Carol: “See Amid the Winter’s Snow” – Edward Caswall (1814-1878)
Tune: HUMILITY
This hymnline prayer comes from a carol we don’t all know
well… if at all. Here is the first stanza:
See amid the winter’s snow,
Born for us on earth below,
See, the gentle Lamb appears,
Promised from eternal years.
Born for us on earth below,
See, the gentle Lamb appears,
Promised from eternal years.
Teach, O teach us, holy Child,
By Thy face so meek and mild,
Teach us to resemble Thee,
In Thy sweet humility.
By Thy face so meek and mild,
Teach us to resemble Thee,
In Thy sweet humility.
The request to learn to resemble Christ catches my
attention. We bat around so many other terms like reflect, mirror, imitate,
etc., but this is what I want personally: to resemble Christ. When
someone looks at my life, I would love to bear a resemblance to the One I call
Lord.
Most of us resemble one (or both) of our parents; we say
that we “take after them” either physically or in our actions. The way we laugh
may be the exact replica of our mother, or we may have the same voice
inflection of our father. In my part of the country, they would say that I’m
the “spitting image” of my daddy… but that I’m my mama all over again. I’m
happy with that designation and recognition. I remember one time when a perfect
stranger came up to me and said, “You’ve got to be Raymond Huff’s son” – just by
looking at me.
Wouldn’t it be a wonderful thing if someone walked up to you
during this Advent season and said, “You’ve got to be a child of the King.” –
not because you look like Elvis, but because you act like Jesus… you are
Christlike in the way you approach every detail of your dealings with others.
Admittedly, we don’t act-out our Christian faith to BE
noticed, but we must admit it comes as a blessing when someone DOES notice and
says so.
Are you teachable? Is humility something you want to learn?
If so, this is a good time of the year to study the life and teachings of the
One who is displayed in stable-beds all around us. Watch him… emulate him…
glorify him by being a resemblance of who he is!
Julie Andrews sings
this carol (but not this stanza!)
A Norwegian setting of
the full text
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