A Christmas Poem

CHRISTMAS
Benjamin Copeland
(1896)

O HOLY, happy morning,
That saw the Saviour's birth!
The star, thy brow adorning,
Beams mercy on the earth.
For shepherds, and for sages,
Thy cheer, impartial, free,—
The travail of the ages
Finds recompense in thee.

My soul, be thou believing,—
No more thy past deplore;
In Christ all loss retrieving,
Rejoice for evermore.
By love unknown attended,
Thy weary watch and ward,—
Behold! the vision splendid!
The angel of the Lord!

And hark! the herald angel!
The radiant, rapturous throng!
The ravishing evangel
Floods all the hills with song:
"To God in heaven, glory,
Good will to men below;"
Speed, speed the blessed story,
That all the world may know.

My Christmas Letter

‭🍂‬

“Familiar in his mouth as household words.” - Shakespeare

24 December 2024 

Dear P_ and M_: 

Many are beholden to various aspects of the
“A-train to Zarathustra” (i.e., A to Z).
‭‬They pined for spring and particularly summer. 
Summers are the peaks of activities. 
A circling glorious summer is always anticipated
and yearned in the “winter of our discontent”,
whether or not the son of York has anything to do with it. 
Regardless, even the psychopathic duke, Richard III, 
believes it.

Three days ago on 21 December 2024, it was winter solstice.
It marked the first day of winter and the shortest day in 
the northern hemisphere. From then on, the days or daylights
will gradually get longer.  Still, it is winter.  
The vicissitudes of winter weather in our valley apropos 
of these Shakespearean words, “the rain and wind beat 
dark December.”  Surely, it is cold and wet here in the 
valley but nothing like my pharmacologist friends who 
reside and teach in Pullman, WA.  Their winter trough 
could be epitomized by the song at the end
of ‭Love’s Labor’s Lost. Brrr…! ‬

The winter solstice last Saturday accentuates Christmas Day.
Because of the birth of Christ, the “Sun of Righteousness.”
Thus the Lord has expressly promised the redeemed 
that “night will be no more”, and He shall be their light
for ever and ever. Until He returns again, in the meanwhile
His general mercies provides for ‭all‬ of His creation.
So it is “He makes His sun rise on the evil and on the good, 
and sends rain on the just and on the unjust.”  Excepting 
for Christendom, however, most of the world will ignore 
His mercy of “daily bread”, and seek ‭possession‬ of wealth‭ ‬
and‭ ‬security instead. Further, in its self-righteousness,
the Christmas season is circumscribed foremost 
by pleasantry. So the greetings of “Merry Christmas” 
are familiar household words for laughter of gifts, 
Santa Claus, and ideates of the season. After all, it‬ is ‭
sine qua non. To the unbelieving, life ‬is “…a walking 
shadow…struts and frets…And then is heard no more.”   

Lest we forget, God dwells “in the high and holy place, and also 
with him who is of a contrite and lowly spirit.” 
His birth is “to revive the spirit of the lowly, and to revive 
the heart of the contrite.” He is life eternal. 

By any means, I am not a haiku poet.  Nevertheless, here is 
my Christmas haiku for you: 

This winter solstice 
Accenting John Three Sixteen 
His unstinting love 

May the Lord make His face to shine upon you 
and be gracious to you.  Merry Christmas! 

L’

‭🍁‬

A Christmas Haiku

Grace and truth is He
Jesus unshackles mankind sins 
Paradise regained

L'

Our Great Redemption from Above Did Bring

This is the month, and this is the happy morn,
Wherein the Son of heaven's eternal King,
Of wedded maid, and virgin mother born,
Our great redemption from above did bring. 

- John Milton

My 2021 Christmas Postcard to All

Love Came Down One Night

Dear Visitor:

Surely, year 2020 is one annus horribilis. And yet, things come not by chance but from the Father, COVID-19 notwithstanding. As exemplified by the saints and sinners in the Bible, salvation and spiritual growth can come to His people through sickness and affliction. God's love never begins and never ends. He always sustains. Nevertheless, at this blog entry may all go well with you in the Lord, health as well as the soul.

The treasure of God’s wisdom and Word is for His people. Jesus’ birth, death, and resurrection is God’s will and promise to save His own. The ultimate salvation is accomplished by Christ who “delivers us from the wrath to come,”¹, and “reconcile to Himself all things.”²  Indeed, because of Christmas and later Christ’s victory over death, the redeemed can assuredly proclaim, “in Him we live and move and have our being.”³

For this Christmas and those that may later follow, let your soul magnify the Lord, and your spirit rejoice in God our Savior.

