Day 39 of 4: "O, Little Town of Bethlehem" (12/15/12)

Day 39 of four more years (originally posted on Facebook on December 15, 2012)

"O, Little Town of Bethlehem" - for the children. Hymn day for the babies, the young ones, our precious children. What would you do for your children? For your grandchildren? Would you write a Christmas carol just for them? That is exactly what happened in 1868 when Phillip Brooks wrote this carol for the children's choir. At the time Reverend Brooks was the pastor of the Holy Trinity Church in Philadelphia. But three years earlier his church funded a trip to the Holy Land for him. There he rode a horse from Jerusalem to Bethlehem, traveling the route taken by Mary and Joseph. That evening he attended a Christmas Eve service at a basilica built over the traditional sight of the nativity. The impression of the tiny town, the twinkling lights in the darkness, and the amazing quiet of the rural setting, led him to write this precious poem, which was later set to music.

The heart of the story, the moving part is the reason Reverend Brooks wrote the hymn. He loved children, and although he was a large, gangly man, he loved to get down on the floor with the young ones of the church and play games with them. The children adored him and his wish was to give them a new, simple carol for Christmas. His thoughts were unselfish and kind. 

You see, I believe you learn a lot about a person's character in how children react to them. My brother is like this.

He is fairly shy and reserved with adults, yet with kids it is totally different. Children are drawn to Mike like bees to honey. I think they sense his kindness and love; he gets down on their level, never imposes himself on them, but plays their games at their leading. It was certainly inherited from our Dad who was like that, too. Daddy and Mike used patience to woo the shy children, too. It really seems to be a rare quality, but children know these people…even babies "get" them. So, back to Phillip Brooks….the reason for the Christmas carol: he desperately wanted the children to have a new Christmas song because he wanted it to be a special gift from him. He wrote the poem, handed it to the part-time organist who wrote the music, telling him to make it a simple melody so the children could learn it quickly. Overnight the music was written and the next morning, the song was quickly taught to the children, and it was performed on Christmas Day.

As I have said in an earlier post, "O Little Town of Bethlehem" is easy to sing but difficult to play. But children don't know that; they know that the vision of a little town in Bethlehem sounds like a beautiful place to go. That it had dark streets which were lit with the everlasting light. The words of the hymn tell of comfort, quiet, and peace. The birth of the God king who became a baby is described here in simplicity and the grand resounding last part, "Come to us, abide with us, Our Lord Emmanuel!"

"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." Matthew 2:5-6 (a prophesy from Micah quoted by the Wise Men to King Herod who wanted to know where the Messiah would be born).

Pray: 

Father may the hopes and fears of all children be met in you today. Please let your light shine on our children, especially as the fears of evil try to assail them. Let all fear be replaced with the everlasting light of you.

Amen