I can’t remember a time in my life when I didn’t know the words to “Come, Thou Long Expected Jesus.” We sang it every single Christmas (and several times a season, at that) in the Methodist church where I grew up, and by the time I was a teenager I could sing most of the verses without even looking at my hymnal.
And, you know, I thought it was a perfectly nice song. A pretty song. Perfectly suitable for the Christmas season.
But a few years ago, “Come, Thou Long Expected Jesus” settled into my heart in a whole new way. The lyrics were suddenly so profound to me that I could barely sing the first five words without fighting back tears.
This year I’m especially struck by the last part of the third verse:
Leaving riches without number
Born within a cattle stall;
This the everlasting wonder,
Christ was born the Lord of all.
May we all be overwhelmed by the everlasting wonder of Jesus’ birth this Christmas.
Is there one particular Christmas song that means more to you than any other?