Lessons From CarolsSample

Phillip Brooks pastored Holy Trinity Church in Philadelphia through the Civil War and gave the funeral message at President Abraham Lincoln’s funeral in 1865. Burned out and exhausted from the war and its aftermath, Brooks took a sabbatical and traveled to the Holy Land. On Christmas Eve, he worshiped at the Church of the Nativity, located in Bethlehem. The church rang with songs of praise late into the night. The experience refreshed Brooks, and upon his return home, he sought a way to convey those unforgettable moments to his congregation. Several years later, he turned those thoughts into the lyrics for “O Little Town of Bethlehem.”

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 tonight.

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 today.

We hear the Christmas angels, the great glad tidings tell;

O come to us, abide with us, our Lord Emmanuel!

The carol’s lyrics do not seek to retell the Christmas story as found in Luke 2. Instead, they are a verbal snapshot of Bethlehem that first Christmas morning. The town was deep in sleep underneath the silent stars. And yet, in a manger within the city, shone a light brighter than the stars: the everlasting Light. And in the key line of the carol, in that everlasting Light, the “hopes and fears of all the years are met in Thee tonight.” Sin, suffering, and death had a grip on the world, but now, One had come who would break that grip and provide God’s people with hope. This concept is based on Revelation 21:4, “He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.” The birth of Jesus was the beginning of the process of the removal of mourning, crying, and pain!

The lyrics in the second stanza refer to two distinct heavenly bodies: the angels, who are keeping their watch over Mary’s newborn child, and the morning stars, who proclaim Christ’s birth and praise God, the King, who will bring peace to mankind.

The third stanza speaks of the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. Unlike the arrival of Christ, which angels heralded, the Holy Spirit is silently imparted into human hearts. There is indeed “joy before the angels of God over one sinner who repents.”God has given these blessings to each person who has received the wondrous gift of the Holy Spirit. Psalm 8:4 says, “What is man that you are mindful of him, and the son of man that you care for him?” The universe is infinite in size; in comparison, man is only a speck on a tiny planet. But none of that matters to God. He made us, loves us, and is mindful of us.

The fourth stanza reiterates the theme of the third stanza by asking Jesus to cast out the sin in our hearts and enter in. That way, we, like the Christmas angels, will be able to spread the good news (glad tidings) about Emmanuel – God with us. This carol is a reminder of the peace and light brought into the world by the birth of our Savior, a message that transcends the depths of suffering wrought by war. Its message is as needed now as it was then. Let us go forth and share those glad tidings with a hurting world.