Away in a Manger

Twelve Songs of Christmas
Song #2 -- Away in a Manger

I have always had a love/hate relationship with the song "Away in a Manger."  I love the melody.  I love the peacefulness of the song.  Mostly I love that everybody knows it, and if someone begins singing the song during the Christmas season, everybody else will join in.  All Christmas carols seem to bring a sense of community, and this song is no different.

What has always bothered me is the line "Little Lord Jesus, no crying he makes."  I've been around babies.  They cry.  All of them.  Find me one baby who does not cry.  You can't, because they all do it.

You might say, "But it's cute. It's peaceful. It's nice to imagine Jesus that way."  It may be cute, but it's lies.  I have two children.  They cry.  They cried the moment they were born, and they cried on and off for the entire time they were babies.

I brought this up during youth group when I was in high school.  My youth leaders responded, "No, Jesus didn't cry.  Jesus wouldn't have had anything to cry about.  He was God.  What would he have to cry about?"
Well, for one, he used to be in a warm, comfortable womb, and now he's lying in a manger.
For another, he's a baby, and babies cry.

As it turns out, I'm not the only one for whom this lyric was problematic.  At the 1999 Princeton Lectures on Youth, Church, and Culture, Cynthia L. Rigby said:
Think about Christmastime, when we sing in "Away in a Manger" these words: "...the little Lord Jesus, no crying he makes." No crying? Why do we say he doesn't cry? Perhaps because we know he is God, and God can't cry. On some level, we tend to reason to ourselves that, if Jesus is God, the whole baby thing must be kind of a disguise. He must have been not just an ordinary baby. . . he must have been a "superbaby." If we really believed in the incarnation, believing that Jesus is fully human as well as fully divine, we would instead sing: "The little Lord Jesus, much crying he makes."

You could argue that the song is merely talking about the night Jesus was born.  Sure, it is possible that Jesus did not cry on the night he was born. However, neither Matthew or Luke reference this.

You might think that I am examining this song too closely.  However, churches around the world sing this song each and every year, and I think it's important to know what exactly we are singing when we recite these words.  So let us take a minute or two to reflect on this beloved song.

Away in a manger, no crib for a bed,
The little Lord Jesus laid down his sweet head,
The stars in the bright sky looked down where he lay,
The little Lord Jesus asleep on the hay.

Verse one is not terribly problematic.  Jesus was in a manger.  There was no guest room available for him.  He probably did lay down; quite possibly on hay.  Moving on.

The cattle are lowing, the baby awakes,
But little Lord Jesus no crying he makes.

The cows loudly moo and wake up the baby, but he doesn't cry.  That must be in the forgotten fifth gospel.

I love you, Lord Jesus; look down from the sky,
And stay by my side until morning is nigh.

Be near me, Lord Jesus, I ask you to stay
Close by me for ever, and love me, I pray.

Midway through verse two and on into verse three, the song suddenly turns into a prayer that Jesus will guide us as we navigate life here on earth. 

Bless all the dear children in your tender care,
And fit us for heaven, to live with you there.

The song concludes with a call for Christ to bless all of his children, and a prayer that God will make us people who fit with the kingdom that God is preparing; a kingdom made up of every tribe, tongue, and nation.

If we examine this song as a prayer, it contains many elements in line with how Jesus taught his followers to pray.

This, then, is how you should pray:

Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your name,
your kingdom come,
your will be done,
on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us today our daily bread.
And forgive us our debts,
as we also have forgiven our debtors.
And lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from the evil one (Matthew 6:9-13).

 

In this prayer, Jesus says that prayer should include

1. awe at God's awesome power,

2. submission to God's kingdom and will,

3. asking for God's help throughout our daily lives,

4. repentance, and 

5. forgiveness for others.

 

Similarly, Away in a Manger

1. praises God for the Christ that's been born (okay, the song simply describes the baby and the manger, but it's assumed that the song writer is thankful for this baby),

2. asks God for help and guidance in life,

3. asks for blessing for all peoples of the world, and

4. asks God to make us people who are fit for heaven

 

Looked at as a whole, Away in a Manger is a great song of praise to the God who came into the world as a baby, and continues to guide and mold us as we navigate this life today.  I will never be at peace with the image of a baby Jesus who never cries (BABIES CRY!).  However, the Jesus who continues to live today as Lord and Savior is truly worth worshipping.

Angels We Have Heard on High

Twelve Songs of Christmas
Song #1: Angels We Have Heard on High

Glory to God in the Highest!

Each year, many churches around the world sing the words "Gloria in Excelsis Deo," which means "Glory to God in the Highest!"  This phrase comes from the book of Luke 2:8-20:

In that region there were shepherds living in the fields, keeping watch over their flock by night. Then an angel of the Lord stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid; for see—I am bringing you good news of great joy for all the people: to you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is the Messiah, the Lord. This will be a sign for you: you will find a child wrapped in bands of cloth and lying in a manger.” And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host, praising God and saying, "Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace among those whom he favors!" When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let us go now to Bethlehem and see this thing that has taken place, which the Lord has made known to us.” So they went with haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the child lying in the manger. When they saw this, they made known what had been told them about this child; and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds told them. But Mary treasured all these words and pondered them in her heart. The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen, as it had been told them.

Shepherds, why this jubilee?

The shepherds were privy to the coming king!  The shepherds were told by the angel of the Lord that the Messiah was born, and they would find him in a manger.  The Messiah, the anointed one, the one who would bring salvation to God's people, was here!

What the gladsome tidings be which inspire your heavenly song?

What is this news that's making you sing Glory to God in the Highest?
This question is answered in the very next verse.  Come to Bethlehem and see Him whose birth the angels sing.  The baby is born!  The Messiah, the Savior, is here!

The shepherds are privy to the coming King, and knowing that God has brought the coming Messiah to the world causes those who see and experience to join in the angels song: "Gloria in Excelsis Deo!  Glory to God in the Highest!"  The true king of the world is born!  The kingdom of God is at hand!

And they couldn't keep it in. The passage ends with the declaration that "the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen, as it had been told them."

"Angels We Have Heard on High" focuses first on the perspective of the angels singing, and then the shepherds' joy, and ends with a call for Mary and Joseph to join in the song.

See Him in a manger laid
Jesus Lord of heaven and earth;
Mary, Joseph, lend your aid,
With us sing our Savior’s birth.

The song begins with the angels.  It grows with the shepherds.  This song continues to grow as more discover the wonder that has occurred in the world.  The Christ, the Messiah, has come, and the appropriate response is to join in the heavenly song: Gloria in Excelsis Deo.

May this song continue to grow this Christmas season as we celebrate what we have seen and experienced: the Messiah has come into the world! God's kingdom is at hand!