Merry Christmas!

Holy Trinity Lutheran Church on Central Park West in Manhattan keeps alive the great Lutheran tradition of church music, especially the Bach cantatas, which are performed in a Sunday afternoon series each fall and winter. At their afternoon service last Sunday, a congregational singing of “Come All Ye Faithful” conveyed its meaning to me and touched my heart as never before—I suddenly felt, on the singing of the last verse, how we were present with the infant Jesus and all the angels on the morning of his birth, and a feeling of joy broke out in me.

May all of us reform ourselves, me most of all, and may the joy of Christ enter our lives.

O come, all ye faithful, joyful and triumphant,
O come ye, O come ye, to Bethlehem.
Come and behold Him, born the King of angels;

O come, let us adore Him,
O come, let us adore Him,
O come, let us adore Him,
Christ the Lord.

True God of true God, Light from Light Eternal,
Lo, He shuns not the Virgin’s womb;
Son of the Father, begotten, not created;

Refrain

Sing, choirs of angels, sing in exultation;
O sing, all ye citizens of heaven above!
Glory to God, all glory in the highest;

Refrain

Yea, Lord, we greet Thee, born this happy morning;
Jesus, to Thee be glory given;
Word of the Father, now in flesh appearing.

O come, let us adore Him,
O come, let us adore Him,
O come, let us adore Him,
Christ the Lord.

(Just as I was about to post this, a friend told me about an article published today by an old acquaintance of mine, Duncan Anderson, telling how “Come All Ye Faithful” was written by an English Catholic exile in France in the eighteenth century.)

Posted by Lawrence Auster at December 24, 2004 01:42 AM | Send