O Holy Night

O Holy Night

I was brought up short by a comment Jim made on a post I’d put up just over eight months ago, ‘Roll Back the Stone’. Brought up short is about the only way to get my attention during these days of celebration; Thanksgiving, Christmas, birth announcements, weddings, and all sorts of things I need to be doing. Somehow Jim took a post where I confess that I keep a stone across my heart mostly to keep Jesus out rather than in and followed it up with a question that stopped me in my tracks.

Jim askes when considering ‘no room at the inn’ during this Christmas season, “Do our daily lives shuffle Jesus to our barns?”

Oh my yes, regrettably so. I am the posterchild for this. I’ve been keeping an action item list over the last month or so and the category of household/family items far outweighs two important categories for me – Writing and LCPC/Spiritual Growth. I agonize over it every time I go to the list.

One of the beauties of Jim’s comment is that he provided a link to Kerrie Roberts’ performance video of her singing ‘O Holy Night’. If you don’t read any further, take a listen – I’ve included the complete lyrics below the main post. Here is the link:

'O Holy Night' by Kerrie Roberts

A wine merchant and poet named Placide Cappeau was persuaded to write a poem to commemorate the renovation of a church organ. Adolphe Adam composed the music for it and it was premiered by opera singer Emily Laurey in 1847. There are a number of variations and performances of the carol and it has long been a favorite of mine. Research on its origins and translations has done nothing to render my love for ‘O Holy Night’ any less and "Cantique de Noël" has taken rather more significance for me.

I love the hope it gives – ‘For yonder breaks a new and glorious morn.’

I love and seek to obey the command – ‘Fall on your knees!’

I have loved reading the second verse and bridge, parts of the song I wasn’t aware of until now because they are not performed by Roberts nor any others I’ve listened to leading up to this post. And I now cling to the promise – ‘In all our trials born to be our friend. He knows our need, to our weaknesses no stranger’. And the command at the end of the second bridge – ‘Before Him lowly bend!’

The third verse gives us admonitions to ‘love one another. His law is love and his gospel is peace,’ and ‘in His name all oppression shall cease.’

Finally –‘Let all within us praise His holy name.’

Sing people! Let Jesus out of our barns. Fall on our knees and before Him, let us lowly bend and praise his holy name.

As Jim signed off to me, so I sign off to you, ‘joy to the world. Let every heart prepare him room.’

jerry

O Holy Night

O Holy Night, the stars are brightly shining

It is the night of our dear Savior's birth

Long lay the world in sin and error pining

'Til He appeared and the soul felt its worth

A thrill of hope, the weary world rejoices

For yonder breaks a new and glorious morn

Fall on your knees, oh, hear the angel voices

O night divine, O night, when Christ was born

O night divine, O night, O night divine

Chains he shall break, for the slave is our brother

And in his name all oppression shall cease

Sweet hymns of joy in grateful chorus raise we

Let all within us praise His holy name

Christ is the Lord

Then ever, ever praise we

Noel, Noel, O night, O night divine

Noel, Noel, O night, O night divine

O night divine, O night, when Christ was born

O night divine, O night, O night divine

Blog Post Notes: You can find much of this information in the Wikipedia and a list at the bottom of notable renditions of the songs. Some of the dates don’t match other sources I read and put the writing of the lyrics and music in 1847, the same year it was debuted. The list of performers is impressive and worth a scan. Maybe you can find a favorite version of your own.

Also note that as I was finishing up the first draft of this John Denver’s version started playing from his ‘Rocky Mountain Christmas’ CD. I hadn’t listened to before and had no idea he did ‘O Holy Night’.