An Atheist Celebrates Christmas
December 17, 2020
I SAW this comment after a recording of this beautiful carol:
I grew up in California, pretty much an atheist. I lived in England for two years, and while singing in a choir in Sussex I had a kind of spiritual awakening while contemplating a chord progression of Bach from the Christmas Oratorio. I love Christmas in England.
And another commenter wrote back:
God is calling us all upward to dignity and rightness in Him.We feel this in music, we suspect it in darkness, but when we really see Him in the light and love that He is, we see how mistaken we have been. As it is written, the sun is always shining, but it is us who allow sin to cause a tiny moon to eclipse the enormous star. God be praised. God above all with Jesus Christ His only begotten son, who lives and reigns in the Holy Spirit. One God forever and ever, Amen.
Once in Royal David’s City
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 meek and lowly,
Lived on earth our Savior holy.
And through all
His wondrous childhood,
He would honor and obey,
Love and watch the lowly mother,
In whose gentle arms He lay.
Christian children all should be,
Mild, obedient, good as He.
For He is our child-hood’s pattern,
Day by day like us He grew,
He was little, weak, and helpless,
Tears and smiles like us He knew,
And He feeleth for our sadness,
And He shareth in our gladness.
And our eyes at last shall see Him,
Through His own redeeming love;
For that child so dear and gentle,
Is our Lord in heaven above,
And He leads His children on,
To the place where He is gone.
Not in that poor lowly stable,
With the oxen standing by,
We shall see Him, but in heaven,
Set at God’s right hand on high;
When like stars
His children crowned,
All in white shall be around.