The song has a haunting and evocative melody. It’s not as familiar a Christmas song to us as, say, ‘Silent Night, or ‘Hark! The Herald Angels Sing.’ And yet, it is a compelling Christmas hymn worthy of our attention.
‘Once in Royal David’s City’ was written in the 19th century as a poem by Cecil Frances Alexander. The poem was set to music by English organist, Henry John Gauntlett. The fact that it was initially published in a hymnbook for children demonstrates the culture’s commitment to telling the story of Jesus’s birth clearly and unmistakably:
“Once in royal David’s city
stood a lowly cattle shed,
where a mother laid her baby
in a manger for his bed:
Mary was that mother mild,
Jesus Christ, her little child.
He came down to earth from heaven
who is God and Lord of all;
and his shelter was a stable
and his cradle was a stall:
with the poor and mean and lowly
lived on earth our Savior holy.”
David’s royal city, of course, is Bethlehem. David’s father, Jesse, was from Bethlehem, and the small Judean town was the site of David’s anointment by the prophet Samuel. The first two verses of the Christmas hymn detail Bethlehem’s chief importance for Christians.
Children who would sing this song in 19th century England would learn the story of Christ’s birth and receive a moralistic encouragement for good behavior. Listen for it:
“And through all his wondrous childhood
he would honor and obey,
love and watch the gentle mother
in whose tender arms he lay:
Christian children all should be
kind, obedient, good as he.”
That’s not too shabby. Children—and adults-- should all strive to be “kind, obedient and as good as Jesus.” But none of this is what makes this song interesting, in my opinion.
The heart of Alexander’s hymn addresses an element of Christ’s life that is a mystery to us. We’re talking, of course, about Jesus’ adolescence and young adulthood. There are three elements in the Gospel stories that we rely upon to reconstruct the missing years between Jesus’s birth (which, as we know, was well-documented) and the beginning of Jesus’s public ministry around the age of 30. First, Luke tells us that, “The child grew and became strong, filled with wisdom; and the favor of God was upon him.” Second, we learn about the incident at the Temple when Jesus was 12. And third, we know that Jesus’s earthly father, Joseph, was a carpenter, and we suspect that Jesus may have taken up his father’s trade.
Beyond that, Jesus’s childhood is a mystery.
This has fascinated and perplexed us through the years. Early on, apocryphal writings emerged that would exploit this relative void in our knowledge of Jesus. In these tales, Jesus comes across as a Divine-child who is reckless—even vindictive-- with his powers and uses them to his own benefit (I’m actually being generous. Read them for yourself to learn of the jaw-dropping details in these Jesus legends).
“Hey, ‘Infancy Gospel of Thomas.’ I’m looking at you.”
Who among us isn’t captivated by the prospect of a Divine, Chosen One, coming-of-age story? Don’t think there’s much of an appetite for this kind of a story? Tell that to the throngs of fans who love the Harry Potter saga. And you thought the Harry Potter epic was about a rags-to-riches English wizarding chap. Please. Harry Potter is the story of a messiah’s journey to adulthood. It even features resurrection! A new story, it is not.
But I digress.
Alexander reminds us of Jesus’s ‘becoming’ by moving beyond his birth to describe the Messiah’s adolescence.
“For he is our childhood’s pattern:
day by day like us he grew,
he was little, weak and helpless,
tears and smiles like us he knew;
and he feels for all our sadness,
and he shares in all our gladness.”
What’s remarkable about this verse is the reminder that Emmanuel—God With Us—was not only with us but also like us. He had growing pains as we do. He hurt like we do. He experienced happiness and joy as we do. Jesus was fully divine, yes. But lest we forget, he was also fully human. God knows us and is intimately familiar with the human experience. In Jesus, we meet an empathetic God.
God knows what life is like. God knows our grief, our doubts, and our despairs. He knows our triumphs, our delights, and the joys of companionship. Jesus has walked the path that we travel. And that, fellow pilgrims, makes all the difference.
Emmanuel. God With Us. God alongside us.
May we this Christmas season have a growing appreciation of who this accompanying, empathetic God is.
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-Click on this link to hear the choir at Cambridge University’s King’s College’s rendition. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NMGMV-fujUY
-Also, be aware that our Advent Devotionals during our Call to Worship each Sunday have been drawn from the Iona Community’s Ruth Burgess and her liturgical resource book, Winter.