music however originates 300 years earlier from Finland. Neale wrote the carol to encourage the generous giving to the poor. He choose Wenceslas as the subject of his carol because of the tradition of Wenceslas' kindness and generosity to the poor.

The carol itself is about Wenceslas and his page going to rescue a poor peasant who is gathering firewood (perhaps to sell) on a very cold winter night.

My favorite verses are the last two. In verse 4 the page cries out to the king that he can go on no longer in the snow. To which Wenceslas replies, “Mark my footsteps, my good page, tread now in them boldly, You shall find the winter’s rage freeze your blood less coldly." So the page begins to step in his masters footsteps and their he finds the warmth and the strength he needs to continue on.

It reminds me that traveling through life always is easier when I walk in the footsteps of my master.

"Good King Wenceslas"

Good King Wenceslas looked out on the Feast of Stephen,
When the snow lay round about, deep and crisp and even.
Brightly shone the moon that night, though the frost was cruel,
When a poor man came in sight, gathering winter fuel.

“Hither, page, and stand by me, if you know it, telling,
Yonder peasant, who is he? Where and what his dwelling?”
“Sire, he lives a good league hence, underneath the mountain,
Right against the forest fence, by Saint Agnes’ fountain.”

“Bring me food and bring me wine, bring me pine logs hither,
You and I will see him dine, when we bear them thither.”
Page and monarch, forth they went, forth they went together,
Through the cold wind’s wild lament and the bitter weather.

“Sire, the night is darker now, and the wind blows stronger,
Fails my heart, I know not how; I can go no longer.”
“Mark my footsteps, my good page, tread now in them boldly,
You shall find the winter’s rage freeze your blood less coldly.”

In his master’s steps he trod, where the snow lay dented;
Heat was in the very sod which the saint had printed.
Therefore, Christian men, be sure, wealth or rank possessing,
You who now will bless the poor shall yourselves find blessing.

Christmas Day: Joy to the World

So I got this idea that for the twelve days of Christmas I would try and discipline myself to write a post each day. So for this first post on Christmas Day I thought I would talk about the hymn "Joy to the World."

There are some hymns that have to be sung every Christmas and Issac Watts' hymn "Joy to the World" is one of them.

An interesting story that I have heard about Issac Watts is that as a teenager he complained to his father about the songs that were sung in church. It was common at this time for English protestants to sing only the psalms in worship. The young Watts felt that the type of music being used and the over all tone of the service led to a dull and sterile experience. He father challenged him to write his own hymns if he didn't like the ones they had. The eventual result of this challenge is that Issac Watts has been given the title "Father of English hymnody." He would eventually write well over 500 hymns.

Some of the other hymns that he wrote and that we still sing today include "O God Our Help in Ages Past," "When I Survey the Wondrous Cross," Come Ye that Love the Lord," and one of my all time favorites "Alas! And Did My Savior Bleed!"

Now not everyone liked the hymns he wrote. According to one source, there were those who cried out that his hymns were "too worldly" for the church. Some of his critics complained that the church was substituting scripture for the fanciful whims of Issac Watts. This led to some congregations splitting and pastors being fired. So I guess the worship wars over traditional and contemporary music are at least 250 years old by now!

"Joy to the World" appeared in 1719 work "The Psalms of David, Imitated." Watts used Psalm 98 as his inspirtation. You can diffently see were the Psalm and the hymn focus on the joy that the Lord brings through deliverance and salvation.

"Joy to the World"

Joy to the world! the Lord is come;

Let earth receive her King;

Let every heart prepare him room,

And heaven and nature sing,

And heaven and nature sing,

And heaven, and heaven, and nature sing.

Joy to the world! the Saviour reigns;

Let men their songs employ;

While fields and floods, rocks, hills, and plains

Repeat the sounding joy,

Repeat the sounding joy,

Repeat, repeat the sounding joy.

No more let sins 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.

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.

Darkness and Light

The people walking in darkness

have seen a great light;
on those living in the land of the shadow of death
a light has dawned.

Isaiah 9:2

A week ago today I was sitting in the dark quite literally. We lost electrical power as an ice storm covered Northeast Oklahoma. By Tuesday last week, nearly 500,000 households were without power across the state. They are calling it the biggest power outage in Oklahoma history.

