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 I
am sitting at my local Starbucks, looking out on winter’s first real
blow. Snow, rain, ice rain, sleet, slush, all yuck. My one kilometer
walk down here was slippery and wet. I helped one guy get his car
unstuck, and saw a lot more people and cars slipping and sliding
along. Today would be a good day to plunk down in front of a fireplace
and read a book. But for work!
My
favourite Christmas Carol this year (I seem to find a new one every
year) is Good King Wenceslas. It is not precisely a “Christmas
Carol”. It takes place on December 26th, the feast of St Stephen, and
does not mention Jesus, the nativity, shepherds, angels, are even God
for that matter. The words though are so powerful, and the song is
filled with Biblical and Christian imagery! It is like a rich dessert
which must be eaten slowly, each bite savoured.
The
carol lifts the curtain on a cold clear twilight, just after a severe
storm. The medieval King, Wenceslas, is stretching his legs after
being couped up inside for a day or two. Good King Wenceslas looked out
On the feast of Stephen
When the snow lay round about
Deep and crisp and even
Brightly shone the moon that night
Though the frost was cruel
When a poor man came in sight
Gath'ring winter fuelThe
king and his page spot a poor man collecting fallen branches to use for
fire wood. There is some debate as to whether this was a legal action
or not. In some kingdoms of Europe at the time, like England, a poor
man would be allowed to collect fallen branches, but could lose his
hand if he chopped down one of the king's trees. Assuming the
gathering winter fuel was legal, it would have been hard to do so after
a bad storm, with the snow as deep as is described.
The
king then asks his page, "Who is that guy?" The page knows him, and
tells the king that the poor man lives a good league hence-- at least 3
miles (5 kilometers) away. the poor man is a long way from home on a
cold winter's night, where the snow is deep. Imagine carrying fire
wood that far! "Hither, page, and stand by me
If thou know'st it, telling
Yonder peasant, who is he?
Where and what his dwelling?"
"Sire, he lives a good league hence
Underneath the mountain
Right against the forest fence
By Saint Agnes' fountain."The
term underneath the mountain likely means the north side of the
mountain or large hill, where little sunlight would penetrate in the
winter. Right against the forest fence means he lived on the edge of
dense trees. Saint Agnes was a bohemian princess of the middle-ages who
took on the role of a nursing nun, helping the sick and poor. The
fountain was likely a well named for her.
So,
what is the king going to do? Track the poor man down because he is
breaking the king's law? Ignore the man and head back to the castle?
Nope. The king feels compassion on the poor man and calls for
supplies.
"Bring me flesh and bring me wine
Bring me pine logs hither
Thou and I will see him dine
When we bear him thither."
Page and monarch forth they went
Forth they went together
Through the rude wind's wild lament
And the bitter weatherHe
tells his page to get meat and wine, rare treats for the poor back
then. He also orders pine logs. Not content with allowing the man a
few scraps to try to keep warm, the king calls for wood that would be
light enough to carry, but would burn longer that a few thin and wet
branches. The pine logs would smell great as well! Notice too, the
imagery that the elements invoke. Bring me flesh and wine- the
elements of the Eucharist. He intends to eat, to feast with this poor
man, but also to share (koinonia) his faith with him. They will
take communion together, prince and peasant, lord and labourer. The
pine logs invoke the tree, or cross, of Christ. The pine perfume of the
logs the fragrant offering of Christ to God at his passion. So despite
the brutal cold and the deep snow, the king and page set out to feast
with a poor stranger.
The
focus turns now to the journey of the king and page over that league to
the home of the poor man. The wild wind blows, the cold bites through
the furs. The night is too cold for the horses, so they walk. The king
endeavours to enter into the realm of the serf; incarnation at its most
basic. After many steps, and many more to go, the page is filled with
dread.
"Sire, the night is darker now
And the wind blows stronger
Fails my heart, I know not how,
I can go no longer."
"Mark my footsteps, my good page
Tread thou in them boldly
Thou shalt find the winter's rage
Freeze thy blood less coldly."
The
king begins to transform into a mythical, saintly figure. He calls the
page to follow exactly in his foot steps, to be shielded from the
terrible wind by the kings own body leading the way. He is a walking theophany,
the presence of God visited upon the human plane. The king and page
have entered into a twilight realm of journey and struggle, and God is
present, giving cover to their honourable errand.
So
the journey continues. No end is given in the carol. Why? Perhaps
the last verse gives insight, as the author transitions from the story
to the moral, in the Greek tradition.
In his master's steps he trod
Where the snow lay dinted
Heat was in the very sod
Which the Saint had printed
Therefore, Christian men, be sure
Wealth or rank possessing
Ye who now will bless the poor
Shall yourselves find blessing The
heat in the sod confirms the king as more than human, but a saint, a
vessel for the special presence of God himself. Then the reason for
the story- the Christian faith lived out in ministry to the poor.
This
hymn was likely translated from a medieval Nordic source, a poem or
song, known since the 13th century. The tune is borrowed from a
Swedish song which dates from the same period. The translator/ author John Mason Neal lived
in England during the industrial revolution. His concern was that of
his contemporary, Charles Dickens, for the poor and exploited in Great
Britain, and especially in London.
So,
a song that does not mention Jesus, God, the nativity, or any other
Christmas image, nonetheless invokes the heart of Christmas. The more
I study, the more I research and learn, the more I realize that we have
not invented missional living ministry, we are just rediscovering it
after it being forgotten by many for almost a century. The first
nineteen hundred years of Christianity saw no way to separate the
gospel from mercy ministries. It was the twentieth century that did
that. I guess part of our role is to splice them back together. The
early Christians of the first century, right through to the social
justice crusaders of the industrial revolution have left large dents in
the snow; we need only follow, my good fellow page!
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