The name Johann Sebastian Bach has been familiar in church music circles for many years. Bach inscribed all his compositions with the phrase, "To God Alone the Glory." Professor Peter Schickele of the fictitious University of Southern North Dakota discovered an obscure relative, P.D.Q. Bach, known as the most bent twig on the Bach family tree. The name Bach had always been associated with fine music until P.D.Q. appeared on the scene. This fabled genius, P.D.Q. Bach, was referred to as "the worst musician ever to have trod organ pedals," "the most dangerous musician since Nero," and other things even less complimentary.1
P.D.Q. composed works that were sure to catapult him into obscurity, not the least of which was "O Little Town of Hackensack." Phillips Brooks, the nineteenth-century Episcopal priest and bishop who penned the words to "O Little Town of Bethlehem," could never have imagined the cultural changes that have transpired in our country during the last century. I doubt that Hackensack, or any little town in New Jersey, will ever achieve quite the stardom of Bethlehem, the city of David.
We are all aware of the powers music exercises over the human spirit. It communicates to the soul what no academic study of theology ever can achieve. Music reaches where words cannot, ritualizing the emotions deep inside us for which there are no words. Christmas carols encourage us to worship, to hope, and to expand the horizons of our vision so that we can see the light of truth and dare to live justly in a troubled world.
No matter how often we sing them, the simple words of "O Little Town of Bethlehem" always transport us to the night on which the Christ Child comes to earth. Through a gentle, quiet tune and pictures painted with words, we enter the time and place when God is born into human history and the Word becomes incarnate.
We have a "greeting card" picture in our minds of how Bethlehem must have looked 2,000 years ago. Bethlehem appears to spring up from the middle of a desert oasis. Quaint domed houses line gently rolling hillsides sprinkled with palm trees. Overhead, a cerulean sky features a bright and shining star. An extraordinary light is streaming from the star, leading some stargazers to travel toward Bethlehem.
Bethlehem, one of the little towns of Judah, is legendary in both story and song. Not many great cities are as well known as the little town of Bethlehem. An insignificant village, it became the birthplace of our Savior. God was indeed at work, and in Bethlehem of all places, not in imperial Rome! As Bishop Wil Willimon has observed, "The Word was made flesh in Bethlehem before it ever went to Washington, London, or Paris."2
Whenever we think of Bethlehem, we always seem to think "little," possibly because of the carol so named. Our society is programmed to believe that bigger is better, but the best things often come in small packages. Bethlehem has been a center of action throughout history, attesting to the fact that bigger is not necessarily better.
It is here in Bethlehem that Rachel gives birth to Benjamin, the last of Jacob's twelve sons. Later, Naomi, her husband, and their two strong sons leave a famine-stricken Bethlehem to seek sustenance in a foreign land. Years later, she and her beloved daughter-in-law, Ruth, return to Naomi's hometown of Bethlehem, where Ruth gives birth to Obed, King David's grandfather.
The prophet Micah tells of a great ruler who is to come from Bethlehem, King David's hometown. Bethlehem is mentioned several times throughout the life of David. While David is growing up, Bethlehem is dominated by the Philistines and their weapons of iron. Goliath is one giant of a Philistine with an ego to match. David is bringing supplies to his brothers in the service, when he discovers that the Philistine giant is no match for his trusty slingshot and the power of God.
It is in Bethlehem that the prophet Samuel first anoints David King of Israel. God tells Samuel to quit lamenting the demise of King Saul, who has fallen from grace, and to head for Jesse's house in Bethlehem. Jesse introduces a fine assortment of sons to Samuel, but the youngest son, David, lovingly referred to as the runt of the litter, is away tending the sheep and singing sweet psalms.
Who would have thought David to be the apple of God's eye, and a king of God's own choosing? At Samuel's insistence, Jesse sends for his youngest son. At God's instruction, Samuel anoints and appoints David to become the future king. At that moment, like a rushing wind, the Spirit of God enters David, and at the same time departs from Saul (1 Samuel 16:1-13).
Later, when David is fleeing from the wrath of the maniacal King Saul, who is after his hide, David hides in a cave near Bethlehem. While there, he becomes very thirsty, and requests water from the well by the city gate of Bethlehem. Unfortunately, the town is still under the control of those less-than-neighborly Philistines.
This is not a problem for three of David's hearty men, who break through the Philistine line and draw water from Bethlehem's well for David. Yet, when David is presented with this precious commodity, he realizes his men have risked their very lives in order to get this water. He then pours out the water before God as an act of worship and gratitude for God's goodness to him (2 Samuel 23:13-17).
