Christmas in July – Part 4
The Star of Bethlehem:
The star of Bethlehem is something that has captivated the imagination of people from the time it first appeared. Over the years the star has been imagined to be a super nova, a comet, a conjunction of the moon and Jupiter around the constellation of Aries, Jupiter and Saturn in the constellation of Pisces, or Jupiter, Venus and the star Regulus in the constellation of Leo.
Whatever the combination may have been, the people of the ancient world studied the stars and the planets to discover possible significant events.
Whatever the real story might be, it was clear that the appearance of what has come to be known as the star of Bethlehem was significant enough to cause the Magi to travel from their country to seek for the one whose birth had been heralded in such an extraordinary way.
Perhaps we today find the fascination that people of that time had with the night sky, the planets and the constellations a bit much but they truly believed that such conjunctions of planets, such changes in the sky were not purely accidental or coincidental. They believed that these were signs from above and it was their belief that they were to be taken seriously.
So let us not forget that through the appearance of the star of Bethlehem, God ensured that not only the people of Israel but indeed all the people of the world would be aware of his coming in the babe born in Bethlehem.
Hymn# 159 – O Come, All ye Faithful
This carol was originally written in Latin by an Englishman named John Francis Wade. Born in 1711 in England, he died in Douay, France in 1786. John was a devout Catholic who left England to escape discrimination. The earliest manuscript for this carol is dated 1743 and it is believed that Wade left shortly after. He taught music at an English college in Douay and hand copied and sold chant music for use in chapels of wealthy families.
Frederick Oakeley was the person who translated this carol into English in the middle part of the 19th century. While he was ordained in the Church of England in 1832, he later resigned over theological differences and ended his days as a Canon in the Roman Catholic Church.
This carol is a glorious celebration of the event in Bethlehem. It is an invitation for all faithful believers to celebrate the wondrous birth. An interesting note is that Jesus is not called the King of Israel but the King of angels. Wade sees Jesus as the greatest of all of God’s messengers. His birth is to be celebrated in song not only by those of us who are here on earth but by all choirs of angels and all the citizens of heaven – those faithful who have departed this life and are now in the eternal care of God.
Hymn# 164 – O Little Town of Bethlehem
Phillips Brooks – the author of this carol was born at Boston in 1835. He was ordained in the Episcopal church in the US in 1859 becoming Bishop of Massachusetts in 1891. He died in 1893 while still in office.
This carol was written from a personal experience. He spent Christmas 1866 in Bethlehem. His reflection on that experience gave us this carol which was first used for his Sunday School in 1868.
For those of us who have never had the experience of being in Bethlehem at any time – let alone Christmas – Brooks seeks to capture what that night must have been like. In a sleepy little town away from the hustle and bustle of Jerusalem, the saviour of the world was born. And while the shepherds received a fanfare with the angel choir, the event itself came quietly in that manger in Bethlehem.
The final verse reminds us that while the event happened so long ago, the holy child of Bethlehem is still with us. Birth is not just physical for Brooks. It is also spiritual and so the prayer is that the child born to save us from our sins and bring us to full and everlasting life with God may be born in us today.
Hymn# 173 – We three Kings
The author of this carol was John Henry Hopkins. He was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania in 1820 – the son of a father from Dublin and a mother from Hamburg. John was talented in music, poetry and art and was responsible for the design of many stained-glass windows, seals, and other church ornaments.
After being employed in several positions, John was ordained a priest in the Episcopal church in 1872. He retired from the priesthood in 1887 and died in 1891.
He was a prolific writer, but this is the only one that seems to have continued to be in active use today.
While the number of wise men has never been firmly established, tradition has held that there were three matching the three gifts. Of course, the number three is significant as it reminds us of the Trinity. It also reminds us that Jesus will be not only King but Priest and Prophet thus being able to give wisdom, grant absolution and defend the people.
The gifts of the wise men are signs of the path that the life of Jesus would take. Gold to recognize his kingship, frankincense to recognize his prophetic wisdom and myrrh to recognize his suffering as the one who will give his life for the sin of the world.
Hymn# 153 – Joy to the World
We close our celebration of Christmas in July with Isaac Watts’ carol – Joy to the World. The tune Antioch that has come to be the traditional tune for this carol was composed by Lowell Mason almost a century after the death of Isaac.
Born in 1674, Isaac was the son of a schoolmaster who was a respected Nonconformist. Isaac inherited his father’s values and was ever vocal in his beliefs.
Ordained in 1702, Isaac served a congregation for 10 years before a fever shattered his constitution. He never fully recovered from it and spent the rest of his life as the guest of friends at their country estates.
Despite these setbacks, he was ever known as a person of learning and piety, gentleness, and largeness of heart.
What a celebratory way to finish our journey through Christmas in July.