Zoomer's Christmas Card: The Cherry Tree Carol (Child 54)

Recorded 14 December 2013
(KTEP Christmas broadcast)
Zoomer Roberts: vocal & harmonica
Buddy Winston: guitar

Sermon: "Traditions"

I have a great fondness for the older forms of the English language -- the language of the King James Bible, which first saw print almost 400 years ago, in 1611. It has an ornateness and beauty that's largely missing from the way most of us speak and write today. But, of course, we're thousands of miles and hundreds of years away from the source of old English ~ Olde England ~ and to many people in this place and time the King James Bible is irrelevant.

Similarly, many of our hymns and carols are written in old English, and we often sing them without giving much thought to what we're saying. And I use the word "saying" because singing a hymn is exactly the same thing as reciting the Lord's Prayer or the Apostle's Creed. The only difference is that hymns have more modulation (?) in them.

We sing about diadems, prostrate angels, ebenezers, the triune God, the ancient of days, etc., without ever really connecting to them. The words don't conjure up a mental picture to us. These aren't words or phrases we use. Worse yet, most of us never take the time to look them up. And every December, we add wassailing, Winceslas, frankencense, mhyrr and Jewry to this phantom vocabulary. WE do, anyway. A lot of people have given these old songs the old heave-ho.

(I have given the heave-ho-ho-ho to "Jingle Bells," "Sleigh Ride," "Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow!" and the entire Beach Boys Christmas Album.)

But I cling to the old versions of Scripture, and to the old carols, not only because of their quaint charm, but because of their great tradition. They offer me something everlasting in a throw-away (disposable?) world.

Carols were popular throughout Europe as far back as the 14th century. They were a folksy alternative to the somber music of the church, and they were not only sung, but danced. Hence they tended to be lively. Carols weren't restricted to Christmas, either ~ carols were sung for all occasions.

But the Puritan English Parliament of 1647 officially abolished Christmas and all other festivals. Carols and caroling didn't re-emerge until 1822. Collections of the old songs were published, and the protestant English clergy of the Victorian era enthusiastically taught them to their parishioners. Their American cousins quickly followed suit, and it was at this time that one of my favorite old English carols ~ "God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen" ~ became popular in its current form.

God rest ye merry, gentlemen, let nothing you dismay,
Remember Christ our Saviour was born on Christmas Day;
To save us all from Satan's power when we were gone astray

O tidings of comfort and joy, comfort and joy;
O tidings of comfort and joy

Its durability lies in the way that its first verse so plainly expresses the essence of the Christmas story. And it has a good beat, and you can dance to it. You can swing it. You can rap it.

Most of us think the title is "God Rest Ye, Merry Gentlemen," but it's not. The placement of a comma can change the meaning considerably.

For example, the Scriptural passage "the voice of one crying in the wilderness, 'Prepare ye the way...'" is cited elsewhere as "the voice of one crying, 'In the wilderness, prepare ye the way...'" That one little comma can make a big difference.

"Tidings of comfort and joy," it says. God and man had been estranged since way back in the 3rd chapter of Genesis, and the birth of Jesus brought reconciliation. "God and sinners reconciled," as it says in yet another old Christmas song. Here, the singer is saying, Be happy in the LORD; don't let anything get you down; Christ has come.

"The angel said to them, 'Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all people. For today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord.'" Luke 2:10-11

It seems like an anomaly that spirits are down and the death rate is up at this time of year, but we have taken the Christmas season, secularized it, and traded the spiritual comfort and joy for the anxiety of acquisition. That's a trite thing to say ~ it's been said to death. There's nothing wrong with giving or receiving gifts ~ it is, after all, a commemoration of the Magi's gifts to the Christ child ~ but we as a society have become obsessed with it to the exclusion of all else. And that "all else" is the really good part we're missing out on.

I used to hear the old folks talk about getting an orange for Christmas. As a child, I thought that was just awful, but the old folks didn't seem to harbor any resentment about it. They said they appreciated things more in those days.

The big difference between that generation and the baby boomers is that WWII took our country from bust to boom. In the post-war prosperity, we were able to actually select merchandise from the Sears & Roebuck catalogue, whereas the previous generation had relegated it to other, earthier uses. At our house, the arrival of the "wish book" was an exciting event in itself, and we would gaze and gawk at the gadgets, gizmos, and googaws therein.

On Christmas morning (Christmas Eve after we kids grew up and moved out) we would gather around the tree and exchange presents. If everyone was home (and married) there were eight of us: my parents, my brother, my sister, myself, and our significant others. I have beautiful memories of those days.

But time and distance finally caught up with the Roberts family, and I despaired of ever having a "real" Christmas again. But I came to to the realization that most people in this world never have even one Currier & Ives Christmas, let alone 43! I've found there are other ways to keep Christmas. (Want to hear them? Of course you do!)

Our family traditions come and go, but there are other, older traditions that are enduring. Giving is one, of course, but one doesn't necessarily have to engage in mortal combat at Toys-R-Us in order to give. When you go out, see that you have change on hand for the bell ringers. As God's covenant of love has been revealed to us in the birth of Jesus, we are reminded that we are called to live in covenant with one another.

Read "A Christmas Carol" by Charles Dickens again. Or watch the video. My favorite version is the one with George C. Scott as Scrooge, the hateful old skinflint who, after a harrowing reclamation process, learns to keep Christmas the whole year long by giving of himself and his resources.

Come to the Christmas Eve service here at Manhattan and be part of this family. Sing "Silent Night" by candlelight, hear the Christmas story read the old way, and rejoice in the true meaning of Christmas:

Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord.

(First delivered on 14 December 2003)

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