December 6, 2023 - Good Morning! It's Wednesday, December 6.
Each day this week we're looking at a story behind a carol. Many of the songs that we love to sing during the Christmas season have interesting backgrounds, stories that are sometimes dramatic and often heartwarming. I love the stories behind the carols and hope you'll enjoy these special holiday devotionals.
Charles Wesley is one of the greatest hymn writers who ever lived. He wrote thousands of hymns and, even though he lived three centuries ago, we still sing many of his songs in the 21st century. The long list includes "Christ the Lord is Risen Today," "Blessed Be the Name," and "O For a Thousand Tongues to Sing." In 1739 Wesley sat down and wrote a Christmas hymn. He called it "Hark, the Welkin Angels Ring." That title doesn't quite ring a bell, does it? The word "welkin" is Old English for heaven or heavenly. Thankfully, he was persuaded to change the title to the one we recognize, "Hark, the Herald Angels Sing."
But there was another problem. The tune that he chose for his exciting, inspiring lyrics... was slow and somber. Can you imagine singing this carol to that kind of tune? Perhaps it's not surprising that, originally, this hymn was not very popular. And then, in 1840 - a century later - Wesley's words were paired with an upbeat melody by the classical composer Felix Mendelssohn. The tune was from a cantata that Mendelssohn had written to commemorate the anniversary of the invention of printing by Gutenberg. This story just gets stranger all the time, doesn't it? But the marriage of Wesley's lyrics with this joyful tune created a hymn that was immediately popular and has remained a holiday staple ever since.
Sing it again today and celebrate the angel's message of "peace on earth, goodwill to men."
Meet you back here tomorrow,
Bro. David
dmathis@fbccenter.org
If you're a local reader, I hope you'll join the church family of First Baptist Center this Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, 6-8pm, for Journey to Bethlehem. This free community event features outdoor scenes of shepherds and angels and magi - plus an indoor fellowship time with Santa and live music and Christmas cookies and holiday displays. There's more info at fbccenter.org. Make Journey to Bethlehem part of your Christmas!
