O come, all ye faithful, joyful and triumphant, O come ye, O come ye to Bethlehem. Come and behold him, born the King of angels. O come, let us adore him, O come, let us adore him, O come, let us adore him, Christ the Lord!
This morning we premiered our 2020 Children’s Nativity for the church where I serve. It was filmed 99.9% on Zoom by nineteen children from our church family, plus an amazing supporting cast. And our younglings were a wonder to behold retelling the well-known story with candor, humor, and love.
It was a joyous occasion and as a result, it was this song that remained as the ear worm in my head all day long. More specifically, it was my husband’s favorite arrangement of it, which I’ve included on the link below.
Over the years I have been blessed to sing so many different versions of this classic hymn, in English and in the original Latin. It possibly dates as early as the thirteenth century, but more likely the seventeenth. And has remained a standard hymn for Christmas church services ever since.
In many ways, this song is the ultimate beckoning hymn for the arrival of Christmastide. And given the fact that Christmas begins on Friday, Christmas Eve is only four days away, and we are in the home stretch, what better way to celebrate the final Sunday in Advent than by lifting up the angel’s call that is already beginning to arrive in our midst.
Get ready, it says. The time is almost here.
So, deep breaths everyone. Try not to panic. And remember to do what you can to find some joy when you are able, even when it pops up in unexpected places – like here!
Because Bethlehem waits. And ready or not, here we go.
Even Before 