What child is this who we sing about at Christmas and Epiphany? What child is this who was conceived by the Holy Spirit and born of a poor virgin named Mary? What child is this who was ignored by Emperors and Governors? What child is this who was lauded by angels and laid in a feeding trough? What child is this who was seen only by shepherds and worshipped only by strange foreigners? What child is this who was dismissed by the religious leaders and hunted by King Herod? What child is this who was God with us and came to save us? What child is this?
This is the incredibly beautiful question that an insurance salesman named William Dix wrote about the birth of Christ in 1865 after recovering from a severe illness. Dix moonlighted as a poet and while recovering this deathly sickness he underwent a profound spiritual renewal, which led him to write several hymns including the lyrics to this now famous Christmas carol. Part of Dix's genius was setting his lyrics to the traditional English folksong Greensleeves. This popular love song had a rich and complex history in England in that day. Many believed that the song was written by a man who was sadly in love with a prostitute called "greensleeves" because her dress was green from cavorting with other men in the grass. It was not considered to be a "holy" song. In fact in the play The Merry Wives of Windsor William Shakespeare mentions the song twice and has one of his characters say, "I would have sworn his disposition would have gone to the truth of his words; but they do not more adhere and keep place together than the 100th Psalm to the tune of 'Green Sleeves.' Very few in Dix's time would have considered pairing their sacred Christmas lyrics with this promiscuous secular tune.
Yet there is something wonderfully fitting about Dix's choice. This child who Dix was writing about was laid to rest on Mary's lap--a woman who the world scorned because she was an unwed pregnant teenager. This child who Dix was writing about would one day be accused of spending all his time with prostitutes, tax collectors, and sinners. This child who Dix was writing about would one day stand in between an angry mob and a woman caught in adultery saying, "Let he who is without sin cast the first stone." This child who Dix was writing about would one day be arrested, tried, and convicted as a criminal, tortured, and executed on a cross between two thieves. The mystery of the incarnation is that the divine has taken up residence in humanity in order to make it holy. The sacred God has entered into our profane world in order to redeem it. The pairing, the mixture, and the intertwining of things like What Child is This? and Greensleeves is exactly the kind of thing that saves us. As the great Church Father Gregory of Nazianzus once said, "What God has not assumed God has not healed."
As we transition out of the season of Christmas, through Epiphany and toward the seasons of Lent and Easter the words that we most need from this hymn are not in the famous first verse but in the second.
Nails, spear shall pierce Him through,
The cross be born for me, for you.
Hail, hail the Word made flesh,
The Babe, the Son of Mary.
We must never forget that if Christ remained a child in a manger then there would be no cross and no salvation. May we always remember the sacrifice that was required to save us from the tyranny of our own individualism and the unjust kingdoms of our own making. It cost Christ his life and if we mean to follow him it will cost us ours as well.
Prayer: King of kings who brings salvation let our hearts be so filled with love for you and for your world that they might become thrones where you rest--and you alone. Give us the courage and the strength to repent from our sins and to carry the cross that you have laid before us all. Amen.
What Child is This?
This is the incredibly beautiful question that an insurance salesman named William Dix wrote about the birth of Christ in 1865 after recovering from a severe illness. Dix moonlighted as a poet and while recovering this deathly sickness he underwent a profound spiritual renewal, which led him to write several hymns including the lyrics to this now famous Christmas carol. Part of Dix's genius was setting his lyrics to the traditional English folksong Greensleeves. This popular love song had a rich and complex history in England in that day. Many believed that the song was written by a man who was sadly in love with a prostitute called "greensleeves" because her dress was green from cavorting with other men in the grass. It was not considered to be a "holy" song. In fact in the play The Merry Wives of Windsor William Shakespeare mentions the song twice and has one of his characters say, "I would have sworn his disposition would have gone to the truth of his words; but they do not more adhere and keep place together than the 100th Psalm to the tune of 'Green Sleeves.' Very few in Dix's time would have considered pairing their sacred Christmas lyrics with this promiscuous secular tune.
Yet there is something wonderfully fitting about Dix's choice. This child who Dix was writing about was laid to rest on Mary's lap--a woman who the world scorned because she was an unwed pregnant teenager. This child who Dix was writing about would one day be accused of spending all his time with prostitutes, tax collectors, and sinners. This child who Dix was writing about would one day stand in between an angry mob and a woman caught in adultery saying, "Let he who is without sin cast the first stone." This child who Dix was writing about would one day be arrested, tried, and convicted as a criminal, tortured, and executed on a cross between two thieves. The mystery of the incarnation is that the divine has taken up residence in humanity in order to make it holy. The sacred God has entered into our profane world in order to redeem it. The pairing, the mixture, and the intertwining of things like What Child is This? and Greensleeves is exactly the kind of thing that saves us. As the great Church Father Gregory of Nazianzus once said, "What God has not assumed God has not healed."
As we transition out of the season of Christmas, through Epiphany and toward the seasons of Lent and Easter the words that we most need from this hymn are not in the famous first verse but in the second.
Nails, spear shall pierce Him through,
The cross be born for me, for you.
Hail, hail the Word made flesh,
The Babe, the Son of Mary.
We must never forget that if Christ remained a child in a manger then there would be no cross and no salvation. May we always remember the sacrifice that was required to save us from the tyranny of our own individualism and the unjust kingdoms of our own making. It cost Christ his life and if we mean to follow him it will cost us ours as well.
Prayer: King of kings who brings salvation let our hearts be so filled with love for you and for your world that they might become thrones where you rest--and you alone. Give us the courage and the strength to repent from our sins and to carry the cross that you have laid before us all. Amen.
What Child is This?
What Child is this who, laid to rest
On Mary’s lap is sleeping?
Whom angels greet with anthems sweet,
While shepherds watch are keeping?
This, this is Christ the King,
Whom shepherds guard and angels sing;
Haste, haste, to bring Him laud,
The Babe, the Son of Mary.
On Mary’s lap is sleeping?
Whom angels greet with anthems sweet,
While shepherds watch are keeping?
This, this is Christ the King,
Whom shepherds guard and angels sing;
Haste, haste, to bring Him laud,
The Babe, the Son of Mary.
Why lies He in such mean estate,
Where ox and ass are feeding?
Good Christians, fear, for sinners here
The silent Word is pleading.
Nails, spear shall pierce Him through,
The cross be borne for me, for you.
Hail, hail the Word made flesh,
The Babe, the Son of Mary.
Where ox and ass are feeding?
Good Christians, fear, for sinners here
The silent Word is pleading.
Nails, spear shall pierce Him through,
The cross be borne for me, for you.
Hail, hail the Word made flesh,
The Babe, the Son of Mary.
So bring Him incense, gold and myrrh,
Come peasant, king to own Him;
The King of kings salvation brings,
Let loving hearts enthrone Him.
Raise, raise a song on high,
The virgin sings her lullaby.
Joy, joy for Christ is born,
The Babe, the Son of Mary.
Rev. Benjamin Boswell
Come peasant, king to own Him;
The King of kings salvation brings,
Let loving hearts enthrone Him.
Raise, raise a song on high,
The virgin sings her lullaby.
Joy, joy for Christ is born,
The Babe, the Son of Mary.
Rev. Benjamin Boswell
Thanks for these wonderful posts. They have been the gift that keeps on giving. I appreciate the hard work that you two have put in to making this a daily blessing. I am sad to see them come to an end, but on to new adventures!! Thank you!!
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