{"id":93660,"date":"2021-12-24T10:38:37","date_gmt":"2021-12-24T17:38:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/?p=93660"},"modified":"2021-12-25T22:07:24","modified_gmt":"2021-12-26T05:07:24","slug":"christmastide","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/2021\/12\/christmastide.html","title":{"rendered":"“Christmastide”"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"A<\/a>
James Christensen\u2019s \u201cAnnunciation\u201d<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

***<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

And it came to pass that he cried mightily unto the Lord all that day; and behold, the voice\u00a0of the Lord came unto him, saying:<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Lift up your head and be of good cheer; for behold, the time is at hand, and on this night shall the sign be given, and on the morrow come I into the world, to show unto the world that I will fulfil all that which I have caused to be spoken\u00a0by the mouth of my holy prophets.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Behold, I come unto my own, to fulfill all things which I have made known unto the children of men from the foundation of the world, and to do the will, both of the Father and of the Son\u2014of the Father because of me, and of the Son because of my flesh. And behold, the time is at hand, and this night shall the sign be given.<\/strong>\u00a0 (3 Nephi 1:12-14)<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"A<\/a>
Joyce Kilmer at roughly the age of twenty-two, from the 1908 Columbia University student yearbook
(Wikimedia Commons public domain image)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

His name notwithstanding, Joyce Kilmer (1886-1918), was a soldier in the United States Army.\u00a0 Widely regarded during his lifetime as the foremost American Catholic poet of his generation, he was killed by a sniper at the Second Battle of the Marne, late in the First World War.\u00a0 Here is his poem \u201cWartime Christmas,\u201d which was probably written only a few months before his death:<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

Led by a star, a\u00a0golden\u00a0star,<\/span><\/strong>
\nThe\u00a0youngest\u00a0star, an\u00a0olden\u00a0star,<\/span><\/strong>
\nHere the\u00a0kings\u00a0and the\u00a0shepherds\u00a0are,<\/span><\/strong>
\nAkneeling on the ground.<\/span><\/strong>
\nWhat did they come to the inn to see?<\/span><\/strong>
\nGod in the Highest, and this is He,<\/span><\/strong>
\nA baby\u00a0asleep\u00a0on His mother\u2019s knee<\/span><\/strong>
\nAnd with her\u00a0kisses\u00a0crowned.<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

Now is the\u00a0earth\u00a0a\u00a0dreary\u00a0place,<\/span><\/strong>
\nA\u00a0troubled\u00a0place, a\u00a0weary\u00a0place.<\/span><\/strong>
\nPeace has\u00a0hidden\u00a0her\u00a0lovely\u00a0face<\/span><\/strong>
\nAnd\u00a0turned\u00a0in\u00a0tears\u00a0away.<\/span><\/strong>
\nYet the sun,\u00a0through\u00a0the war-cloud, sees<\/span><\/strong>
\nBabies\u00a0asleep\u00a0on\u00a0their\u00a0mother\u2019s knees.<\/span><\/strong>
\nWhile\u00a0there\u00a0are love and home\u2014and these\u2014<\/span><\/strong>
\nThere\u00a0shall\u00a0be\u00a0Christmas\u00a0Day.<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"Alt<\/a>
Christina Rossetti served as the model for Mary (though not for the color of her hair) in this painting by her brother, the poet and painter Dante Gabriel Rossetti, which is entitled \u201cEcce Ancilla Domini!\u201d [\u201cBehold the handmaiden of the Lord!\u201d]
(Wikimedia Commons public domain image)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Finally, I offer \u201cChristmastide,\u201d a short poem by Christina Rossetti (1830-1894), who also wrote the Christmas carol \u201cIn the Bleak Midwinter\u201d:<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

Love came down at Christmas,<\/span><\/strong>
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Love all lovely, Love Divine;<\/span><\/strong>
\nLove was born at Christmas,<\/span><\/strong>
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Star and Angels gave the sign.<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

Worship we the Godhead,<\/span><\/strong>
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Love Incarnate, Love Divine;<\/span><\/strong>
\nWorship we our Jesus:<\/span><\/strong>
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 But wherewith for sacred sign?<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

Love shall be our token,<\/span><\/strong>
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Love be yours and love be mine,<\/span><\/strong>
\nLove to God and all men,<\/span><\/strong>
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Love for plea and gift and sign.<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

Posted from Richmond, Virginia<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u00a0 \u00a0 *** \u00a0 And it came to pass that he cried mightily unto the Lord all that day; and behold, the voice\u00a0of the Lord came unto him, saying: Lift up your head and be of good cheer; for behold, the time is at hand, and on this night shall the sign be given, and […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1019,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[3034,20653,2517,27200,27194,3043,1369,6774,3037,2589,27197],"class_list":["post-93660","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-annunciation","tag-christina-rossetti","tag-christmas","tag-christmastide","tag-dante-gabriel-rossetti","tag-gabriel","tag-jesus","tag-joyce-kilmer","tag-mary","tag-nazareth","tag-wartime-christmas"],"yoast_head":"\n"Christmastide"<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"    ***   And it came to pass that he cried mightily unto the Lord all that day; 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