Grace, mercy, and peace be with you,

L'

¹1 Thessalonians 1:10
²Colossians 1:20
³Acts 17:28

To One and All of Human Birth

Christmas Night
Thomas Hall Shastid
1881

Be peace on earth, good will to men;
And let this now our carol be:
If on the land, or on the sea,
We still will sing the glad refrain;
And in the closing light of day
Good words of peace and cheer will say.
The Babe that in the manger born
Has risen high above the star,
To judge in peace, or judge in war,
To judge at night or judge at morn.
The star that told us of his birth
Has given us joy and lasting mirth.
The Man that suffered on the tree
Is risen high above all men;
Then swell the glad refrain again—
He died for me, He died for thee:
Then peace be ever on the earth
To one and all of human birth.

Christrmas Night

Christmas Night
Thomas Hall Shastid
1881

Be peace on earth, good will to men;
And let this now our carol be:
If on the land, or on the sea,
We still will sing the glad refrain;
And in the closing light of day
Good words of peace and cheer will say.

The Babe that in the manger born
Has risen high above the star,
To judge in peace, or judge in war,
To judge at night or judge at morn.
The star that told us of his birth
Has given us joy and lasting mirth.

The Man that suffered on the tree
Is risen high above all men;
Then swell the glad refrain again—
He died for me, He died for thee:
Then peace be ever on the earth
To one and all of human birth.

Down from Heaven's Glory to a Manger Bed

Here we are. Another year is floating silently and swiftly to its closing. Truly, as God ordained, "to every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven". Whether a fair and bright song raised, or the cry of a dark and dismal refrain, they matter not to the hours that fly. In every circling year new things and lives abound, while the ever flowing tide of time obliterates the footprints of yesterday - "une rose elle a vecue ce que vivent les roses, l'espace d'un matin."

We soon walk onto the pristine path of a new year; sweet is the breath of its first new morn. We seek anew a primrose by a river's brim. A longing to find that yellow primrose, if only it brings a temporal gladness and nothing more. Knowingly for certain, awaiting us to bear at the bend are further Sisyphean tasks roiling with ambivalence, weighting down by wickedly violent Rasohmon POV. These are ever the burdens of Cain in our brilliant but strife-torn Godless world, away from the presence of the Lord.

For this year-end penultimate, may God open our eyes or reaffirm the yearning for an everlasting solace. That Christmas is the birth of Jesus, God's only begotten son, the physician and savior of the soul. Only Jesus can satisfy one's longing for everlasting joy and rest, calm the mind in worldly strife, and make the sinner whole for eternity with Him.

A parting thought on this Christmas season and the closing year,

"Down from Heaven's glory to a manger bed,
Crucified, Glorified; He was born to be our Savior."
In Excelsis Deo.

Christmas Eve 2015

24 December  2015

Christmas Eve
North America


Colorado Symphony and Choir
2005

- Too Hot to Handel - Sinfonia 3'34"
(after G.F. Handel "The Messiah")

~*~

Tab 2 Feature:

24 December 2015

Christmas Eve
North America


Toronto Symphony and Choir
Florence Quivar, messo-soprano
Kathleen Battle, soprano
1987

- The Messiah Oratorio- He Shall Feed His Flock  5'19"
(G.F. Handel)

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Christmas in the Wing

22 December  2015

Winter Solstice
The first day of winter
Three days till Christmas

The Jim Cullum Jazz Band
1984

- We Wish You a Merry Christmas 2'33"
(Traditional)

~*~

Tab 2 Feature:

22 December 2015

Winter Solstice
The first day of winter
Three days till Christmas

Van Cliburn, piano
1961

- Etude in A Minor, Op. 25, No. 11, "Winter-wind" 3'38"
(F. Chopin)


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All Love's Treasures with Him Bringing!

24 December 2014
Christmas Eve

Tab 1 Feature:
Emile Pandolfi, piano (1991)
- O Holy Night(Adam) 4'46"

~*~

Tab 2 Feature:
Emile Pandolfi, piano (1991)
- Silent Night (Gruber) 4'51"

L'envoi Music Features

The Waits
Margaret Deland (1919)

At the break of Christmas Day,
Through the frosty starlight ringing,
Faint and sweet and far away,
Comes the sound of children, singing,
Chanting, singing,
“Cease to mourn,
For Christ is born,
Peace and joy to all men bringing!”
Careless that the chill winds blow,
Growing stronger, sweeter, clearer,
Noiseless footfalls in the snow
Bring the happy voices nearer;
Hear them singing,
“Winter’s drear,
But Christ is here,
Mirth and gladness with Him bringing!”
“Merry Christmas!” hear them say,
As the East is growing lighter;
“May the joy of Christmas Day
Make your whole year gladder, brighter!”
Join their singing,
“To each home
Our Christ has come,
All love’s treasures with Him bringing!”

