"Grant us wisdom, grant us courage for the living of these days."

Hymn: “God of Grace and God of Glory” – Harry Emerson Fosdick (1878-1969)
Typical Tune: CWM RHONDDA

On this first day of 2014, I will interrupt the carols of Christmas and Epiphany to reflect on my favorite beginning-a-new-year hymn. While it is a fairly new hymn by comparison, it is one which most of us know and can sing a phrase here and there from it.

It is a hymn for the church to sing about herself with prayerlines like:
•    On thy people pour thy power.
•    Crown thine ancient church’s story, bring her bud to glorious flower.
•    Free our hearts to work and praise.
•    Bend our pride to thy control.

I’ll deal with other phrases from this hymn later in my trek toward 365 of these thoughts, but for today, let’s deal with the closing phrase – almost a refrain – of the second stanza. In case you don’t have that one memorized (!), here it is:
    Lo! the hosts of evil ‘round us scorn our Christ, assail his ways.
    Fears and doubts too long have bound us; free our hearts to work and praise.
    Grant us wisdom, grand us courage for the living of these days,
        for the living of these days.

This is how we find ourselves: Hosts of the Evil One gang up on us, make fun of our Lord Christ and try to get in the way of all our progress on his behalf. We are tied up with fear and doubt.

This is our prayer: Please God, come and cut us loose – not just so we can run about as we please, but so we can do your work and praise your name. Pour out your wisdom and courage upon us -- as a church, as individuals – because we have days ahead for which we are accountable, days in which we want to live fully as your people.

For his day, Fosdick was considered a liberal, caught in the middle of the fundamentalist-modernist controversy of the 1920’s and 30’s. An outspoken opponent of racism and injustice, he was the first pastor of the great Riverside Church in New York. If you read the full hymn, you will see some of his causes included.

Hardly anyone today would consider him a liberal… more of a centrist if anything. But his great mind and deep commitment to the future of the church, especially in America, led him to write this wonderful hymn in 1930 for our consideration on this first day of January. May we sing this refrain as we begin every day: “Grant us wisdom, grant us courage for the living of these days.”

A Congregational Singing of This Hymn (First Presbyterian in Houston)

Paul Manz Setting on the Organ (Concordia College)

"Consider well and bear in mind what our good God for us has done."

"Consider well and bear in mind what our good God for us has done."
Carol: “Good People All, This Christmas Time” – 12th Century Irish
Tune: WEXFORD CAROL

Because this is not one of those familiar ones that come tripping off the tongue, I will print the first stanza; when you listen to it, you’ll realize how very Irish it is!

Good people all, this Christmas time,
Consider well and bear in mind
What our good God for us has done
In sending his beloved Son.
With Mary, Joseph we should pray
To God with love this Christmas Day.
In Bethlehem upon that morn,
There was a blessed Messiah born.

I’m using this carol NOW because it seems to go along with our taking down the tree and re-packing all our Christmas decorations – telling us not to forget why we have just celebrated this high, holy church season.

Consider well: think sincerely on the past few weeks of Advent’s anticipation and Christmas’s fulfillment. 

Bear in mind: carry with you into the next year the truth, the joy, the shared love of the recent days.

It’s a bit archaic, but we still hear people say (especially in arguments), “Now bear in mind…” That translates to “Now don’t forget.” Seems that this phrase from the ancient Irish carol is reminding us to remember what God has done for us in the midst of all our partying, eating, singing, concerting, etc.

Something you might do to help you with this: Write those first four lines of the carol on a large piece of paper and place it on the top of the last tub you store away after undecorating. Then when you open the box next year, you’ll be reminded of what the season is all about BEFORE you start decorating!

Hear This Carol with Allison Krauss with Yo-Yo Ma

"Where meek souls will receive him, still the dear Christ enters in."

"Where meek souls will receive him, still the dear Christ enters in."
Carol: “O Little Town of Bethlehem” – Phillips Brooks (1835-1893)
Tune: ST. LOUIS

Before we get into the Epiphany season, while we’re still in Christmastide, I want to hit a couple of significant carolines – and this one qualifies:

    “No ear may hear his coming, but in this world of sin,
    Where meek souls will receive him, still the dear Christ enters in.”

