See amid the winter’s snow
Born for us on earth below
See the tender Lamb appears
Promised from eternal yearsHail, thou ever-blessed morn
Hail, redemption’s happy dawn
Sing through all Jerusalem
Christ is born in Bethlehem
I have two favorite ways I love to experience this carol.
The first is to sing it live. The hair raising wonder I get from the chorus stirs me each and every time I proclaim Him born.
But the second? Hearing Annie Lennox sing it in the way I only dreamed it could be sung.
A slice of heaven here on earth.
There are moments when we are struck dumb with wonder, and hearing this song on her latest Christmas album was one of them.
Because I know (last time I heard) that she is not a believer.
And she, along with many hundreds of other artists, record these carols on their Christmas albums, proclaiming the newborn King to be born. Even though they don’t personally believe it.
Somehow, the wonder of who He is has leaked into the songs He has gifted to His people, and the world continues to proclaim Him despite not intimately knowing Him.
This only serves to reflect our humanity, doesn’t it? How many times has someone spoken the expected response, when you know they don’t believe it for themselves?
We can be the same when it comes to our worship.
These words contain the Word Himself, and with His birth, we too are born anew, remade as His Beloved.
We are to enter the Christmas story, not as observers, but as part of the heavenly chorus proclaiming His arrival and kingship!
Today, if you hear one of the familiar carols, tune your mind to sing or hum along as your act of worship. Savor the moment, even if you are standing in line for a gift or in the coffee shop taking a sip of sanity.
Historical Background:
“See Amid the Winter’s Snow” was first published in England in 1871 under its alternate name “Hymn for Christmas Morn.” Words by Edward Caswell, music by Sir John Goss.
KARLA LEES 