INTRODUCTION
I am going to try two new things for the Advent 2023 season. First, I am using the lyrics from the Christmas carol, O Little Town of Bethlehem, as the subject of the messages during each of the four Sundays of Advent. Second, and the reason for this introduction, is that I have put together a daily devotional for the Advent season to go along with the series of sermons.
The Christmas Carol has a multitude of imagery that speaks to Jesus Christ and the depth of God’s love. During this devotional and the sermons, we will delve into the imagery of the Carol by linking it to the prophecies and imagery contained in the Bible. We will try to reconnect ourselves to the meaning of Advent as we prepare to re-welcome Jesus on Christmas morning.
Each day we will look at a portion of a verse from the carol. You will see that there are two days each week where we will look at the same stanza for two days in a row. There is a scripture reading that goes along with the theme for the day. There are also a couple of questions to ponder.
Hopefully, we can learn more about God’s grace, God’s blessings, and the gift that came that first Christmas morning, Jesus. Join me as we delve into what this Carol and the Bible have to tell us.
Rev. Matthew J. Leffler, Sr.
Lead Pastor
Yorktown Methodist Church
ABOUT THE CAROL
The words to the carol were written in 1968 by the Bishop Phillips Brooks, an Episcopal priest. At the time, he was the rector of Church of the Holy Trinity in Philadelphia, PA. The carol was written in response to his experience of visiting the town of Bethlehem during the Christmas season in 1865. had spent a year traveling abroad, 1865–1866, including a visit to the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem, where he participated in a service lasting from the late hours of Christmas Eve through early hours of Christmas morning, 1865. Brooks wrote the poem for his church’s Christmas Sunday-school service.
The words of the carol were first printed in a leaflet by Richard McCauley. It was first published in The Sunday School Service and Hymn Book, arranged by the Sunday School Committee of the Diocese of Ohio (NY: E.P. Dutton & Co., 1870. The words and music were first published together in William R. Huntington’s The Church Porch: A Service Book and Hymnal for Sunday Schools (NY: E.P. Dutton, 1874).
The tune, St. Louis, was written by Lewis Redner at the request of Bishop Brooks. He was the organist of the Church of the Holy Trinity in Philadelphia, PA where Bishop Brooks was the pastor. The music was given the title by Bishop Brooks as a way to honor the author (i.e. St. Louis - Lewis Redner).
Information about hymn taken from The Carols of Christmas: A Celebration of the Surprising Stories Behind Your Favorite Holiday Songs by Andrew Gant (Thomas Nelson; 2015).
O LITTLE TOWN OF BETHLEHEM
Words by: Bishop Phillips Brooks, 1868
O little town of Bethlehem, How still we see thee lie! Above thy deep and dreamless sleep The silent stars go by. Yet in thy dark streets shineth The everlasting Light; The hopes and fears of all the years Are met in thee tonight.
O morning stars, together Proclaim the holy birth! And praises sing to God the King, And peace to men on earth. For Christ is born of Mary And gathered all above, While mortals sleep the Angels keep Their watch of wondering love.
How silently, how silently, The wondrous gift is given; So God imparts to human hearts The blessings of His Heaven. No ear may hear His coming, But in this world of sin, Where meek souls will receive Him still, The dear Christ enters in.
O holy Child of Bethlehem, Descend to us, we pray! Cast out our sin and enter in, Be born in us to-day. We hear the Christmas angels, The great glad tidings tell; O come to us, abide with us, Our Lord Emmanuel!
