Who is It?

 
December 29th, 2010
 Scripture: Galatians 3:23-4:7

  Hymn of the Day – “What Child is This?”
Author: William C. Dix

Based on: Luke 2:17

“Now when they had seen Him, the made widely known the saying which was told them concerning this child.”

    What Child is this, who, laid to rest           
        On Mary’s lap, is sleeping?           
Whom angels greet with anthems sweet,   
While shepherds watch are keeping?
                    (Refrain)                   

Why lies He in such mean estate
Where ox and ass are feeding?
Good Christians, fear, for sinners here
The Silent Word is pleading.
(Refrain)

So bring Him incense, gold, and myrrh,
Come peasant, King to own Him:
The King of Kings salvation brings,
Let loving hearts enthrone Him.
(Refrain)

Refrain  This, this is Christ the King,
whom shepherds guard and angels sing,
Haste, haste to bring Him laud,
the Babe, the Son of Mary. 0

Meditation ~ Who is It?”

"What Child is This?"  must be the question that was uppermost in the minds of all who were present at Jesus’ birth.  We can almost hear the question being asked as each person gazed into the humble manger at a tiny Baby whose birth had been announced by the very start themselves!  How difficult it must have been to understand and accept that this Babe who lay in such “mean estate” was truly the Messiah, promised of old by God!

Throughout the centuries since the birth of Christ the questions have continued to resound . . . Who is it?  Who is this Christ?  What shall we do with Jesus?  Why has He come? How can He possibly be fully God and fully human?  The questions may be a little easier to answer now because we have all sorts of “historical perspective” to shed light on them, but I’m not sure we have fewer questions because of these perspectives.  I am almost certain that the questions are difficult and complex and the answers sometimes difficult to accept.

The refrain of this beautiful hymn answers the question with strength and triumph! “This, this is Christ the King! Whom shepherds guard and angels sing!”  This is Christ! This is the King of Kings and Lord of Lords.  This is our Savior.  This is the Son of God.  This is God, Himself, come to earth in a form that we can relate to and understand. 

This hymn text was written by William Dix, who also wrote As With Gladness Men of Old” which we looked at earlier.  He was one of the finest of all “lay” hymn writers.  While a successful insurance salesman in Glasgow, Scotland, he was stricken with a sudden serious illness.  He was only 29 years old.  He was confined to bed for an extended period.  He suffered from a deep depression until he called out to God and “met him in a new and real way” as he recorded in one of his diaries.

Out of this spiritual experience came many artistic and distinctive hymns, including this beautiful and delightful carol.  It is taken from a long Christmas poem, The Manger Throne, written by Dix about 1865.  The melody traditionally used with the text is the English folk tune Greensleeves.

The scripture verse from Luke that forms the basis for this carol is one that we have seen several times throughout the Season as we have looked at other hymns, but I think there is something else to say about it in the context of this hymn. The passage says that the shepherds made widely known all that they had heard and seen concerning the Child. This tells me that even before Jesus gave us the Great Commission that we go into all the world and preach His Gospel to every nation, the shepherds instinctively did so, as did the Wise Men!  There is something about a close personal encounter with the living Christ that results almost automatically in our doing exactly as Christ instructs us to do.  We are instructed to “bear fruit” for the Kingdom, and this is exactly what we do when we go out into every nation and proclaim the Good News that Christ is born, Christ died, Christ is risen, and Christ will come again.

It is “mystery” - - -  divine mystery - - - and it is one that we must exercise a great deal of faith in order to understand.  It requires us to believe with all our hearts and to accept the parts of the mystery that we find it difficult to understand. We are limited in what we can understand, so we must exercise our faith. Whether or not we understand all, or even believe all,  God will be who God will be.  We are called not to understanding but to the spreading of the Good News of Christ! 

Prayer – Dear God and loving Father, we confess that we often have more questions than answers, and that we let this paralyze us and keep us from understanding as well as we might that “this, this is Christ the King, whom shepherds guard and angels sing”.  Strengthen us with your Holy Spirit to do the work of your Kingdom on earth that we may ever ”haste, haste to bring Him laud, the Babe, the Son of Mary.”  We thank you for coming to earth and for saving us from our sins. Help us to love others even as you have loved us, for we pray in Jesus’ name.  Amen~

Activity – Visit old friends.  The Christmas Seasons provide a wonderful time to renew old acquaintances and get together with dear friends.  It is such a joy to share our memories of days spent together. Plan a party to “get together”.  Another way of getting together with old friends is to invite someone to spend the weekend with you to renew the strength of the “once-was” relationship.  Epiphany Day is approaching (January 6th) and it makes a wonderful excuse to have “one more party” before the season comes to an end.