Carol Contemplation: O Little Town of Bethlehem

O Little Town of Bethlehem"

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 to-night.

O morning stars, together
Proclaim the holy birth!
And praises sing to God the King,
And peace to men on earth.
For Christ is born of Mary,
And gathered all above,
While mortals sleep, the angels keep
Their watch of wondering love.

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.

Where children pure and happy
Pray to the blessed Child,
Where misery cries out to thee,
Son of the mother mild;
Where charity stands watching
And faith holds wide the door,
The dark night wakes, the glory breaks,
And Christmas comes once more.

O holy Child of Bethlehem!
Descend to us, we pray;
Cast out our sin and enter in,
Be born in us to-day.
We hear the Christmas angels
The great glad tidings tell;
O come to us, abide with us,
Our Lord Emmanuel!

Phillips Brooks (music by Lewis Redner) — 1868

I had the worst time choosing a carol this morning, but since we're singing this on Sunday, I figured today was a good day! What beautiful words! The images are breathtaking and evocative: morning starts proclaiming His birth, the angels keeping watch of "wondering love", the dark night waking, glory breaking, deep and dreamless sleep. How silently! How silently the wondrous gift is given. This song is surrounded by deep silence. The sleep is quiet and dreamless, the streets are dark, the night is silent, and no ear may hear his coming. I love the sense of wonder and mystery that Mr. Brooks preserves in his retelling of the Incarnation. There is also a sense of hushed waiting, of heaven holding its breath to watch the amazing events in Bethlehem unfold. I love, love, love the last verse. I get het up when I hear all the smarm about "christmas in your heart" and the "christmas spirit" and all that about Christmas being about being with family and feeling neighborly and blah blah blah. It's like people will say anything to make Christmas be about anything but the birth of Christ! But that last verse is about the true Christmas in your hear. Be born in us today. As Linus would say, "And that's what Christmas is really about, Charlie Brown."

Edited to add: Fernando Ortega has a beautiful new Christmas album out this year, and he does a lovely version of this song. Find it here