Two thousand years ago, Bethlehem was situated in a country occupied by foreign troops and administered by Roman officials, who had little interest in the humble folk who lived there. During the century before the birth of Christ, the Roman Empire had gobbled up the ruling Greek Empire. In the Luke's Gospel, the Roman Emperor, Augustus, has ordered a census, requiring Mary and Joseph to travel about 75 miles from Nazareth to Bethlehem. The town is overcrowded; packed with travelers arriving to register for the emperor's census. The little town, literally, is bursting at the seams.
God is at work, even through governmental decrees, preparing for the birth of the Messiah in Bethlehem, the city of David. The people are expecting the Messiah to be a descendant of King David. Matthew's Gospel quotes our scriptural promise from Micah 5:2: "And you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are by no means least among the rulers of Judah; for from you shall come a ruler who is to shepherd my people Israel" (Matthew 2:6). God fulfills promises, using all kinds of people, even emperors.
Bethlehem becomes the center of our universe at this time of year. Bethlehem is where everything comes together, where a child is born and laid in a manger, a child who will grow strong in faith and in obedience to God. He will love and heal, teach and mentor. He will die our death, and in return, give us the greatest of gifts, everlasting life.
Hope in the Messiah is a hope for peace, and the prophet Micah is celebrated for his vision of peace. Micah explains that, "They shall beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks. Nations shall not lift sword against nation, and never again will they train for war" (Micah 4:3). Saint Luke, who records the message of Jesus as Messiah, also records a song about peace that is sung by the angels after the baby Jesus is born. "Glory to God in the highest and peace on earth among those whom he favors" (Luke 2:14).
People who don't know any other songs know the words to Christmas carols. People who are reticent to sing at any other time of year will lift their voices to join in the songs of Christmas. This is music that we know and love, songs we can't wait to sing at this time of year.
The name Bethlehem means "House of Bread." On the night when Jesus was born, the village lives up to its name. The "Bread of Life" comes down from heaven to enter human history in Bethlehem, the "House of Bread" (John 6:35, 51). There had been some big events in the life of Israel: The Exodus, Moses and the Ten Commandments, David anointed king, and the return from exile in Babylon. But none are bigger than the events in the little town of Bethlehem. This is not another in a long series of God's actions in shaping world history. This is God in the first person singular.
Luke tells the story of those who travel the road to Bethlehem on the first Christmas. Some people travel that road under duress. This is certainly true with Mary and Joseph. The trip was required by governmental decree. Some people walk the Bethlehem road today out of a sense of obligation. "Here it is Christmas time, and we really should to go church." That is what Christians do this time of year.
Once the philosopher, Josiah Royce, was sitting in his study at HarvardUniversity talking with a young student. In the course of the conversation, the student asked the professor, "What is your definition of a Christian?" The great philosopher replied, "I do not know how to define a Christian ... But wait," he added, looking out the window, "there goes Phillips Brooks."3
What he was saying is that you cannot define Christianity in words. It must be embodied in a life, and Phillips Brooks so lived the life of faith that he had become part of God's plan to establish the reign of love and righteousness. He was an Advent person. Early in his ministry, Phillips Brooks visited the Holy Land and was in Bethlehem on Christmas Day. As a result, Christians throughout the world, who know nothing of his historic ministry in Boston, are blessed by the poetry about the little town of Bethlehem he was moved to write while there.
Our Messiah is firmly rooted in the prophecy of the First Testament, fulfilling all that God requires of the Savior, the Anointed One. The Christ Child gives us roots, a past steeped in tradition, and a place to plant our feet. There is a permanence in the child given to us at Bethlehem. Through this child we become heirs of the long history of God's people.
Roots of yesterday become shoots of tomorrow. As we wait anew for the birth of a baby in Bethlehem, we recall that we are also awaiting the coming again of Christ at the end of time. Through Jesus, we have a future filled with hope, both in this world and for the next. Through this gift, we know that nothing can ever separate us from God's love, not death, political power, not the present, and not the future. The manger is that place where we can lay down the hopes and fears of all the years, knowing they will be borne by the one who came for that very purpose.
1. Peter Schickele, "O Little Town of Hackensack" from Consort of Choral Christmas Carols, text is available online at www.schickele.com/composition/consortchristmas.htm [Accessed September 1, 2005].
2. William H. Willimon, "First-Year Bishop: Dispatch from Birmingham," The Christian Century, Vol. 122, No. 19, September 20, 2005, p. 28.
3. Leonard Griffith, What Is a Christian? (Nashville: Abingdon Press, 1962), p. 21.