"From Heaven Above"

A Christmas hymn that we never ever sing is Luther's classic "From Heaven Above." Undoubtedly we do not sing it because it is fourteen verses of a slightly foreign sounding rhythm and melody. But really Luther wrote this hymn for children and it really is a great summary and teaching on Christmas.

I was looking over it earlier and the eighth verse caught my attention.

Welcome to earth, Thou noble Guest,
Through whom the sinful world is blest!
Thou com'st to share my misery;
What thanks shall I return to Thee?

The idea of Christ as our noble guest who blesses this world was striking. I am used to thinking primarily of Christ as gift here at Christmas, but in this hymn, Luther brings about the notion of Christ as our guest. Granted, Christ is a surprise guest, coming when and how he did. But nonetheless here he is, knocking on our door, disrupting our routine. And how do we respond to the disruption? Like any other disruption that messes up our sense of the order of the day? Hopefully not. Here is one of those interruptions that changes our world.

My great grandmother told the story of one day as she was doing stuff around the house there was a knock on the door. She went to answer it, and standing on the stoop was a young man. He said, "Hi. I'm John, your brother." They had been separated at a young age at the orphanage where they had been dropped off by their father after the death of their mother. Their oldest brother had fled the orphanage. And she and John were split up. Only here comes this disruption that changes my great grandmother's world. So too with Christ. His arrival changes the world, the way we look at it, and the way things now are supposed to be.

What thanks shall we return to Christ, indeed.