Bill's Comments

Let all mortal flesh keep silence,
And with fear and trembling stand;
Ponder nothing earthly minded,
For with blessing in His hand,
Christ our God to earth descendeth,
Our full homage to command.
--Liturgy of St James
--17th century French carol

The preceding lyrics from the Liturgy of St James and set to a French 17th century carol, offer a distinct contrast to our modern, secular preparations for Christmas. While the rest of the world in this Advent season frantically competes with “National Lampoon’s Christmas” to combat the earlier darkness and late morning light, and blasts the sounds of Christmas music, the lyrics of which have lost all meaning in their repetition, to drown out the voices in our heads that wonder what we are really doing, this gentle song says to stop, wonder, and feel the great blessing that was once and forever bestowed upon us and that we celebrate every year.

God gives us what we need, and as this song tells us, we do not need more things and more distraction. We need more wonder, more gratitude, more willingness to worship, to stop our insane pace and find the peace being offered.