God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen -- Anonymous

 

Whoever the author was, could it be that he actually saw the painting here (by Gerard van Honthorst), since it was done in 1622, and that he was inspired to write something in poetry to match how he felt upon seeing this work? “God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen” was how this anonymous author felt that Christmas season, perhaps sometime as early as the 16^th Century, although other sources indicate it was written in either the 17^th Century or possibly even later. And, note where the comma occurs, and that this changes the flavor of the song’s message too. Do this author’s words make you feel the awe and wonder that the characters in the poem experienced? Perhaps that might explain too why the music was crafted the way it was. There’s plenty to appreciate about how this nameless writer went about expressing the greatest joy mankind can have. Maybe that realization also affected what would flow from his quill.

 

This writer puts himself and us in the shoes (or sandals) of everyone that was there to gaze upon the Christ-child those first few hours. While all humanity can feel merriment at the sin-relief this child would eventually provide, the phrasing and the meaning of the word ‘rest’ and ‘merry’ in old England indicates God is the one acting upon us -- He’s the one making us merry. Alternatively, if the comma is misplaced, I’m wished a rest, but my merriment could be interpreted as just a human condition that’s only indirectly related to this rest He provides. Think of the original intent of the phrase as ‘Be ye made merry’ -- with the ‘rest’ meaning that He’s keeping, causing, and making my joyous condition remain in place. That’s more than just feeling relief or rest, right? What other emotions the writer had might also be deduced, if he had a hand in the printed music that eventually showed up in the 1700s and 1800s. Even musically illiterate folks can hear the difference between a song written in a major versus a minor key. That musical historians believe ‘God Rest Ye Merry…’ was conceived in a minor key suggests the poet-musician was trying to covey more than an upbeat praise, but instead really the awe the onlookers at Bethlehem sensed. Certainly, ‘comfort and joy’ (in the refrain) must have been present, but wonderment and amazement at how events had transpired must have coaxed many questions, too. Who among the shepherds would not have had eyes-wide-open looks on their faces when seeing the angels (vv.3-5) and then discovering this exceptional God-child in a cow’s feeding trough (vv. 2,6)? ‘Fear not’ (v.4), they’re told. They’ve also surmised that they are ‘saved from Satan’s power’ (v.1), a most breathtaking consequence of this child’s life.

 

Most hymnbooks, unfortunately, do not have the 7^th and 8^th verses of ‘God Rest Ye Merry…’, a missed opportunity for a bit of evolution that could be achieved in the hymn’s tone, as it concludes. Those two verses seem to emotionally crown the events of the previous six. So, here’s a suggestion from this lay-person-blogger: how about modulating verses 7 and 8 into a major key? This would let the celebrants know that indeed, now there’re no lingering doubts – that nothing but ‘sing(ing) praises …true love and brotherhood’ (v.6), and ‘many…merry Christmas (es)’ (v.7) await us who glow in His presence. Something indeed to celebrate in the season, and not just at Christmastime.

   

   

See more information on the song story in these sources: The Complete Book of Hymns – Inspiring Stories About 600 Hymns and Praise Songs by William J. Petersen and Ardythe Petersen, Tyndale House Publishers, 2006.

 

See here for history of the song: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/God_Rest_You_Merry,_Gentlemen

 

See link here to the song’s original eight verses and refrain: http://www.hymntime.com/tch/htm/g/o/d/r/godrest.htm

 

See here information re: the source in which the song may have first been published: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roxburghe_Ballads

Let Us Break Bread Together -- Anonymous

 

They were gathering in the morning for this occasion, and they were probably slaves somewhere in 19^th Century southeastern America, perhaps as specific an area as shown here (see map). That they had transported some of what they sang from their African roots is also possible for this group of worshippers. We know not their names, but when they jointly said “Let Us Break Bread Together”, it marked the part of their day that helped them endure. If they were like others of their heritage and their status in life, reaching outside of themselves for strength was not really a casual affair. And yet it was an option, embodied in the first two words of what they said, in contrast to the enforced state that characterized most of their day. The ‘Lord’ to whom they sang was quite a different master than the earthly one they saw every day.

 

The history of 19^th Century American slavery certainly needs no further exposition here to put into context why such a song as “Let Us Break Bread Together” emerged.  (See below for link to information on African-American Spirituals.) Nevertheless, there are several specifics about the song’s origin that help us 21^st Century travelers see more than we would at first glance. One source indicates that the West African group known as the Gullah/Geechee people who became slaves in the American Southeastern coast in the colonial period (1700s) – Carolinas, Georgia, and northeastern Florida (see map) – were the song’s creators. Other sources indicate alternately that slaves in Virginia first sang “Let Us…”. Were the people also reaching back to Islamic West African roots when they sang about ‘facing the rising sun’? And, some suggest that the group singing about being ‘on our knees’ were doing this activity stealthily, perhaps in conflict with the wishes of their owners. The most commonly held assumptions include the idea that this was a communion song, hence the ‘break(ing) bread’ (v.1) and ‘drink(ing) wine’ are references to the elements shared in memory of Jesus’ body; certainly, that is how the hymn is used today, but whether that is too narrow a focus at its inception is also possible. Some things are certain: those who gathered wanted to be together to acclaim God (v.3), to seek His mercy (refrain), and to eat and drink amongst each other (vv. 1-2), whether that was communion or a regular meal. Was that all? That they did this often enough, and that the words they sang survived for centuries, speaks to something else that we can presume persuaded their singing: they drew strength from His power when they lifted their voices.

