Away in a Manger

To kick off this week of Christmas extravaganza craziness, I thought I’d make a few pointed remarks about that beloved carol, Away in the Manger. This little gem is a staple of Good Shepherd’s Christmas Pageant–a little venture I have devoted myself to over the last ten years. The pageant is essential for Christmas–the heaps of children banging into each other with wings and sticks, the nervous, dull intonation of the announcement of the Angel of the Lord, but most of all, the terrible music.

I am not, as one might say, musical. I enjoy music. I can stumble around on the piano. I can sing songs at night and in church. But when confronted with thirty children trying to get through Away in the Manger, I am ill equipped to help them towards a more gracious sound. With tears in my eyes, I implore, “sing nicely” and “don’t shout” to little or no effect.

Why is Away in a Manger so hard? Well, first, there are two tunes that bear a terrible similarity to each other. Every practice, no one can remember which one we are singing. More importantly, however, the words are weird and incomprehensible. Let’s take it line by line and see if any sense can be had.

Away in a manger, no crib for a bed,
The little Lord Jesus laid down his sweet head.

Ok, ok, I understand, poetry and stuff, don’t you know, so we don’t have to have all the words. We can make the mental leap that the manger, which is not a crib or a bed, is the place where the little Lord Jesus, not to be confused with Little Lord Fauntleroy, lay down his sweet head. Even though babies can’t lay down, they have to be laid down. More troubling is the word, ‘away’. Do they mean ‘Away Off’? Like ‘Far Away’ in a manger? Or do they mean ‘go away’? Or maybe, ‘get thee away’ to the manger. I assume the former, but when a lot of kids are shouting these tender lines, it sounds a little more like the latter.

The stars in the sky looked down where he lay,
The little Lord Jesus asleep in the hay.

Oh for heaven’s sake. This is just too precious. The only redeemable sentiment is that ‘lay’ and ‘hay’ rhyme.

The cattle are lowing, the baby awakes,
But little Lord Jesus no crying he makes.

Ok, ok. So the stars looked down. And all was saccharine sweet. Now a moment of reality creeps in. They are away out there in their manger, and the cattle, whose manger it is, begin to make a noise, so great a noise that the baby awakes. This is a reality I can wrap my mind around. The baby has just been born. He’s very tired. He’s lying there in the manger. And then the cattle wake him up. However, being God, I suppose, although the text doesn’t say, does it, he doesn’t cry. Is it because he’s God? Or is it because he’s so sweet? And I’m sorry, “no crying he makes” is a terrible turn of phrase. 2000 years of Christian history, and these are the words we have to endure.

I love Thee, Lord Jesus, look down from the sky
And stay by my cradle til morning is nigh.

This is where total confusion enters in. I’m gathering that we have leapt from the baby Jesus, to the risen and ascended Christ who is up there, perhaps like the stars, looking “down from the sky”? The stars doing this was ridiculous enough. Jesus doing it is bad theology, especially since he is supposed to also “stay by my cradle til morning is nigh”. Which is it? Did he sort of morph into a guardian angel? Does he leave the sky and then go back? Nice touch, though, contrasting me having a cradle with Jesus not having one. And it’s good that I love him. Small victories.

Be near me, Lord Jesus, I ask Thee to stay
Close by me forever, and love me, I pray.

Now it must be that I’ve woken up, but yet I, of course, continue to need the Lord Jesus to stay close by me forever and love me. I think an extra line indicating that the baby Jesus has in fact grown up, died, risen, ascended into heaven, and that it’s the Holy Spirit who is actually sticking close by me forever, would be helpful. I shouldn’t be so contrary, but is muddled theology ever ok? Especially in a children’s song?

Bless all the dear children in thy tender care,
And take us to heaven, to live with Thee there.

Of course, this would be very nice. This is a splendid thing to wish for, I mean pray for. We do want all the children to be blessed. I’m going to be charitable and assume the poet believes all the children of the world to be in the tender care of Jesus. Well, I guess I shouldn’t assume that. He, or did a woman write this, indicates that only the children in the tender care of Jesus should be blessed. And does she, or is it a he, want the children to go to heaven now? Or will they also grow up before they go? I don’t like to assume either way, although hope passionately for the second option.

So there we have it. Away in a Manger. Can’t get through Christmas without it. Can’t avoid having children wandering around shouting it. If you squint your eyes and drink enough eggnog it doesn’t seem so awful.