As I sit by the hearth of a warm fire at present, there is bleak and cold
weather without. In writing about this beautiful carol by Christina Georgina
Rosetti, I am musing about the time of Christmas and how the day itself
approaches the longest and darkest night in our calendar. The glow of embers in
the fire makes a warmth and soft golden glow on all around the room in which I
sit year. It is a feeling of peace and comfort. But I could not appreciate this
warm fire without realizing that bleak winter without the walls of my home. The
book of the prophet, Malachi (the last utterance of the Old Testament), was
completed four hundred years before the Coming of Christ. Utter spiritual
darkness reigned for those four hundred years as men waited for some word of
Hope from Heaven – but none came until that fateful night in a little village
called Bethlehem. Miss Rosetti penned these words in the bleak of winter of
1872 – more than 140 years ago. I am sure she must have had a warm fire before
her when she wrote so beautifully this illustrative poem of Christmas – one of
hundreds of her prolific spiritual poems and writings. The tune, CRANHAM,
was composed by Gustav Theodore Holst in 1906.
In
the Bleak Midwinter
In the bleak midwinter,
frosty wind made moan,
earth stood hard as iron,
water like a stone;
snow had fallen, snow on snow,
snow on snow,
in the bleak midwinter,
long ago.
Our God, heaven cannot hold him
nor earth sustain;
heaven and earth shall flee away
when he comes to reign:
in the bleak midwinter
a stable place sufficed
the Lord God incarnate,
Jesus Christ.
Angels and archangels
may have gathered there
cherubim and seraphim
thronged the air;
but his mother only,
in her maiden bliss,
worshiped the beloved
with a kiss.
What can I give him,
poor as I am?
If I were a shepherd,
I would bring a lamb;
if I were a wise man,
I would do my part;
yet what I can I give him
give my heart.
“In
the bleak midwinter, frosty wind made moan, earth stood hard as iron, water
like a stone; snow had fallen, snow on snow, snow on snow, in the bleak
midwinter, long ago.” This stanza reminds me of those warmest
feelings that come on winter nights – warmer than would be possible in the heat
of summer. In the winter of 1957, there was a very hard freeze and snow that
came to our little mountain community. My father was at his office and had been
unable to call due to power and telephone lines being downed by ice. So my
mother sent me the short distance (five miles) to my father’s office to see if
he was alright. It was bitterly cold, and I walked through snow that was
phenomenally deep for our region. I met my father, also walking toward me about
halfway to our home. The roads were closed and he was coming home. When we
arrived at home, it was around 9 PM. My mom had a big fire going in the
fireplace, and we sat before it drinking hot chocolate and eating hot snacks.
What a precious winter memory! Had the weather been mild, there would be no
such memory. Had there not been four hundred years of silence between the last
word of the Old Testament (Malachi) and the Angel chorus on the hills
overlooking Bethlehem proclaiming Messiah’s birth, the joy would have been less
compelling. Only when we have experienced utter darkness can we better
appreciate the beauty of Light. Only when we have endured abject silence can we
better appreciate the sound of an infant’s cry.
It
is the contrasts of reality that makes beauty of things that might otherwise go
unappreciated. The frosty wind moaned as gales blew across the hill country.
The earth, frozen, became like iron; and the frozen waters became as stone. The
One who made that Wind, that Earth, and provided that Water was being quietly
born away from the Madding Crowds in Jerusalem, or Rome, that midwinter
night. There is a bit of natural science associated with the nature the Lord
gave that water we sing about. Every element and compound known to man
contracts as it cools to lower temperatures – including water. All continue to
contract as the temperature drops below freezing – but NOT water! Water
contracts until it reaches + 4ﹾ
C at which time, surprisingly, it begins to expand. This expansion makes it
lighter than its equivalent volume of water and, therefore, gives it the
property to float on rivers and lakes. If God did not design that property into
water, rivers and lakes would freeze from the bottom up killing all life
dwelling in those waters.
“Our
God, heaven cannot hold him nor earth sustain; heaven and earth shall flee away
when he comes to reign: in the bleak midwinter a stable place sufficed the Lord
God incarnate, Jesus Christ.” Please take note of the particular
humility of Christ in deigning to come to us, His miscreant creatures, in a way
that was low and lowly – even more so than His own people. No, Heaven and Earth
cannot contain the Lord for He is Creator of both. The world itself is dark and
bleak. All darkness flees away before the tiniest light; but what shall that
melting away be like when the Sun of Righteousness bursts forth in all His
brilliance? The Lord Jesus Christ does not value a man or woman for the style
of dress, costly jewels, stately homes, or important political connections. He
cares not our race, our wealth, or our physical appearance. He is far too good
to consider these things important. He looks beyond the outward rags to the
HEART – to that manger which holds our soul. That heart may be a palace, or a
stable, but it is not the external that is important to Christ – it is the
Heart inside that is the essence of who we are in Christ.
“Angels
and archangels may have gathered there cherubim and seraphim thronged the air;
but his mother only, in her maiden bliss, worshiped the beloved with a kiss.” Though kings, potentates and
wealthy men slept during the birth of Christ, there were simple shepherds “keeping
watch over their flocks by night” on those same hills overlooking Bethlehem
– those same pastures where the shepherd David kept his father’s flocks. These
were awake and not sleeping. So the great Angel of the Lord appeared to these
lowly men before any persons of greater prestige had any word of the amazing
event. God always chooses people who are busy at their works to work and
testify of His Wonders. The baby Jesus received no greater, or less, worship
from Mary His Mother than any child receives from its good mother – a kiss and
a loving caress.
“What can I give him, poor as I
am? If I were a shepherd, I would bring a lamb; if I were a wise man,
I
would do my part; yet what I can I give him - give my heart.”
At this Christmas Season, men and women are feverishly searching out gifts for
their friends and associates. But whose birthday is it that we celebrate? Is it
not the birth of our Lord Jesus Christ? The spirit of Christmas is warm with
love, and it is right and meet at Christmas (and all other days) to give gifts
of goodwill to those we care about. But what of Christ? After all, it is HIS
birth that we celebrate. What have we given the Lord Jesus Christ? He has given
us a gift that transcends earthly treasures – salvation! That salvation was
earned by His shed blood at Calvary, and that blood was shed out of a heart
that overflows with LOVE. The greatest gift is LOVE!
“Greater
love hath no man than this, that a man lay done his life for his friends.”
Jesus did that for you! The heart He created in your bosom is designed to hold
His overflowing Springs of Love that He shares. It should belong to Him. If it
does not, give THAT to Christ at Christmas, and every day of the year.
