O Little Town of Bethlehem (stanza 2)
For Christ is born of Mary; and gathered all above,
While mortals sleep, the angels keep their watch of wondering love.
O morning stars, together proclaim the holy birth!
And praises sing to God the King, and peace to all on earth.
Many of the images I have for Christmas come from Christmas cards as a child. It seems we always received at least a couple of cards with a picture of the Bethlehem skyline with a huge star marking the stable of Christ’s birth. As I read and sing this second stanza of O Little Town of Bethlehem, some new images come to mind to augment that of my childhood.
Phillips Brooks, an Episcopal rector in Boston who wrote this text for his church’s Sunday school in 1868 after visiting Bethlehem in 1865, begins with a narrative of sorts: While we mortals sleep (literally or figuratively?), angels (with wings, halos and white robes or in some other form?) are keeping watch. In the third line (“O morning stars, together proclaim the holy birth!”) it’s as if Brooks is commanding the stars and the entire world, “Proclaim the holy birth!”
If the stars so far away can proclaim Christ’s coming, what can I do this year to proclaim his birth here in Athens and throughout the world? What can we do together?
Loving God, who watches over us all our lives, we give thanks that you sent your Son, wondering love personified, that we may know you better and lead better lives. Help us to love those around us and those far away. We pray through Jesus Christ in the Spirit. Amen.
Tom Granum
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