Merry Christmas 2014

Here are a few of my favourite Christmas carols. May your Christmas day and season be blessed.

Sussex Carol

On Christmas night all Christians sing
To hear the news the angels bring
On Christmas night all Christians sing
To hear the news the angels bring

News of great joy, news of great mirth
News of our merciful King's birth

Then why should men on earth be so sad
Since our Redeemer made us glad
Then why should men on earth be so sad
Since our Redeemer made us glad

When from our sin He set us free
All for to gain our liberty

When sin departs before His grace

Then life and health come in its place
When sin departs before His grace
Then life and health come in its place

Angels and men with joy may sing
All for to see the newborn King

All out of darkness we have light
Which made the angels sing this night
All out of darkness we have light
Which made the angels sing this night

Glory to God and peace to men
Now and forever more, amen

Songwriters
English Traditional

Good King Wenceslas

I found the anime in this video quite charming.

Good King Wenceslas looked out
on the feast of Stephen,
when the snow lay round about,
deep and crisp and even.
Brightly shown 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 thou 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 flesh, and bring me wine.
Bring me pine logs hither.
Thou and I will see him dine
when we bear them thither.
Page and monarch, forth they went,
forth they went together
through the rude 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 thou in them boldly:
Thou shalt find the winter's rage
freeze thy blood less coldly.

In his master's step 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,
ye who now will bless the poor
shall yourselves find blessing

Love Came Down at Christmas

Love came down at Christmas
Love all lovely, love divine
Love was born at Christmas
Star and angels gave the sign.

Worship we the Godhead
Love incarnate, love divine
Worship we our Jesus
But wherewith for sacred sign?

Love shall be our token
Love shall be yours and love be mine
Love to God and to all men
Love for plea and gift and sign...

Christmas, Pentecost, And The Goo Goo Dolls

 I was listening to Better Days, by the Goo Goo Dolls yesterday, and thinking through the lyrics. It is a thoughtful song for Christmas and better than many that are popular these days. At first I thought the lines,

And one poor child who saved the world
And there's 10 million more who probably could
If we all just stopped and said a prayer for them.

were just a bit off. Of course the one child is unique, the only begotten Son of God, there couldn't be even one more. The further I thought of this though, the more the significance of Pentecost took hold and what it means for us individually and for the world. At Pentecost, the Holy Spirit transformed those who were once enemies of the Father into his sons and daughters, and he continues to this day.  Yes, that's the born again part, but it means so much more than receiving personal salvation. It means we participate in our Father's life and work. What is more, as we practice kenosis, the emptying of ourselves, the more Jesus' spirit fills us, theosis, and we in essence become little Christs. This is the Kingdom of Heaven, and because of this, more than millions participate in the saving of the world.

What better prayer could we pray this Pentecost, than that each child born will play a part in saving the world, for those who become fellow heirs with Christ, sons and daughters of the Most High, that is our mission.

Better Days

And you ask me what I want this year
And I try to make this kind and clear
Just a chance that maybe we'll find better days
Cause I don't need boxes wrapped in strings
And designer love and empty things
Just a chance that maybe we'll find better days

So take these words
And sing out loud
Cause everyone is forgiven now
Cause tonight's the night the world begins again

I need someplace simple where we could live
And something only you can give
And thats faith and trust and peace while we're alive
And the one poor child who saved this world
And there's 10 million more who probably could
If we all just stopped and said a prayer for them

So take these words
And sing out loud
Cause everyone is forgiven now
Cause tonight's the night the world begins again

I wish everyone was loved tonight
And somehow stop this endless fight
Just a chance that maybe we'll find better days

So take these words
And sing out loud
Cause everyone is forgiven now
Cause tonight's the night the world begins again
Cause tonight's the night the world begins again

Merry Christmas!

One of the things that this past season of Advent has pressed upon me is that I do not look enough to Jesus. What I forget is that everything points to him. I don't mean I literally forget, but I get distracted, and oftentimes what or whom is directing my attention to Christ ends up the receiver of my focus. When I read of Adam and Eve, of Abraham, Sarah and Isaac, of Moses and the law, of Deborah and the other Judges, David and the Kingdom of Israel, the Prophets, Luke's Gospel, Paul's letters, they all point to Jesus. Jesus said, "If you've seen me you've seen the Father.", yet I tend to focus everywhere else, even on things which are good, such as family, doctrine, health, service, etc.

I need to remember that Jesus is the source of all that is good and just and loving and life. What better time to than Christmas, when so much of the world is pointing, to really look, not at who is pointing, (or not pointing for that matter), but to whom they point. 

