My list of
favourite carols for Christmas is long, and includes the ones that put a lump
in my throat - Silent Night; Joy to the world; and O Come All Ye Faithful,
because when I sing them I am connected to the people I love, some living away,
and some no longer living on earth. Yup, all the sentimental feels.
I also
love, Lo How a Rose E’re Blooming, because it connects me to my German
heritage, and the strength of those family members who endured imprisonment,
those who died fleeing persecution, and those who abandoned their home to make
a new life. In all this, they held fast to their faith that God was with
them. ---- Pr. Pam
*What does
it mean to you ‘to have faith?’
*When you
are afraid, do carols or hymns come to you?
Lo How a
Rose E’re Blooming is a very old carol, considered to be
in use in Luther’s time – sung by both Catholics and Protestants. The tune, known as, Es Ist Ein Ros, was
first published in the Cologne Gesangbuch of 1599. In 1609, German composer, Michael Praetorius
(who grew up in a staunch Lutheran family) harmonized the melody into the hymn
tune we sing today.
*Do you
use your gifts to express in a new/renewed way the Gospel message for people
today?
Praetorius’
harmonization of the tune speaks volumes. The melancholy nature of the tune
reflects a Lutheran understanding of the Theology of the Cross.
The grace
of Christmas, the grace of God, is that God would dare to become human and live
among us; that God became incarnate. The celebration of Christmas is only a
foretaste of what is to come. This carol illustrates that Christmas points us
to Holy Week and Easter. We are reminder of the tension that birth leads to
death, and death to life. Sorrow lies within our rejoicing. It is in
vulnerability and suffering that God chooses to find us; to be God-with-us.
The carol
gives us reason to pause.
God loves
human beings so much, that God would go to great lengths, including death on a
cross to show human beings the depth and abundance of God’s unconditional love.
*What does
God’s love mean to you?
*How does
God’s love make you feel?
*Can you
open your heart to love of this depth? Can you live the abundance of love?
God,
as
the year draws to a close, I pause to reflect on the depth and abundance of
your love. In 2023, deepen my ability to love, and expand the abundance of love
I share. In gratitude to you – LOVE- Amen.
Link
to Resurrection’s 2021 Christmas choir singing Lo How a Rose E’re Blooming
I always wondered why "Lo How a Rose "...was considered a Christmas Carol. It makes me sad...now I understand why.
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