Being without electricity to light or heat my house for over four days has given me the opportunity to more deeply reflect on the above words from Isaiah.

The first thing I realized was that I had only thought I had known what darkness was until this past week. The fact is that many of us have never really experienced true darkness. Sure we go outside at night, but with the street lights and lighted business signs there is so much "light pollution" in our towns and cities that we have trouble seeing even three stars in the sky at night. Well last Monday night, after going out to eat at a local Chic-Fil-A that was lucky enough to still have power, my wife and I were coming down what is usually a busy four lane road. We were the only car on it, and although we knew we were in the middle of our city, it felt like we were in the middle of now where. And as we came to stop at an intersection, my wife asked "where are we?"

The answer - we were less than a 1/2 mile from our home. But with no traffic signal light, street lights, or retail business lights, the intersection was unrecognizable. I told my wife that there should be a gas station on this corner and over there across the street should be our favorite ice cream store. And yet it was too dark to see either business and so we felt lost even at one of the most familiar of all places to us.

Things only got worst when we made it to our house. We entered without any flashlights. So we began stumbling around the furniture in the living room hoping to run our hand across one of the three we had left somewhere in the room. Only then could we find the matches to light the candles so that light could shine once again in the darkness and bring some degree of comfort to us. (By the way, after this experience, we always took flashlights with us when we left the house.)

Of course Isaiah had no idea about light bulbs and electricity. He did know about darkness. He knew all too well the disorienting effects of darkness when trying to walk on a cloud covered moonless night. He also knew the comfort that even the smallest of lights could bring as it shown brightly in the darkness.

So is it any wonder that he chose to use the images of darkness and light to write this message of hope to the people of God. Isaiah wrote these words during the time of King Ahaz of Judah. It was a time of spiritual and political darkness in the land of Judah.

Spiritually Ahaz was one of the detestable kings of Judah turning away from the worship of the LORD and adopting pagan practices which included the sacrificing of at least one of his own sons..

Politically Judah was in a war with the northern kingdom of Israel (also called Ephraim) and Israel's strong ally Syria (Aram). The war wasn't going well for Judah. Isaiah tries to tell King Ahaz to not be afraid and to trust in the LORD. Rather than listen to Isaiah, King Ahaz allies himself with Assyria, a growing power to the northeast of Syria. The immediate result of this alliance is that Assyria defeats Syria and Israel. The long term effect is that Judah has now become a vassal state and when they no longer want to pay their yearly tribute to Assyria during the reign of King Ahaz's son Hezekiah, Assyria attacks and conquers all the fortified cities of Judah. (You can read King Ahaz's story in 2 Kings 16, 2 Chronicles 28, and Isaiah 7:1-8:4.)

It was in the midst of these dark times that Isaiah says that a great light has dawned for the people walking and living in the shadow of the valley of death.

What was the light that Isaiah saw? It was a child - more specifically a son. (Isaiah 9:6) But who is the child that Isaiah refers too? Some argue that it was Hezekiah Ahaz's son. Hezekiah did reopen the temple and knocked down the idols that his father had built and is considered a good king.

But others say no it was Josiah, Ahaz's grandson. Because under Josiah, the temple is cleaned up and remodeled. During this process a book of the law is found. When Josiah hears it read, he immediately calls for a national repentance and orders that Passover once again be observed.
But perhaps both arguments are wrong. Look at the titles that Isaiah gives to this child: Wonderful Counselor, Prince of Peace, Almighty God, Everlasting Father.

Now maybe one could argue giving the title of Wonderful Counselor and Prince of Peace to Hezekiah or Josiah. But would Isaiah call either of them Almighty God or Everlasting Father? I doubt it. It's as if Isaiah is writing beyond himself. He is writing about something that he himself cannot imagine or even fully understand.

It was the early church who first saw that the child born to bring a great light to the people walking in darkness was born not to Ahaz or Hezekiah in Jerusalem, but to Mary and Joseph in a stable in Bethlehem.

The second thing I learned from my ice storm experience is the great joy that occurs when light does return to your home. When the lights came back on in my house, I couldn't help but call my parents and some of my friends and share with them the good news. After 4 1/2 days of no lights, I really wanted to do the happy dance right there in my living room.

This makes me think how much more is the good news that the light of the world has stepped into the darkness of my heart. And how much more should I be willing to share that good news with people who are walking in the land of darkness.