In the Bleak Midwinter

Christmas, for many of us, is different this year.  There is a sense of going through the motions of decorating and gifting - but the underlying excitement is absent.  The world is weary and discouraged, the toll of disease and uncertainty and social unrest sapping away what little “joie de vivre” was left in our emotional arsenal.  You can see it in people’s eyes - the spark is gone, shoulders hunched against another possible onslaught, steps slow and shuffling.  Even the earth seems subdued somehow, the days darker, bleaker, bone-chilling.  This Christmas, it’s as if people are holding their breath - waiting for... what? Whatever - it can’t be good, right?  Surely not this Christmas, in 2020.

Well - perhaps.  If Christmas is all about the gifts and the cookies and the parties - then, yes.  This will probably be a bleak Christmas for sure.  But if Christmas is a time to remember the coming of a King that ushered in a new world of peace and love?  Well, then - nothing’s changed. The joy of the “good tidings”, the peace promised by the heralding angels? Then?  Then my Christmas this year is even sweeter, more profound then it’s been in many a year.

One of my favorite Christmas carols is “In the Bleak Midwinter”, [1] written by Christine Rossetti in 1872 - originally published as a poem but later set to music as a Christmas carol.  (There are two versions, the second one a more complex choral version which was voted by leading choirmasters and choral experts as the best Christmas carol in 2008). It is sung by the King’s College Choir in London every year during the Lessons and Carols service. I think it is favored and has endured because its message is simple and pure. It has no fanfare, but reflects how people - in every time and situation - have had “bleak, midwinter” seasons; and each of us - in every time and situation - need the hymn’s message of hope and joy today.

Many years ago, I was an alto in the choir of our then Episcopal church in Massachusetts (not the best alto, but I did my best and never sang overly loud!) - with a pipe organ and everything!!  “In the Bleak Midwinter” was a regular in our Christmas Eve repertoire, sung at the midnight service, and I rarely got through that carol without tears. It resonated deeply within me when I sang it in 1989, mere weeks after my father died. It filled me with great joy when I sang it gazing upon my five-year-old daughter, sleeping peacefully in the front pew, as midnight rang in our small church. I sang it lovingly while my elder daughter stood with our choir one year, joining her sweet voice to the throng.  Today, I don’t sing in a choir. My daughters are grown; many of my family elders have long since departed this world. But that carol? It still speaks to my soul, no matter the situation, no matter the context, no matter the year.  

Miss Rossetti’s words ring true, I believe, because they tell of a universal truth, a truth that speaks to the winter of our hearts, the bleakness of the human condition - no matter the times, no matter the weather.  The “bleak of midwinter” is achingly familiar to all of us, at one time or another. If ever there was a Christmas carol that applied to all of us in this pandemic year of 2020, it is this one.

In the first verse, the carol sets up the state of the world without Jesus: frigid, lonely, frosty - “water like a stone”. It’s enough to make us shiver with the bleakness of it all; the words paint a picture of how many are feeling in this Christmas season.

In the bleak mid-winter
Frosty wind made moan;
Earth stood hard as iron,
Water like a stone;
Snow had fallen, snow on snow,
Snow on snow,
In the bleak mid-winter
Long ago.

But the hymn moves right on to the heart of the matter: the entry of a Divine and Glorious King into our frozen, hard world. I love the beauty in this second verse - that God is so amazingly mighty and glorious that heaven cannot hold Him, nor can the earth sustain Him. He is above all, and over all and within it all. In this verse, we see that God’s love is far stronger than the cold of any winter, and His reign will be so glorious that heaven and earth itself will “flee away” under the might of His coming, unable to contain the power of His love and glory.

Our God, heaven cannot hold Him
Nor earth sustain,
Heaven and earth shall flee away
When He comes to reign:
In the bleak mid-winter
A stable-place sufficed
The Lord God Almighty —
Jesus Christ.

The simplicity of this hymn testifies to the very simplicity of Jesus’ coming to earth as our King. Its words and melody whisper-quiet the glory of His coming, and testify to the ushering in of a new world order that promises the reconciling and restoring love of a Father for His beloved people in a fallen world.

In these times, we need these simple words of hope. Many may not feel the “jingle” of the bells in their hearts, or the “Merry” of the season in their bones. For many, too much has happened, too much has been lost; there has been too much of “too much”. And I don’t pretend to have easy answers, or simple solutions.

But there is one thing I know for sure, one thing that rings true in my heart: with Jesus, there is always joy. The “Merry” of the season is often based on the tinsel and glittering lights; the “happy” is too often man-made with wrapped presents and pretty bows and cute cookies. But the joy? That heart-stopping joy? That joy comes from the very heart of Him who came to show us how to love, how to care, how to save each other from each other. Joy is eternal, based upon our deep understanding that, regardless of how things may look - the bleak midwinter of the days - the true joy of the season comes from knowing Him, and keeping the Spirit of Christmas in the most simple of ways that honors who He was at His birth- and Who He still is, and Who He will always be.

The final verse of Ms. Rossetti’s hymn (there are two others not mentioned here) says it all. Its wisdom, profound yet simple, reflects the very thing we can do to find our own healthy dose of joy in this season of Christmas.

What can I give Him,
Poor as I am?
If I were a Shepherd
I would bring a lamb;
If I were a Wise Man
I would do my part,
Yet what I can I give Him,
Give my heart.

All He wants for Christmas is our heart. And that’s as simple as can be.

May you find the joy of Christmas in the simple - but beautiful - heart of Jesus.

[1] If you want to hear the full hymn, simply Google it to find various versions to listen to; the best is the King’s College Choir version (IMHO!).