Re: A Christmas Message

"In the bleak midwinter" -- I LOVE that song and its haunting
melody! Click here http://www.cyberhymnal.org/htm/i/n/intbleak.htm
to hear it and read more of the verses.

Merry Christmas, All!

--merv
 

George Murphy wrote:

> I'd forgotten that. For another hymn verse in a similar vein, here's
> Christina Georgina Rossetti (in the old Lutheran _Service Book and
> Hymnal _ #36 - the version in the Episcopal hymnal is a bit different.)
>
>
> Heaven cannot hold him,
>
> Nor earth sustain;
>
> Heaven and earth shall flee away
>
> When he comes to reign;
>
> In the bleak midwinter
>
> A stable place sufficed
>
> The Lord God Almighty
>
> Jesus Christ.
>
> Shalom
> George
> http://web.raex.com/~gmurphy/ <http://web.raex.com/%7Egmurphy/>
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> *From:* George Murphy <mailto:gmurphy@raex.com>
> *To:* Michael Roberts <mailto:michael.andrea.r@ukonline.co.uk> ;
> asa@calvin.edu <mailto:asa@calvin.edu>
> *Sent:* Saturday, December 24, 2005 4:19 PM
> *Subject:* Re: A Christmas Message
>
> In line with Michael's message, this verse from one of Luther's
> Christmas hymns (Vol.53 of _Luther's Works_, p.291):
>
>
> Ah Lord, the maker of us all!
>
> How hast thou grown so poor and small,
>
> That there thou liest on withered grass,
>
> The supper of the ox and ass?
>
>
> Shalom
> George
> http://web.raex.com/~gmurphy/ <http://web.raex.com/%7Egmurphy/>
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> *From:* Michael Roberts <mailto:michael.andrea.r@ukonline.co.uk>
> *To:* asa@calvin.edu <mailto:asa@calvin.edu>
> *Sent:* Saturday, December 24, 2005 3:53 PM
> *Subject:* A Christmas Message
>
> Something I wrote for our church
>
>
> *_Something small for Christmas_*
>
> The best things always come in small packages. We often think
> biggest is best, but the two best things there are both began
> as something totally miniscule. Both are well known, but one
> more known than the other, both are almost totally incredible
> and I cannot decide which is the more incredible. Yet many an
> atheist will regard one as totally and utterly true and the
> other as a stupid fairy tale. I, as a Christian, totally
> accept the one and regard the other as almost absolutely
> certain. Yes, I am talking in riddles but then Jesus and many
> of the Old Testament prophets sometimes did as well!
>
>
>
> So what are these two miniscule items?
>
>
>
> The smaller of the two minute things is the universe at the
> point of its formation some 13,000,000 years in the event
> commonly called the Big Bang. As astrophysicists and
> cosmologists have sought to work out the history of the
> universe and going back as far as they can, they found that at
> the beginning the whole mass of the universe was concentrated
> in a speck of infinitesimally small size. They don't argue
> about this but are not sure exactly when and estimates of the
> time it occurred is between 10 and 15 billion years ago and
> the favoured time today is about 13 billion. >From that point,
> marking the beginning of time and space, the point expanded
> and cooled and after three minutes had cooled to a thousand
> million degrees. Much later stars and galaxies were formed and
> thus we end up with the vast universe we know today (or rather
> hardly know). The whole picture is mind-boggling and almost
> unbelievable but that is what scientists have uncovered. There
> is no reason to reject this and it has been well-described by
> Bill Bryson in /A short history of nearly everything./
> However, it has to be said some atheists try to present this
> as proof that God doesn't exist, which is nonsense. The Bible
> is simply not bothered about the scientific details but in
> many places puts the fact of God as creator in wonderful
> poetic ways as in the first chapter of Genesis.
>
>
>
> The larger of the two things is the baby Jesus, whose official
> birthday we celebrate this month. There is something equally
> mind-boggling, God the creator of everything - and the
> originator of the Big Bang - "shrunk" to become a little
> human baby to sort out the follies of the human race. Too
> often at Christmas we only think of the birth and its
> trappings (most later fabrications) and make it a children's
> story in the worst sense. The heart of the Christmas message
> is summed up by John at the beginning of his gospel, "And the
> Word became flesh and dwelt among us" i.e. God a.k.a. the
> Word, had become a human baby. Luke (chap 2 vs 12) gave the
> reason, "for to you is born this day in the city of David a
> Saviour, who is Christ the Lord". Note he did not say to be
> moral teacher and a jolly one at that, but a Saviour, which is
> far more and something we can only grasp through Jesus' death
> and resurrection.
>
>
>
> Just two little things to remember this Christmas and far more
> mind-blowing than anything else.
>
>
>
Received on Sat Dec 24 22:52:49 2005