December 8, 2023 - Good Morning! It's Friday, December 8.
Each day this week we've looked at the story behind a favorite Christmas song. Today we take a look at “O Little Town of Bethlehem”.
Phillips Brooks stood 6 feet 6 inches tall and weighed 300 pounds, a mountain of a man. And his intellect was equally mighty. He graduated from Harvard University at 20 and in 1862, at the age of 26, Brooks became the pastor of Trinity Church in Philadelphia - one of the largest churches in America. He was renowned as a preacher and many of his sermons were published to great acclaim. He was invited to preach in London’s Westminster Abbey by Queen Victoria. He delivered the eulogy at the funeral of Abraham Lincoln. He introduced Helen Keller to Christianity.
And, after all that, how do we remember Phillips Brooks today? For a simple Christmas carol that he wrote for the children of his church. In 1865 Brooks took a sabbatical from his pastorate and traveled to the Holy Land. On Christmas Eve he rode on horseback from Jerusalem to Bethlehem, a distance of about five miles. The vision of that “little town”, looking much as it did 20 centuries before, inspired the writing of this beautiful carol. Bethlehem is very different today, a troubled, dangerous place. This lovely American song takes us back to that first night, when Bethlehem was peaceful, when the world was waiting, when God gave us a Gift.
Meet you back here on Monday,
Bro. David
dmathis@fbccenter.org
First Baptist Center is recreating Old Bethlehem tonight 6-8 and continuing Saturday and Sunday nights. It's free. It's fun. It's unique. Journey to Bethlehem - a community Christmas event. Join us! More info at fbccenter.org