As mentioned before in one of my hymnlines on the first half of this stanza (“How silently… the wondrous gift is given”), this line follows that thinking. The word meek is so often categorized with “weak,” and that’s not a good thing. The first synonym for meek is humble – then submissive and compliant. All three of those fit better into our understanding of the biblical concept (and this carol’s meaning) of those meek souls who stand ready to receive the Christ Child: humbly, in submission, open to being shaped or molded.

The word that always jumps out at me in this hymnline is the word “still.” Even now, over 2,000 years later, the dear Christ is standing by, reading to make his entrance into the lives of the meek souls. About thirty years after the manger event, the grown-up Jesus said, “Blessed are the meek for they shall inherit the earth.” (Matthew 5:5) People of gentleness and kindness seem to have a special place in the mind and heart of God, and he is STILL being welcomed and received by folk of that ilk.

He still comes to us. Be still to receive him.

[Everybody skips this stanza, it seems… in worship and on recordings. I couldn’t find another good recording online to post. I guess you’ll have to sing it to yourself!]

"Word of the Father now in flesh appearing."

"Nativity" - El Greco

"Word of the Father now in flesh appearing."
Carol: “O Come, All Ye Faithful” – Latin Hymn (Various Translators)
Tune: ADESTE FIDELES


This is one of the few carols (or hymns for that matter) that has no rhyme scheme. Have you ever noticed that? It doesn’t lessen the impact. As a hymn-writer myself, I’ve spent many hours counting the exact syllables and trying make things rhyme; but when the various translators of this carol worked out the details, they didn’t find assonance to be important.

This carol seems to fling wide the gates of Bethlehem and invite us humans in, encouraging us to come joyfully and triumphantly to see this thing which has come to pass. Angels are invited to once again sing their “glory to God in the highest” refrain. In the final stanza (in most hymnals), we sing, “Yea, Lord, we greet thee,” or in modern English: “Yes, Lord, we welcome you!” That may be MY favorite moment in the carol. And the thought continues with, “Jesus, to thee be all glory given” because you are the “Word of the Father now in flesh appearing.”

Today’s hymnline is a versification of the John 1 passage: “The Word was made flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld his glory…” I doubt we can truly look upon the holy in any way BUT adoringly… with adoration.

Today and every day and night throughout the year, let us come adoring Christ the Lord – the One who comes filled to the brim with grace and truth. After our adoration, let’s allow him to fill us with both those attributes. If we would do that, our 2014 would be a whole different year.

Celtic Woman Singing This Carol

"O hush the noise, you folk of strife, and hear the angels sing."

"O hush the noise, you folk of strife, and hear the angels sing."
Carol: “It Came upon the Midnight Clear” – Edmund H. Sears (1810-1876)
Tune: CAROL

We’re back to my wife Carlita’s favorite carol one more time before we get to Christmas Day. I agree with her that this one has too many great lines to overlook any of them.

People of strife – those who stir up trouble wherever they go: I think that’s to whom this hymnline is addressed. We know people like that, and we all hope we are not one of them! Sometimes these are overtly hostile, picking fights, bullying their way through life. Others are much more subtle – the passive/aggressive types who on the surface seem so positive, kind… even compassionate; however, they are constantly plotting ways to get their own way.

Noise-makers are only fitting for New Year’s Eve parties. Human noise-makers are out of place just about anywhere they show up.

We know of times when warring nations have called a total truce during this holiday season. The most famous of these is the one when all was truly quiet on the Western Front on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day 1914 during World War I. They say enemy troops were crossing the battle lines to greet one another with hugs and handshakes… even tears. Some actually exchanged trinkets.

This hymnline calls the conflict-makers to cut it out, at least for these holy days. Instead, let the troubled souls hear the angels call for “peace on earth” and “goodwill to all.” Wouldn’t it be great if these were heard, heeded and applied… and that even the most localized strife (spousal abuse, child abuse, imposed mental anguish, etc.) would be quieted and peace might reign where strife has run rampant?

With the disciples at the upper room table, we must ask, “Is it I, Lord?” If the answer is “yes,” we need to hush the noise and hear the words of the Christmas angels.

Nobody seems to record this stanza, but Josh Groban’s version is worth hearing.