Was it
near Christmas time, or was there a children’s bible class that inspired two writers
to pen these three verses, separated by at least several decades on history’s
timeline? The author of the first two verses of “Away in a Manger” remains
debatable, and therefore anonymous, while an educator and minister named John
Thomas McFarland most likely crafted the words of the 3rd verse in
the early 19th Century while in New York City. The first author has
us look upon God the Holy Child, while the second author has the positions reversed
– we’re all His children. That’s an unusual condition, to put it mildly; how
does one occupy the lowest state of maturity, and yet be considered a Divine parent
too? Only one is capable of that phenomenon, a providential circumstance that
profits all of us who need a God who can lift humanity above our corrupt, adolescent
selves onto another plane.
If the
author of the first two verses was Martin Luther – which most sources today
cast doubt upon – his words would be separated from John McFarland’s third verse
by several centuries, though both sets of words portray God in relationship to
children. Perhaps that’s why this hymn has so commonly been associated with
Christmas, the holiday that is perhaps most closely connected to children. At
one time, ‘Away in a Manger’ was subtitled as ‘Luther’s Cradle Song, and was frequently
used as a Christmas carol, especially by the latter 19th Century. Perhaps
naturally, the 3rd verse came
about as one church school teacher (Bishop William F. Anderson) proposed to another
(John McFarland) that an additional verse would round out the song nicely for
use in a children’s program. (Anderson suggests that 1904-08 is the period in
which he coaxed McFarland to pen the words.) John McFarland reportedly assented
and produced the words in one hour that we still have today. One can imagine
that McFarland first considered the drift of the original two verses and then
replied with his third verse. Maybe he thought any further exposition of the biblical
scene of the God-Child in His first few moments was unnecessary, and therefore
decided to exchange his own seat of observation for the child’s seat. Did He
ponder that Jesus remained God-like as an infant and later too as He matured as
a human? In contrast, the human remains a child (of God) no matter how aged he
becomes. John notes in his verse that he needed Him to be ‘…close by’ and to ‘…bless
…children…to live with Thee’ (v.3). John
evidently had his eye not just on the Christmas season and the kids he could
see, but a broader picture that includes us grown-ups.
No one
wants to remain a child, at least forever, right? Kids want to grow up and be
able to ‘boss themselves’, instead of obeying parents for every decision, so
they say. Remember that first time you felt like you controlled yourself, where
to go, what to do, etc.? Hey, but other stuff goes with adulthood…bills,
schedules, responsibilities. Is being a kid all that bad? Did Jesus go through
the same quandary as he grew up as a human? Did He long for the manger again when
He drew near Golgotha? He was resolute (Luke 9:51), apparently, as His own
adulthood’s climax approached. Am I that way too? Are you, today? None of us
can go backward to the crib. A better resting place awaits all us kids, huh?
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; and 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 and a
brief account of the song’s development: http://www.hymntime.com/tch/htm/a/w/a/y/awaymang.htm
See history of the song here, also: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Away_in_a_Manger
See here for brief biography of 3rd verse’s reputed author:
http://www.hymntime.com/tch/bio/m/c/f/mcfarland_jt.htm
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