Spring Arrives

             

For, see, the Winter is past:

Its rain is over and gone away.

The flowers appear in the land;

The time of singing has arrived,

And the voice of the turtledove 

               is heard in our land.

The fig tree gives out her green figs,

And the vines, the tender grapes,

Give a good smell.

--Song of Solomon 2: 11-13a  

   (translated c.m.b., 2024)

Lamb of God

 "Look, the Lamb of God,

Who takes away the sin of the world!"  

      (John 1:29b, 36b)

So said John the Baptist,

The voice of one who calls out. (Isaiah 40:3)

He is the Lamb of God,

Not the Ram of God.

"Your Lamb must be unblemished,

A one-year-old male..."  

     (Exodus 12:5a; Leviticus l4:10; Ezekiel 46:13)

Most things are cleaned with blood:

Without the shedding of blood,

There is no forgiveness.  (Hebrews 9:22)

Make One still young the offering,

The last of such bloody suffering; (Daniel 9:27)

Yet His soul shall rise to see

The spiritual children He brought to be.  (Isaiah 53:10)

The Ancient Lamb not very old;

With blood worth more than even gold:

It sets the human captives free

From sin's eternal misery.  (I Peter 1:19; Exodus, etc)

How much more will the Blood of Christ,--

He who offered Himself to God

Through the Eternal Spirit

As an unblemished sacrifice--

Cleanse our consciences from dead works

To serve the Living God?  (Hebrews 9:14)

As a lamb to the slaughter He was led;

And as a sheep before her shearers is silent,

So He did not open His mouth.  (Isaiah 53:7b)

"And I, 

If I be lifted up from the earth,

I will draw all people to myself."  (John 12:32) 

So taught the Lamb

Before His time had come.

"The Son of Man 

Must suffer many things.

He must be killed,

And on the third day raised to life."

  (Luke 9:21, 43, 18:31; Mark 9:32; Matthew 17:23)

Myriads of myriads, 

Thousands of thousands,

Angels and elders 

All saying with a loud voice,

"Worthy is the Lamb,

Who was slaughtered,

To receive power and wealth and wisdom

And might and honor and glory and blessing!"  

     (Revelation 5:12)  

For the Lamb,

The One in the center of the throne,

Will shepherd them.

And He will lead them 

To Living Fountains of Waters.  (Revelation 7:17a)

                 --translations & short verse c.m.b. (c) 2024

Perfect Love

     This is another year that Valentine's Day falls on Ash Wednesday.  A real reminder of the sacrificial love of all the Saint Valentines.  (See also my other blog for some Valentine's thoughts)

The Months

 
January brings the snow,

Makes our feet and fingers glow.

February brings the rain*,

Thaws the frozen lake again.

March brings breezes large and shrill,

Stirs the dancing daffodil.

April brings the primrose sweet,

Scatters daisies at our feet.

May brings flocks of pretty lambs,

Skipping by their fleecy damns.

June brings tulips, lilies, roses,

Fills the children's hands with posies.

Hot July brings cooling showers,

Apricots and gillyflowers**.

August brings the sheaves of corn***,

Then the harvest home is borne.

Warm September brings the fruit,

Sportsmen then begin to shoot.

Fresh October brings the pheasants,

Then to gather nuts is pleasant.

Dull November brings the blast,

Then the leaves are whirling fast.

Chill December brings the sleet*,

Blazing fire and Christmas treat. 

     ---Sara Coleridge (1802-1852)

     English writer Sara Coleridge is most known as the only daughter of Samuel Taylor Coleridge and an editor of his work, particularly after her father and her husband died.  However, she was an author and translator in her own right.

     In the 21st century, a discovery of over 100 of her unpublished poems was made.  A lecturer at University College, London, Dr. Swaab, discovered them in the Coleridge manuscripts and published them in 2007.

*Many places in the northern hemisphere will still snow in December & February. The British Isles, being smallish and surrounded by water, do not always have the conditions for snow.

**Gillyflowers:  most often, another term for "carnations", though the term may be applied to other flowers,

***Corn: old-school, Old World, meant "wheat" (whereas New World "corn" was called some variant of "maize.")

****Though this poem is not overtly religious, Sara was.  She opposed the Oxford Movement (Tractarian Movement), in the 1840s.  The movement led to an Anglican Church that was more "high church" or more similar to Roman Catholicism, as opposed to other protestant ideas present in England.  [Gerard Manly Hopkins, whose work is featured elsewhere in this blog, did approve of the Tractarian Movement.  Eventually he went so far as to formally become Roman Catholic.]

