{"id":103224,"date":"2023-12-26T21:03:09","date_gmt":"2023-12-27T04:03:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/?p=103224"},"modified":"2023-12-27T13:09:54","modified_gmt":"2023-12-27T20:09:54","slug":"lo-how-a-rose-eer-blooming-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/2023\/12\/lo-how-a-rose-eer-blooming-2.html","title":{"rendered":"\u201cLo, How a Rose E\u2019er Blooming\u201d"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>
\u00a0<\/p>\n
<\/a>
\u201cSt. Thomas Church on a winter morning\u201d (Wikimedia Commons public domain image)
More than any other kind of landscape on earth, Alpine scenery such as this strikes me as a foretaste of heaven. And I love its music.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
Every year since I launched this blog, I have called attention to some of my favorite Christmas music. \u00a0I did it a little bit this year, too, though not to the extent that I\u2019ve previously done and not nearly so systematically. \u00a0I realize, obviously, that we\u2019re past Christmas now. \u00a0But it suddenly dawned on me that I had failed to mention one of my very favorite pieces of Christmas music \u2014 probably the one that impelled me to start sharing favorite seasonal music in the first place. \u00a0So, although I\u2019m late with it, I\u2019m not going to let that stop me with this one:<\/p>\n
I remember very clearly when and where the marvelous carol \u201cEs ist ein Ros entsprungen\u201d (often called in English \u201cLo, How a Rose E\u2019er Blooming\u201d)<\/span>, which was given its classical form by the German composer Michael Praetorius in 1609 but which originated sometime before that, first hit me. \u00a0(I suppose that it\u2019s possible that I had heard the carol before, but, if I had, it hadn\u2019t registered. \u00a0Not even slightly.)\u00a0 I was attending a Latter-day Saint sacrament meeting in Interlaken, Switzerland, shortly before Christmas 1973. \u00a0Almost exactly fifty years ago. \u00a0Curiously, I don\u2019t recall who sang the song. \u00a0It may have been a branch or district choir.<\/p>\n
I was enraptured. \u00a0Riveted. \u00a0I had seldom, if ever, heard anything so beautiful before. \u00a0And \u201cEs ist ein Ros entsprungen\u201d<\/span> still<\/em> affects me that way. \u00a0The German lyrics vary slightly from one printing to another, but I offer here a representative version of the text:<\/p>\n
Es ist ein Ros entsprungen,<\/span>
\naus einer Wurzel zart,
\nwie uns die Alten sungen,
\nvon Jesse kam die Art.
\nUnd hat ein Bl\u00fcmlein bracht
\nmitten im kalten Winter,
\nwohl zu der halben Nacht.<\/p>\n
Das R\u00f6slein, das ich meine,
\ndavon Isaias sagt,
\nhat uns gebracht alleine
\nMarie, die reine Magd.
\nAus Gottes ew\u2019gem Rat
\nhat sie ein Kind geboren
\nwohl zu der halben Nacht.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n
\n
\n
\n "
Das Bl\u00fcmelein, so kleine,*
\ndas duftet uns so s\u00fc\u00df,
\nmit seinem hellen Scheine
\nvertreibt\u2019s die Finsternis.
\nWahr Mensch und wahrer Gott<\/span>
\nhilft uns aus allem Leide,
\nrettet von S\u00fcnd und Tod.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
** *And here is a literal and quite unpoetic translation (partially my own) of the lyrics above:<\/p>\n"
A rose has sprung up,*
\nfrom a tender root,
\nAs the ancients\u00a0sang to us.
\nIts line\u00a0came from Jesse
\nAnd it has brought forth a\u00a0small flower<\/span>
\nIn the middle of the cold winter,
*\nIn\u00a0the middle of\u00a0the night.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n"
The little rose that I mean,*
\nOf which Isaiah told,
\nMary alone, the pure maid,
\nHas brought to us.