André Kostelanetz Birthday Anniversary, 2014

22 December 2014
A Birthday Anniversary

André Kostelanetz
Russian-American conductor and arranger
(22 Dec 1901 - 13 Jan 1980)

Tab 1 Feature:
André Kostelanetz, conducting (1965)
- O Come, All Ye Faithfu
(Adeste Fideles) 1'46"

~*~

Tab 2 Feature:
Jacqueline François, vocal (1955)
- Nöel Blanc (White Christmas) 2'58"

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Double Birthdays Today, 10 December

L'envoi Music Feature Tab 1
Morton Gould
American-born conductor
composer, arranger, and pianist
(10 December 1913 - 21 February 1996)

Morton Gould and His Orchestra (2000)
- Vocalise (Rachmaninov, arr. Gould) 3'49"


L'envoi Music Feature Tab 2
César Franck
Belgium born classical composer
(10 December 1822 - 8 November 1890)

Chloë Agnew, vocal
with The Irish Film Orchestra
and Chorus (2006)

Panis Angelicus
- (Thomas Acquinas & César Franck) 3'58"

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Sic Nos Tu Visita

L'envoi Music Feature Tab 1
The London Symphony Orchestra (1994)

- Snowbound (Burnside) 3'49"

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L'envoi Music Feature Tab 2
César Franck
Belgium born classical composer
(10 December 1822 - 8 November 1890)

Chloë Agnew, vocal
with The Irish Film Orchestra
and Chorus (2006)

Panis Angelicus
- (Thomas Acquinas & César Franck) 3'58"

L'envoi Music Features

For Unto Us A Child Is Born

L'envoi Music Feature Tab 1
The London Symphony Orchestra (1994)

- Snowbound (Burnside) 3'49"

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L'envoi Music Feature Tab 2
The London Philharmonic and Chorus (1979)

Handel's "Messiah"
- For Unto Us a Child Is Born 4'30"

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Too Hot to Handel - December 5, 2014

Christmas Music

L'envoi Music Feature Tab 1
The Colorado Symphony and Chorus (2005)

Too Hot to Handel (Gospel Rock)
- For Unto Us a Child Is Born
(after Handel's "Messiah") 4'22"

This MP3 post expired on 12-05-2014.
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Andy Williams Birthday Anniversary

Andy Williams,
American-born pop vocalist
(3 December 1927 - 25 September 2012)

L'envoi Music Feature Tab 1
Andy Williams and Chorus (1974)

- Hark! The Hearld Angel Sing
(Cummings & Mendelssohn) 2'38"

L'envoi Music Feature Tab 2
Carmen Cavallaro, piano
(1997 compilation)

- O, Little Town of Bethlehem
and Joy to the World 3'20"

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Too Hot to Handel - December 1, 2014

Music Feature Tab 1 of 2

The Colorado Symphony Orchestra
and Chorus (2005)

Too Hot to Handel (after the "Messiah")
- O Thou That Tellest Good Tidings to Zion (Handel) 5'14"

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A Christmas Eve Message to Blog Visitors

Then said I, 'Lo, I come (in the volume of the book it is written of me, )
to do thy will, O God.'

-- Hebrews 10:7 (KJV)  cf. Psalm 40:7-8 (KJV)


24 December 2013
Christmas Eve

Dear L'envoi Blog Visitor:

Sweeping in on its "winged chariot", time is hurrying near on the ready to collect and seal away the year. Before that happens, we have the most anticipated event of the year and season to celebrate yet. Christmas!

Were it not God's everlasting love and grace for the redemption of a wretched world, a dark and dreary winter "always winter" would be, "never Christmas." Christ has come as a "light to lighten" the "people that sat in darkness" of despair. We now have seen this "great light"; Jesus Christ, the "Sun of Righteousness is risen with healing in his wings." He has come and triumphed over sin's morose darkness.

Surely, Jesus has brought light and life with the dawn of redeeming grace. A wonder of wonders; its depth reason cannot fathom. May Christmas Day, the joy before us, bring a gladder and brighter year to you.


L'



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