Perspective

 

As we take a bittersweet look at how quickly this last year has passed, like so many before it...  

Here Between Ass & Oxen Mild

 

1. Here between ass and oxen* mild,

Sleep, sleep, sleep my little Child.

Thousand seraphim,

Thousand cherubim

Keeping watch above 

This Mighty God of Love. 

 

 

2.  Here within Mary's sweet embrace

Sleeps, sleeps, sleeps this Fruit of Grace. 

Thousand seraphim,

Thousand cherubim

Keeping watch above 

This Mighty God of Love.  

 

3. Here between rose and lily sweet**

Sleep, sleep, sleep, my Son petite.

Thousand seraphim,

Thousand cherubim

Keeping watch above 

This Mighty God of Love.

 

4.  Here between the shepherds wondering

Sleep, sleep, Jesus, newborn King.

Thousand seraphim,

Thousand cherubim

Keeping watch above 

This Mighty God of Love.  

 

  

5.  On this holy day which God chose well

Sleeps, sleeps, sleeps Emmanuel.

Thousand seraphim,

Thousand cherubim

Keeping watch above 

This Mighty God of Love.  

 

-- developed from the 13th century French carol, “Entre le bœuf et l’âne gris” ["Between the Ox & Grey Donkey"]; this version (c) C. Marie Byars, 2023

 

*The "ox and ass" portrayals go beyond assuming what might be in a stable. Medieval Roman Catholic churchmen and songwriters were adding their interpretation of Isaiah 1:3-- "The ox knows its owner, and the donkey its master’s feed trough [manger, crib], but Israel does not know; My people do not understand."

 

 A donkey may or may not have conveyed the pregnant Mary to Bethlehem. The Bible doesn't say.  An otherwise hale and hearty Mary may have walked the 90 mile journey.

 

What Child Is This   Also features ox and donkey.  

 

**The lily was a symbol of the Virgin Mary's purity.  (Though not used for old Christmas symbolism, it's a nice way to remember the story of Good Friday & Easter were already embedded into the Christmas account.)   The rose has variously been a symbol of Mary and of Jesus.  For both, it is a symbol of purity.  When used as a symbol of Jesus, it hearkens back to then Old Testament Rose of Sharon (which was actually a crocus in Hebrew, a small, early spring bulb flower!).  The Rose of Sharon was the one who pursued His beloved in the Song of Solomon.  

 

(There are various myths about winter roses and Mary's searching and struggles, also, which cropped up over the centuries.)

 

The Nativity in the photos is our own.  It is a composite of a couple different Italian sets.   We wait until closer to Epiphany (January 6) to put out the Wise Men.

For All the Saints

All Saints Day is November 1st.  It is a day to remember those who have departed the world before us and are in Christ's presence forever.  

My favorite departed saint to remember is my maternal grandmother, whose photos you will find scattered throughout.  In Lutheran thinking (following how the Bible uses the term), all Christians are "saints" because Christ has made us holy by saving us. We don't live it out perfectly (sadly, we often don't live it out well at all), but Christ is the Perfect One, the Holy One who makes us that way in God's eyes. 

For all the saints 

Who from their labors rest,
Who Thee by faith 

Before the world confessed;
Thy name, O Jesus, 

Be forever blest.
Alleluia, Alleluia!

Thou wast their Rock, 

Their Fortress and their Might;
Thou, Lord, their Captain 

In the well-fought fight;
Thou, in the darkness drear, 

Their one true Light.
Alleluia, Alleluia!

O blest communion, 

Fellowship divine!
We feebly struggle, 

They in glory shine;
Yet all are one in Thee, 

For all are Thine.
Alleluia, Alleluia!

But then there breaks 

A still more glorious day:
The saints triumphant 

Rise in bright array;
The King of Glory 

Passes on His way.
Alleluia, Alleluia!

From earth's wide bounds, 

From ocean's farthest coast,
Through gates of pearl 

Streams in the countless host,
in praise of Father, 

Son, and Holy Ghost.
Alleluia, Alleluia!  --William Walsham How, 1864

W.W. How was born in 1823 in England and died in 1897 in Ireland.  He was an Anglican priest who rose to be a bishop.