Tune: Christmas Morn, 7.6 7.6 D meter (Christmas Morn by Edward John Hopkins)
Our summer Christmas season is when we sing with joy
About some loving parents and of their baby boy;
We sing when we remember the miracle of birth
With all its pain and beauty – the dawn of wondrous worth.
With thanks we greet the sunshine, release from bitter cold;
We welcome gifts of harvest as nature’s ways unfold;
We sing as we remember the stories we are told
Of gifts from eastern strangers of spices rare and gold.
But brutal heat in summer brings drought and rainless days,
With hostile dust-storms raging and forest trees ablaze;
The brutal side of Christmas – a tale of children slain,
A family flees in terror, escaping Herod’s reign.
As summer has its contrasts, the Christmas tale – the same –
Has happiness and horror, yet through it all we claim
Emanuel – God with us – in human flesh and bone;
And so in joys and dangers the ‘sacred’ can be known.
The humble birth of Jesus begins the thrilling tale
Of strength opposing evil, of love that did not fail;
We join the Christmas story when we accept his call
To love as he has shown us, inclusive love for all.
Thanks to George’s generosity, all of his hymn and song lyrics are free of any copyright restrictions and limitations and thus are all available for your use. Terminology may be changed to fit your situation and beliefs. Read more about George Stuart here.
