Thanks, Shakespeare (D10-16)
This week’s snapshots:
Happy Saturday to you~
I am finally done working for the year - what a relief! Other than some obligatory Zoom calls, I get to wipe the slate clean and prepare it to receive new marks. I did some rough counting off of my paystubs, and rounding down, worked 2100 hours this year. I think - I think that’s enough! According to Wikipedia, the average American works 1765 hours in a year (I’d be curious how many hours, roughly, you’ve worked at your job this year?) but given that the average European works around 1500 hours in a year, I’m over working. I’ll be ready to tally again in 2024.
We only have a pair of weeks left for these words this year, so:
May God grant you peace and happiness so that no fear touches you: let not that which you hear, nor see, nor in any way perceive turn your heart from the love for which Christ came on Christmas Day, from the love for which he will come to establish a new Christmas. The first Christmas heralded comfort from our pains, and joy in their stead. The last Christmas will forever comfort our pains, and awaken joy in their stead.
In case you haven’t been reminded, this is the purpose of Advent: to remember Christ came. And even until today, Christ remains. And at just the right time, with all of the rhyming magnificence of his first noel, he’s coming again.
It’s also the purpose of the anonymous English carol from the 1650s, which you might recognize by its grammatically incorrect name “God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen” (Wikipedia calls it a “pseudo-archaism” because while English used “ye” in Shakespearean days, it’s grammatically a subjective pronoun, never an objective pronoun. I learned this in the 6th grade, bahaha!).
Christ came. Why? Comfort and joy / Comfort and joy / O tidings of comfort and joy!
Christ remains. How? Comfort and joy / Comfort and joy / O tidings of comfort and joy!
Christ is coming again. What for? Comfort and joy / Comfort and joy / O tidings of comfort and joy!
The juxtaposition of the first and the last Christmas brims this Christmas with, you guessed it, tidings of comfort and joy! And if your ears have grown deaf from hearing it over and over your whole life long, grab a swab and really listen to the song (Fit for a King’s version is my favoritest because I hear screams as indication of passion).
Christ came. To save us, in fact, from Satan’s power (fear) which pulls us away from God (love) and blinds us to his goodness. Comfort! There’s nothing more to be afraid of! Joy! There’s nothing more to be afraid of!
Christ remains. He frees us, in fact, from Satan’s might (fear) which otherwise prohibits us from [be]holding baby God (love). Comfort! He is as close to you today as the nursing baby to his mother! Joy! He is as close to you today as the nursing baby to his mother!
Christ is coming again, with true love, and brotherhood. The message of Christmastime is that fear has been, can be, and will be erased in the holy embrace of a God who came, who remains, who comes to be with us. Comfort! The Son of God is one of us! Joy! The Son of God is one of us!
To me, this is the quintessential Christmas Carol because of how it handles the past, present, and future of Christ’s comings as the defining events of history. I think that’s got to be why Dickens uses this song in his most famous novella, but that’s an essay for another day ;) Is there a carol that does it better? How can you honor the past, present, and future of Christ’s comings as defining events of your life? What definition do they write? What tidings do Christmas time convey to you and yours?
Please don’t just think about it, but, for the love of friendship, tell me about it! And “God rest you merry” - the Shakespearean way to say, “May God grant you peace and happiness” - as you take this week to remember the tidings of Christmas: God comes to us with comfort! God comes to us with joy!
—Beth
