Thoughts on Christmas Carols II

“Angels we have heard on high”

The lyrics of “Angels we have heard on high” present a fairly straightforward retelling of the passage in the gospel of Luke which tells of the angel announcing the birth of Jesus to the shepherds. In the gospel of Luke, the shepherds are the only visitors to the newborn Jesus. Matthew tells us about the wise men from another land, and his emphasis is on the gospel’s inclusion of gentile lands. Luke’s telling emphasizes gospel’s inclusion of the lowly, symbolized by the shepherds who worked in the fields. And of course, it will not have escaped his hearers that this is also a reference to young David, the humble shepherd who became king. Now there is a new king from the family of David, and the first to visit him are shepherds.

In the gospel, after one angel has given the news, suddenly, a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying: “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace.” Ever since the year 130, just a century after the earthly life of Christ, that phrase “glory to God in the highest,” or in Latin, “Gloria in excelsis Deo,” has been a part of worship services celebrating the birth of Christ. I remember learning how to pronounce those Latin words in the youth choir at my church. For centuries, the congregation would sing this phrase following prayers and scripture readings. When we sing it today, we are joining centuries and generations of the faithful. The tune even sounds like an ancient chant. There are only six notes in the verse, and the refrain stays within one octave, making this carol much easier to sing than, say, “O Holy Night.” It is called a traditional French carol, but in truth, no one knows who wrote it or when or where.

The carol recounts the visit of the angels to the shepherds by imagining a conversation with the excited shepherds who are on their way to see the baby and are spreading the good news. In the first verse, the shepherds share their joy and wonder about the angelic visit, but don’t actually tell the news. In the second verse, the imagined people who are listening to the shepherds break in to ask what all the excitement is about. What is the news? In the third verse, the shepherds answer, but more than that, they invite: “come to Bethlehem and see.” That has always been the Christian model for sharing the good news of Jesus Christ. We are not supposed to be preachy, so to speak. We are called to invite. Come and see. I’d like you to see what worship feels like, what serving others feels like, what fellowship feels like. Invitation: that’s always been the best way.