“From Heaven Above to Earth I Come.”  Today this carol draws us in to the birth of Jesus and helps us to reflect on it.  It was written by Martin Luther, who loved games and riddles and has included many riddles in this carol.  One can imagine him singing it to his own children and seeing if they can answer.

From heav’n above to earth I come
To bring good news to ev’ry home!
Glad tidings of great joy I bring
To all the world, and gladly sing: (#268, EvLW)

Who am I?  (The angel; if no answer, go on to verse 2)

[“To you this night is born a child
Of Mary chosen virgin mild;
This new-born child of lowly birth
Shall be the joy of all the earth.”]

    Another riddle shows up in verse 7.

Look, look dear friends, look over there!
What lies within that manger bare?
Who is that lovely little one?

And the answer is: “The baby Jesus, God’s dear Son.”

    Other riddles, however, are harder to answer:

O Lord, you have created all!
How did you come to be so small,
to sweetly sleep in manger-bed
where lowing cattle lately fed?

This one gets at the heart of the incarnation (which means: God in the flesh).  The one who created all has lowered himself - or shrunk himself, if you will - to be born as a human baby.  Can we even begin to grasp what a risk this is on God’s part? – Entrusting God’s only-begotten Son to some poor peasants?

    Yet, in this daring act – this daring incarnation – we see how great God’s love for us really is, and to what lengths God was willing to go in order to break the power of sin and death.  Our God truly is with us – redeeming fallen humanity through this child in the manger.  And so, how will we respond to this good news of great joy – to our Saviour who hears our “sad and bitter cry” and sets us free from sin?

    Martin Luther writes at least a couple of things as a response in “From Heaven Above.”  The first is inviting Jesus to stay, not on a rough bed of straw, but in our hearts.

Ah, dearest Jesus, holy child,
prepare a bed, soft, undefiled,
a quiet chamber in my heart,
that you and I may never part.

    The second response is one of joy and singing.  His heart leaps for joy at the presence of the Saviour, Jesus, and thus he cannot keep quiet and wants to sing with the angels.  May that same joy well up in our hearts today, in the midst of whatever else may be going on in our lives.  For God continues to be with us in Jesus – the true light in the midst of the darkness of this world.  Amen.

Christmas Day                                    Hymn #268
December 25, 2011                                John 1:1-14
St. Luke’s Zion Lutheran Church
Pastor Lynne Hutchison

© 2011 Lynne Hutchison  All Rights Reserved