December Newsletter

People look east the time is near
of the crowning of the year.
Make your hearth fair as you are able,
trim the hearth and set the table.
People look east and sing today:
Love the guest is on the way.
( verse 1 of #9 in Voices United words ©1928 Eleanor Farjeon.)

“…the time is near of the crowning of the year”. What exactly does that mean? After all the peak of the year could mean a whole bunch of different things. It could be Easter, when we celebrate the Resurrection as the frozen earth begins to be reborn with the warmth of Spring. Or maybe it is the height of summer, with warm sun and swimming holes and relaxation. And guests may come at anytime. We need more information...

Birds, though you long have ceased to build,
guard the nest that must be filled.
Even the hour when wings are frozen
God for fledging time has chosen.
People, look east and sing today:
Love, the bird, is on the way.
(verse 3 of #9 in Voices United words ©1928 Eleanor Farjeon.)

Seriously? Winter is the crowning of the year? Well yes, that is one of the possibilities. The coming of mid-winter, with its darkness and cold, also brings us reminders of the Light of the World, the Light that can never be blown out. We face the forces of hopelessness in our world, whatever they are, with the story of a baby’s birth. The crowning of the year is the news that we sing “Joy to the World! The Lord is Come!”

Furrows, be glad. Though earth is bare,
One more seed is planted there:
Give up your strength the seed to nourish,
That in course the flower may flourish.
People, look east and sing today:
Love, the rose, is on the way.
(verse 2 of #9 in Voices United words ©1928 Eleanor Farjeon.)

Yes I know these verses are out of order. But it worked better this way (or blame it on new math?). Christmas is about the birth of hope, the birth of possibilities. What seed is being planted in your hearts and lives this winter? How do we need to prepare for the birth/planting that will come in a month? And then we start the work of nourishing the seed to full flower.

Angels announce with shouts of mirth
Christ who brings new life to earth
Set every peak and valley humming
with the word the Lord is coming.
People look east and sing today:
Love the Lord is on the way.
(verse 5 of #9 in Voices United words ©1928 Eleanor Farjeon.)

Soon we will once again tell the story and sing the songs about the birth of a baby. But more than an infant boy in long ago Bethlehem we sing about the hope that is reborn in our hearts. Indeed the time is near of the crowning of the year. Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel, God-With-Us, is coming into our lives. Alleluia!

As a web-extra here is a YouTube so you can sing along with the whole hymn...