Everything begins and ends in Jesus. Amen.

"Of the Father's Love Begotten"

by Aurelius C. Prudentius, 413, cento

Translated by John. M. Neale, 1818-1866

and Henry W. Baker, 1821-1977

1. Of the Father's love begotten

Ere the worlds began to be,

He is Alpha and Omega,

He the Source, the Ending He,

Of the things that are, that have been,

And that future years shall see

Evermore and evermore.

2. Oh, that birth forever blessed

When the Virgin, full of grace,

By the Holy Ghost conceiving,

Bare the Savior of our race,

And the Babe, the world's Redeemer,

First revealed His sacred face

Evermore and evermore.

3. O ye heights of heaven, adore Him;

Angel hosts, His praises sing;

Powers, dominions, bow before Him

And extol our God and King.

Let no tongue on earth be silent,

Every voice in concert ring

Evermore and evermore.

4. This is He whom Heaven-taught singers

Sang of old with one accord;

Whom the Scriptures of the prophets

Promised in their faithful word.

Now He shines, the Long-expected;

Let creation praise its Lord

Evermore and evermore.

5. Christ, to Thee, with God the Father,

And, O Holy Ghost, to Thee

Hymn and chant and high thanksgiving

And unending praises be,

Honor, glory, and dominion,

And eternal victory

Evermore and evermore.

The Snowman

I suppose many things triggered my recalling this lovely little film:  the recent snowfall, the advent of Christmas and a discussion with my daughter, Olivia, about the Aurora Borealis.

It was adapted from a picture book by Raymond Briggs in 1982.  The illustrations are simple and beautiful, as is the music.  There is no dialog, only a few words spoken at the beginning as a way of introduction.  Music and action tell the bittersweet story;  a story of joy, wonder and loss.

Here is a scene which includes the only song in the score.  Be sure to enlarge it to full screen.


A thank you to my friend Maggie, who introduced me to this film many years ago.

Christmas Books

Every Advent, I gather all our Christmas books and place them in a large basket in the living room.  For quiet afternoons or evenings, it is nice to not have to go searching for that "certain" Christmas book that seems to make this holiday more complete.  Through the years, I've collected various ones, from craft idea books to children's and short stories, to novels.  I thought I'd share some of our family's collection.  There may be some you would like to share and I invite you to in the comments.

I'll begin with books geared toward children, with the reminder of what C.S. Lewis said about children's books.

A children's story that can only be enjoyed by children is not a good children's story in the slightest.

The first was like finding a treasure.  It is a collection of stories Tolkien wrote for his children as Father Christmas over many years, complete with his illustrations.  It is

Letters From Father Christmas

I have a hardback version from 1995, which presents his letters individually to be removed from envelops pasted in the book, very much like the Jolly Postman books.  Like I said, a real treasure.

Speaking of the Jolly Postman, there is

The Jolly Christmas Postman

 This book is great fun and quite clever as it incorporates characters from beloved fairy tales.

Another children's book which is short but quite sweet is

Santa's Favorite Story

 For an older child, there is

Emma's Christmas Wish

Of course we had to have this!  In fact, I believe we were given two when our eldest daughter, Emma, was still quite young.

This is a good one with a bit of tension.

The Story of Holly and Ivy

A couple of older ones that are quite enjoyable are

The Birds' Christmas Carol

and

Turkey for Christmas

There are the short stories of George MacDonald

The Christmas Stories of George MacDonald

And Celtic short stories

A Celtic ChristmasA Celtic Christmas: Classic Tales from the Emerald Isle

Of course there's Dickens with

A Christmas Carol

and the sweet

Cricket on the Hearth

Here's one about getting the great Saint Nicholas right.

The True Saint Nicholas

 There are of course picture books which tell of the whole reason for Christmas.

The Story of Christmas

 and

The Story of Christmas

 Of course, I would highly recommend reading about the Nativity right out of the Gospel of Luke.

Advent is a time to prepare for the coming of Christ and it is appropriate that we think of these things when we recall and celebrate his incarnation.  One of the ways to do this is to prepare and light an Advent wreath.  A very helpful book to use  in this preparation is

We Light the Candles

 Well, though not a complete list of our Christmas books, this is a start.  There's one that is on my list which I have not purchased yet, but perhaps will soon.
It is

The Glorious Impossible

 It is indeed the time to reflect upon and celebrate the Glorious Impossible!

On The Last Day Of Christmas My True Love Gave To Me.....

No, it isn't twelve lords a'leaping. It is the man of sorrows.

