“Love Came Down at Christmas” is one of my favorite Christmas carols. It is based on a poem by Christina Rossetti, first published in 1885. It begins:
Love came down at Christmas,
love all lovely, love divine;
love was born at Christmas:
star and angels gave the sign.
I know that love can seem elusive this time of year. We are tired, distracted, and trying to do too much. It can be hard to love those nearest and dearest, let alone those who try our patience and confound our expectations.
But the love that comes down at Christmas isn’t about us. It’s not about our limited capacity to love. It’s about the depth and breadth and power of God’s love for us. This love comforts us. This love re-orients us. This love saves us.
Kate Bowler offers the following blessing for Christmas that speaks of this love.
God, we are waiting for love,
not the simple kind or the sweep-you-off-your-feet kind,
but the absurd kind.
The kind wrapped in rags,
resting in a bucket of animal feed.
Love enough to save us all.
Blessed are we who look for Love
deeper, fuller, truer—than we have ever known,
than we could have ever hoped for.
Blessed are we who seek You,
the light that dawned so long ago
in that dark stable.
Love given.
Love received.
Receive this gift, dear one.
Love has come for you.
Do you have a favorite Christmas carol that helps you connect to God’s love for you and the world?
-Written by Rev. Amy Miracle
Enjoying the Broad Street Blog? Be sure to subscribe so you never miss another post
On Sunday you talked about all the questions you would have had in Mary’s place… this Christmas lullaby asks a few of its own! A good friend shared it with me years ago, and it never gets old. Listen to First Christmas Eve…. [Link deleted]
I guess my favorite Christmas song is I Wish You Christmas by J Rutter. It always brings tears…not a particularly religious piece but brings wonderful memories to me.