I posted the little study below several years back and wanted to share it again with a new preface.
In the original post, I referenced inflatable bears, elves, and so forth being added to the nativity scenes in neighbors' yards. I usually start this carol discussion with my students by asking what non-biblical characters they've seen added to such scenes in our town.
Flamingos joining the animals?
Frosty adding his voice to the angelic choir?
Yoda bowing in the direction of the manger?
(These have all been sighted!)
This year, it occurred to me that such light-hearted additions to the creche actually serve as a witness to a profound truth: We live in the time between the most intimate manger scene of Bethlehem and the universal worship of Revelation. Just as a number of our carols begin with the holy family, expand to include shepherds then magi, finally putting us in the scene, the Kin-dom of God expands inexorably through the worship of our own time on its way to that final future peace of full communion between God and all Creation.
During this Christmas season, it has occurred to me that it would be a good devotional exercise to survey the commonly sung Christmas carols in terms of their Gospel content. That is, to take note of which carol is based on which Gospel narrative of the nativity. I’m sure may others have already done this, but I’ve enjoyed doing it for myself.
Sometimes we carry around a mental version of the nativity that is essentially St. Francis’s beautiful manger scene with everyone in attendance (Mary, Joseph, the baby Jesus, animals, shepherds, wise men, and angels). The cast of characters grows in the yards of neighbors as inflatable polar bears, elves, and dinosaurs join the scene. But that’s a different story.
The gospel writers, however, chose specific details to make their points about Jesus. (Don’t we all?) Their separate versions seem to have been written to stand alone and don’t particularly need to be combined.
In addition to the fact that my little survey might enhance someone’s biblical literacy (mine, at the very least) I also think it is a valuable exercise for raising awareness of what is actually in these carols. Details of the familiar go by almost completely without notice and it’s possible that many of us had a joyful moment with “Joy to the World” or experienced a serene mood as we sang “Silent Night” without registering the richness of these texts yet again this year.
If you are intrigued by the whole concept, maybe you should undertake such a survey yourself before reading on. Or at least do a quick check of the carols you have in your head with your memory of the Gospels.
As I did my survey, I realized that the categories I thought I would use are
not as clear-cut as I expected. That’s pretty much how these sorts of things
usually go. For clarity’s sake, though, I’ve still basically sorted the carols
as being based on Matthew, Luke, or a combination of the two.
That said, some carols seem to have an overlay of language that might be drawn from John 1. I didn’t try to keep track of that.
Another potential subcategory would be the carol that is clearly about one Gospel but has some general reference from the other that colors it but doesn’t rise to the level that would make the carol a full-blown combination of the two. For example, “Brightest and Best” and “As with Gladness Men of Old” both reference the manger (Luke) but they are primarily about the wise men (Matthew). “O Come Little Children” and “Silent Night” both mention a star (Matthew) but are otherwise firmly rooted in Luke.
Yet another type is the carol that briefly references something from a Gospel but ultimately amounts to a theological discussion using that reference as a starting point. “It Came upon a Midnight Clear” and “Good Christian Men Rejoice” follow this pattern.
Here’s a brief summary of some features that differentiate the Gospel nativity narratives:
Matthew
Angel talks to Joseph
Isaiah reference to Immanuel
Guiding star
Wise men visit where the Christ-child lives
Flight into Egypt
Luke
Angel talks to Mary
Angel chorus proclaims the birth
Shepherds visit the baby Jesus who is in the manger
John
Word becomes flesh
And now for my sorting:
Matthew
As with Gladness Men of Old
Brightest and Best
We Three Kings of Orient Are
Luke
Angels We Have Heard on High
Away in a Manger
Child in the Manger
Go Tell It on the Mountain
Good Christian Men Rejoice
Hark! The Herald Angels Sing
How Great Our Joy
Infant Holy, Infant Lowly
It Came upon the Midnight Clear
O Come, All Ye Faithful
Oh Come, Little Children
O Little Town of Bethlehem
Silent Night
Combination of Matthew and Luke
Angels, from the Realms of Glory
Gentle Mary Laid Her Child
Rise Up, Shepherd, and Follow
Sing We Now of Christmas
The First Nowell
There’s a Song in the Air
What Child Is This
Other
Joy to the World – Psalm 98
P.S. Those who worship in liturgical churches are probably pretty aware of all this as your services tend to follow one Gospel or the other in a given year. Those of us who organize and play Christmas concerts might find an impetus for some new creative work in those liturgical traditions and present events based on one Gospel's version or the other.