Here is Jesus, true God from true God, who tells us to take up our cross and follow him, that to gain our life we must lose it, that those who mourn are blessed because they will be comforted. This all just seems like theory until that cross becomes heavier than we can imagine, that the life we thought we were living gets turned upside down, that the comfort in grief is delayed and all we can do is hang on to the promise.

In all the messiness and sin and sorrow of this life, God didn't just wipe the slate clean. He didn't make us all automatons. He became one of us, to live, to suffer, to die and to rise again raising all of life and creation with him. It seems absurd, too much even, but that is love, isn't it? Love is absurd, self giving, lowering oneself to raise the other up, causing suffering to now have meaning, even becoming redemptive.

This is the mystery of the incarnation...the mystery of Christmas.

An Ambivalent Christmas

Though I love Christmas, it always holds a bit of ambivalence for me. Jesus is born and worshiped, yet the prophecies even before his birth tell of wretched, horrible things to come, that he will be a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief.

This Christmas the ambivalence is even greater. I am to be celebrating the Christ child while still mourning the death of my own. I'm afraid there isn't much room in my heart for the celebrating this year. My Christmas wish list changed from nursing dresses and diaper covers to that new book by Scot McKnight and maybe some paint for the bathroom. This just isn't how it was supposed to be, and yet, it is.

So here we are at Christmas, twelve days of it in fact. A child is born to die so that others might live, even those who who never had to chance to take a breath. It is deserving of both joy and sorrow. I wonder if these paradoxes are obvious those in the heavenlies, or only to those of us on this side of the veil.

Our Dear Santa

We've been visiting this Santa for eleven years, since Emma was two. He's become a dear old friend who always remembers the girls.




Gotta love a Santa that explains to the children that it takes becoming a Saint and going to Heaven to have the power to deliver all those gifts to all the children. How different our Christmases would be without Saint Nicholas!

A Blessed, Merry Christmas to You All

Our Real Santa

We have been going to see Santa Claus at the History Museum since Emma was just two years old, and we haven't missed a year since. It's like seeing an old friend once again, and it's especially nice because he remembers us. If you have a chance to go, do. This isn't your typical mall Santa. This Santa, aka Tom, sings songs, tells stories, reminds the children to use their manners, and makes it clear that Christmas is about giving and love. My girls both say that he's the real Santa.

Here are our pics from a few days ago.





Shout out to Sid, who took the girl's pictures when my camera wouldn't work. Thanks!

Gaudete Sunday

I'm a few hours late, but hope you will still enjoy.

Gaudete, gaudete
Christus est natus
Ex Maria virginae, gaudete.
Tempus ad est gratiae hoc quod optabamus
Carmina laetitiae devote redamus.
Deus homo factus est natarum erante,
Mundus renovatus est a Christo regnante.
Ezecheelis porta clausa per transitor
Unde lux est orta sallus invenitor.
Ergo nostra contio psallat jam in lustro,
Benedict domino sallus regi nostro.

Translation:

Rejoice, rejoice! Christ is born.
Of the Virgin Mary, Rejoice!
It is now the time of grace that we have desired;
Let us devoutly return songs of rejoicing.
God has become man, and nature marvels;
The world has been renewed by Christ who is King.
The closed gate of Ezechiel has been passed through;
Salvation is found there whence the light rises.
Therefore let our assembly now sing a hymn of purification;
Let it give praise to the Lord: Greetings to our King.

St. Nicholas

Here is a great blog post by Fred Sanders at The Scriptorium Daily from last December. I remember it so fondly, I had to look it up again this year. Here is one small part:

Back at Nicaea (to the tune of “Up on the Housetop”)

Back at Nicaea, Three-Two-Five
When St. Nick was still alive
He was a bishop wise and gracious
Hanging out with Athanasius
Ho, Ho, Ho! You oughta know
Ho, Ho, Ho! You oughta know, oh
Santa was not on the roof, roof, roof,
He was defending the gospel truth.

He came to stop a renegade
Preacher who taught the Son was made;
Nick knew that it would be quite odd
If the redeemer were less than God.
Ho, Ho, Ho-Mo-Ousios!
Hey Arius, Don’t you confuse us,
Santa was there with verve and moxie,
Taking good care of orthodoxy.

Arian doctrine was so bad
It made poor old Santa mad
Laying a finger aside his nose,
Up from his seat bishop Claus arose.
“Ho, Ho, Ho, sub-ordination?
Ho, Ho, Ho, there goes salvation.”
Then with some mighty pop, pop, pops,
Saint Nick was busting the bad guy’s chops.