\nBy\u00a0God\u2019s eternal counsel
\nShe has borne a child
\nIn\u00a0the middle of\u00a0the night.<\/p>\n
** The tiny\u00a0flower, so small,
\nThat smells so sweet to us,
\nWith its bright gleam
\nDispels\u00a0the darkness
\n\u2013True man and true God\u2013
\nHelps us from all suffering,
*\nSaves us from sin and death.<\/p><\/blockquote>\nI\u2019ve always loved the German lyrics. \u00a0The English words just don\u2019t move me as much \u2014 and not merely in the literal and unpoetic version supplied above. \u00a0But the music is gorgeous in any language. \u00a0Here\u2019s one rendition of the song that I\u2019ve enjoyed: \u00a0\u201cEs ist ein Ros Entsprungen\u201d<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n
<\/a>
A view of Innertkirchen and of the glacially gray Aare River (as seen from the beginning of the spectacular Aareschlucht, in the Berner Oberland area of Switzerland) on a summer day. My strongest memory of Innertkirchen, though, is of a cold winter night near Christmas 1973 (within a few days, at most, of my first encounter with \u201cEs ist ein\u2019 Ros entsprungen.\u201d \u00a0Almost exactly fifty years ago. \u00a0There was a perfectly clear, star-studded sky above and fresh snow all around. \u00a0The small surrounding Alps shone white in the moonlight. \u00a0It was perfectly serene, and the memory has helped to create, still to this day, my image and conception of an ideal Christmas. \u00a0(Wikimedia Commons public domain image)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
I share with you now a bit of news that significantly combines both religion and politics: \u00a0\u201cUkraine celebrates Christmas on Dec. 25 for the first time, distancing itself from Russia\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n
<\/a>
The Hamilton New Zealand Temple (LDS.org)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
My wife and I went out to lunch today with our old friend Louis Midgley<\/a>. \u00a0I count getting to know Professor Midgley well, and being able sometimes even to travel with him and his magnificent late wife, Ireta, among the great blessings of my life. \u00a0At this point, too, knowing him has very specific benefits: \u00a0We\u2019re gearing up to accompany a cruise around New Zealand in February<\/a>, and Lou has had a life-long passion for the Land of the Long White Cloud, extending back to even before the first of his two missions there. \u00a0I was delighted to be able to borrow a copy from him of the new book \u2014 the even, as yet, officially, unpublished book \u2014 edited by Selwyn Katene and A. Keith Thompson, Build for Eternity: A History of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints<\/a> in New Zealand<\/a><\/em>.<\/span><\/p>\n
<\/a>
Aoraki, or Mount Cook, in New Zealand*
*Photo by C. M. Lynch (Wikimedia Commons public domain photograph)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\nMaybe I\u2019m becoming too extravagant? \u00a0This is an entire folder<\/em> from the Christopher Hitchens Memorial \u201cHow Religion Poisons Everything\u201d File<\/em>\u2122: \u00a0\u201cCelebrating Faith in Action: The Church of Jesus Christ in 2023\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n
And if the horrors chronicled above aren\u2019t enough to send your righteous indignation through the roof, how about this? \u00a0\u201cThe Role Of Churches In Europe\u2019s Refugee Integration\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n
I disagree pretty frequently with Jana Riess on matters ecclesiastical and I\u2019m confident that we also disagree fairly comprehensively on politics. \u00a0To be specific, I\u2019m not happy about some of what she says in this column. \u00a0But I like her reaction to the Giving Machines, which annually provide a wealth of major materials for the Hitchens File<\/em>: \u00a0\u201cI volunteered with \u2018Light the World\u2019 Giving Machines for Christmas. Here\u2019s what I saw. \u00a0A church that has been criticized for its vast wealth is trying to do more for charity.\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
\u00a0 Every year since I launched this blog, I have called attention to some of my favorite Christmas music. \u00a0I did it a little bit this year, too, though not to the extent that I\u2019ve previously done and not nearly so systematically. \u00a0I realize, obviously, that we\u2019re past Christmas now. \u00a0But it suddenly dawned on […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1019,"featured_media":68361,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[2126,20011,26960,7072,7066,2124],"class_list":["post-103224","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-berner-oberland","tag-es-ist-ein-ros-entsprungen","tag-innertkirchen","tag-lo-how-a-rose-eer-blooming","tag-praetorius","tag-switzerland"],"yoast_head":"\n\u201cLo, How a Rose E\u2019er Blooming\u201d<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\" Every year since I 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