 

The Unseen, as He is for all us earthbound folk, is a great hope that defies the trouble I’m in today. I need some source of transport beyond where I am or where I see myself going physically. And so, looking up is not only spiritually comforting, it’s logical. Admit it. Or, do you find solace in an uncertain future, or merely shrug your shoulders at everyday frustrations? No, you don’t, and neither do I. I need to know my life will not descend into nothing-ness. That’s what I think I might have been mulling over as a slave, gritting my teeth at the harsh nature of my life. It’s gonna be better – even glorious --  someday. That’s why I gird my spirit daily with others – break bread together, and look upward, and call out to Him.     

 

   

See more information on the song in these sources: The Complete Book of Hymns – Inspiring Stories About 600 Hymns and Praise Songs by William J. Petersen and Ardythe Petersen, Tyndale House Publishers, 2006; Amazing Grace: 366 Inspiring Hymn Stories for Daily Devotions by Kenneth W. Osbeck, Kregel Publications, 1990.   

 

Also see this link, showing all three original verses: http://www.hymntime.com/tch/htm/l/e/t/u/letusbbt.htm

 

See here for history of the song: https://www.umcdiscipleship.org/resources/history-of-hymns-let-us-break-bread-together

 

See here also: https://hymnary.org/text/let_us_break_bread_together_on_our_knees

 

See here for broader information on this genre of music: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spirituals

Purer Yet and Purer -- Johann Wolfgang von Goethe and Anne R. Bennett

 

He wanted to be better than he was. Though Johann Wolfgang von Goethe was saying it in a different language (Anne Bennett would later translate his German into English), he was essentially saying ‘I’m not as good at this life as I want to be’. “Purer Yet and Purer” was only one part of eight ways in which Johann Goethe sought to express how he wanted to improve. Goethe was multitalented, which says that even the accomplished person might feel something is missing in all the various pursuits of his life. Sadly, Johann did not seem to cling without reserve to the God that Christians know, yet he said something in his poem about striving progressively as a human creation of the Divine One that spoke to those who came after him, including Anne Bennett.

 

Does it really matter that the year and the circumstances of Goethe’s poetry are not crystal clear? Poetry was but one facet of this 18^th/19^th Century German literary figure, regarded by many as a giant of his era, perhaps because of the various interests in which he engaged. He was trained in the legal profession, yet ultimately pursued poetry and other related literary interests – novels, plays, and art -- and then various scientific fields like botany, anatomy, and color, besides being involved in statecraft and politics. Perhaps it was early in his life, when he still was studying and then practicing law (late 1760s-early 1770s), and when the young Goethe reportedly wrote much of his early poetry, that he penned ‘Purer Yet and Purer’. Goethe was said to be a ‘freethinker’, meaning that he believed in parts of the Christian faith, yet was critical of church practices and even disliked the cross and its symbolism. God, for him, was more than what the Lutherans had conveyed during his childhood, and Goethe instead gravitated toward Spinozan thought – God’s attributes were evident in thought and matter, and God is a self-reliant substance. One can see how Goethe might have been seeking this God in all the variety of his life’s interests. In his poetry, it wasn’t just purity in his mind (v.1) that Johann sought, but seven other personal goals that he wanted to attain. ‘Dearer’(v.1)  – more devoted, perhaps -- he wanted to be in all he did. He wanted to be ‘calmer’ and ‘surer’ (v.2) in times of suffering, and ultimately trusting joyfully in God. Was Goethe anticipating or actually going through a more advanced stage of life when he wrote that he aspired to rise ‘higher’ and ‘nearer’ (v.3) toward something, and to run the race of life ‘swifter’ and feel ‘firmer’ (v.4) on his path toward a goal? How many of these expressions of Goethe echoed also in the spirit of the translator Anne Bennett by the mid-19^th Century, when the Goethe’s poem was first published in English?

 

Goethe was not a model Christian believer. And, he wasn’t a perfectly tuned human, despite all the acclaim he garnered by the end of his life; notably, he failed at the legal profession, the choice of profession he made early in his life. In the same period, he also experienced severe illness as a young man. Later, Goethe fathered one son out of wedlock, before marrying his mistress and fathering two other children. And, some of the works Goethe penned would be characterized as bawdy, and pushed the boundaries of social etiquette for his time, not to mention Christian values. All this says even someone as brilliant as Goethe has warts. And yet, he did say something in this one poem, something that is true for everyone. I fall short of my Creator. I can see Him off in the distance. And, I want and need Him to be closer every day that I get older. Is He getting closer for you?

 

 

See all the verses and some very brief information on the hymn here: http://www.hymntime.com/tch/htm/p/u/r/e/pureryet.htm

 

See information on the author here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Johann_Wolfgang_von_Goethe