I don't know if the hymn-writer or translator had this passage in mind when penning this text, but the sentiment is strikingly similar. When the world lay in silence, when night was half spent, the Word of God came. When things could not get any darker, the light came to split the darkness. John 1 also makes this point beautifully: "The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it...And the Word became flesh and lived among us." John goes on to say that the law came through Moses and grace came through Jesus, the new Moses. Jesus, who was close to the Father's heart, has made God known, or as the hymn says: "To show God's love aright when half-spent was the night."
As Richard Rohr notes, "silence is the heart of prayer." The first century world was full of the hustle and bustle of the Empire, the busyness of Caesar's census, and all but the shepherds, who were keeping watch over their flocks (silently), and the magi, who were studying the sky in silence and contemplation, missed God's appearance. Is all our chatter, our constant need to divert ourselves, our uneasiness without background noise, a testament to our fear of what we might discover if we practiced silence? Christmastide is the perfect time to regain through silence what we lose through excessive noise and distraction. God's Word entered the world quietly the first time, and if we want to hear it when it comes this Christmas, we must learn to silence our own wills and receive God's will for our lives.
The last line of the third verse reminds us that Jesus "lightens every load," a reference to Matthew 11:28-30 where Jesus says, "Come to me, all you that are weary and are carrying heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me; for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light." Christ reminds us that our God is the God of Sabbath, not the God of endless work and consumption. Christ came to free us from our burdens and our sin, from the never-ending work of trying to generate meaning for our lives. If Christ came to give us rest, what does it say about our culture if Christmas, the season when we are meant to celebrate Christ's coming is the busiest and least restful of the entire year? Now that the secular season of Christmas is over, find a way to embrace God's Sabbath during the sacred season of Christmas. Find a way to be present to yourself and to God by quieting the incessant chatter of your own mind, and allowing the presence of God in Christ to lighten your load. Stop and smell the Rose!
You are encouraged to enter into a time of silent confession and meditation followed by the closing prayer.
Closing Prayer
God with us, the Rose sprung from the root of Jesse, who entered the deep darkness of our world to shine a light bright enough to lighten the world: come into our darkness again this Christmas. Shine the light of your truth, and help us find rest in you. Amen.
Lo, how a Rose e'er blooming
From tender stem hath sprung!
Of Jesse's lineage coming
As saints of old have sung.
It came, a flower bright,
Amid the cold of winter
When half-spent was the night.
Isaiah 'twas foretold it,
The Rose I have in mind:
With Mary we behold it,
The virgin mother kind.
To show God's love aright
She bore to us a Savior
When half-spent was the night.
This flower, whose fragrance tender
With sweetness fills the air,
Dispels with glorious splendor
The darkness everywhere.
True man, yet very God,
From sin and death he saves us
And lightens every load
Rev. Stephen Stacks
The last line of the third verse reminds us that Jesus "lightens every load," a reference to Matthew 11:28-30 where Jesus says, "Come to me, all you that are weary and are carrying heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me; for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light." Christ reminds us that our God is the God of Sabbath, not the God of endless work and consumption. Christ came to free us from our burdens and our sin, from the never-ending work of trying to generate meaning for our lives. If Christ came to give us rest, what does it say about our culture if Christmas, the season when we are meant to celebrate Christ's coming is the busiest and least restful of the entire year? Now that the secular season of Christmas is over, find a way to embrace God's Sabbath during the sacred season of Christmas. Find a way to be present to yourself and to God by quieting the incessant chatter of your own mind, and allowing the presence of God in Christ to lighten your load. Stop and smell the Rose!
You are encouraged to enter into a time of silent confession and meditation followed by the closing prayer.
Closing Prayer
God with us, the Rose sprung from the root of Jesse, who entered the deep darkness of our world to shine a light bright enough to lighten the world: come into our darkness again this Christmas. Shine the light of your truth, and help us find rest in you. Amen.
Lo, How a Rose E'er Blooming (Celebrating Grace #105)
Lo, how a Rose e'er blooming
From tender stem hath sprung!
Of Jesse's lineage coming
As saints of old have sung.
It came, a flower bright,
Amid the cold of winter
When half-spent was the night.
Isaiah 'twas foretold it,
The Rose I have in mind:
With Mary we behold it,
The virgin mother kind.
To show God's love aright
She bore to us a Savior
When half-spent was the night.
This flower, whose fragrance tender
With sweetness fills the air,
Dispels with glorious splendor
The darkness everywhere.
True man, yet very God,
From sin and death he saves us
And lightens every load
Rev. Stephen Stacks
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