Excerpt from Hymns and Hymnwriters of Denmark by J.C. Aaberg, (Committee on Publication of the Danish Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, Des Moines, IA, 1945), 123-124. Grundtvig was in the habit of remaining up all night when he had to. speak the following day. The Christmas of 1825 [sic] was particularly trying to him. He had apparently forfeited his last vestige of honor by publishing his Reply of the Church; the suit started against him by Professor Clausen still dragged its. laborious way through the court; and his anxiety over the present state of the church was greatly increased by the weight of his personal troubles. He felt very. much like the shepherd watching their flocks at night, except that no angels appeared to help him with the message his people would expect him to deliver in the morning. Perhaps he was unworthy of such a favor. He rose, as was his custom, and made a round into the bedrooms to watch his children. How innocently they slept! If the angels could not come to him, they ought at least to visit the children. If they heard the message, their elders might perchance catch it through them. Some such thought must have passed through the mind of the lonely pastor as he sat musing upon his sermon throughout the night, for he appeared unusually cheerful as he ascended his pulpit Christmas morning, preached a joyful sermon, and said, at its conclusion, that he had that night begotten a song which he wished to read to them. That song has since become one of the most beloved Christmas songs in the Danish language. To give an adequate reproduction of its simple, childlike spirit in another language is perhaps impossible, but it is hoped that the translation given below will convey at least an impression of its cheerful welcome to the Christmas angels. Be welcome again, God’s angels bright From mansions of light and glory to publish anew this wintry night The wonderful Christmas story. Ye herald to all that yearn for light New year after winter hoary. With gladness we hear your sweet refrain In praise of God’s glory solely; Ye will not this wintry night disdain To enter our dwellings lowly. And bring to each yearning heart again The joy that is pure and holy. In humble homes as in mansions rare With light in the windows glowing, We harbor the babes as sweet and fair As flowers in meadows growing. Oh, deign with these little ones to share The joy from your message flowing. Reveal the child in the manger still With angels around Him singing The song of God’s glory, peace, good-will That joy to all hearts is bringing, While far over mountain, field and hill, The bells are with gladness ringing. God’s angels with joy to earth descend When hymns to His praise are chanted; His comfort peace our Lord will lend To all who for peace have panted; The portals of heaven open stand; The Kingdom to us is granted.
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By ED MADSEN edmadsen@aol.com Compared with COVID and war in Ukraine, it may not seem like much, but as Christmas was approaching forty-nine years ago, things in the world were not going very well. Arab states waged war on Israel. Here in the US, while trying to fend off impeachment, our president precipitated the so-called Saturday Night Massacre. That was a string of Justice Department resignations, including the Attorney General, and the firing of the Watergate special prosecutor. Days later, a bribery scandal forced the Vice President to resign. Our republic was in peril! Then came the Arab oil embargo. Soon we lined up for hours approaching gas pumps, restricted to cars with even numbered license plates one day, odd the next. Wall Street took notice. The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost nearly half its value during the ensuing twelve months. Mortgage rates climbed to 8 percent on their way to 9 percent the following year. Our economy was on the ropes! Aching for respite from the troubles of this world, we booked our family of four into the Trapp Family Lodge in Stowe, VT, home to the Sound of Music heroine. At age sixty-eight, Baroness Maria von Trapp was one of the ten most respected women in America. When her husband decided to flee privilege and leave everything behind in Austria, she said: We have now the precious opportunity to find out for ourselves whether the words we have heard and read so often can be taken literally: “Seek ye first the kingdom of God and His justice, and all these things shall be added unto you.” Two months later, in September of 1938, Maria von Trapp and her family came to America on a tourist visa with bookings to perform as “The Trapp Family Singers.” Denied visa extension beyond six months, the family left America for a hastily arranged concert appearance in Copenhagen. In October of 1939, the SS Bergenfjord brought them back to America, this time as immigrants, later to be fingerprinted as enemy aliens! For two decades the family delighted audiences nationwide. They became American citizens while the older boys served with U.S. Army ski troops during World War II, after which the family spearheaded postwar Austrian Relief. Our reservation at Maria’s home in 1973 culminated on December 24. In the afternoon we gathered with other guests to meet Maria in St. George’s Hall at one end of the Lodge. As late afternoon sun slipped behind the mountains, Maria held us spellbound while explaining Christmas traditions in Austria. She said Christmas carols were not sung until celebration of the Christ child on Christmas Eve. Darkness settled outside. Then Maria invited guests to sing one last Advent carol, “O Come, O Come, Emmanuel,” as she led us through a long hallway to the hushed living room at the other end of the Lodge. There, live candles adorned a freshly cut Christmas tree. Then, wishing us not a “Merry” but a “Blessed” Christmas, Maria led all in softly singing “Stille Nacht, Heilige Nacht.” First in German, then in English, “Silent Night, Holy Night.” There was not a dry eye in the house! The cover graphic is a design from the artist Jane Rødden. Posters of her clever designs that incorporate song lyrics can be ordered at www.songshape.dk. The well-known Grundtvig song “Nu falmer sloven trinket om land” serves as inspiration for this month’s cover. The music and Danish and English lyrics are on pages four and five. The Church and Life website also has YouTube links to both a keyboard accompaniment if you want to sing it in English and another video to sing along in Danish with Phillip Faber. Keeping with a theme of leaves falling from trees, the opening article by Rita Simon is “The Spaciousness Between Our Branches.” She takes the inspiration of trees encountered on a walk to use as a metaphor for the seasons of life. The Grundtvig song appears once again in “Interview with Thure Lindhart,” by Sofie Buch Hoyer, originally written in Danish for the publication Højskolebladet. The interview with the Danish actor was prompted by his performance in conjunction with the 150th anniversary of Grundtvig’s death. Thure tells about his newly found interest and respect for the man and how this has led him to initiate a new alternative educational opportunity. In “Grand View University’s 14th President, Dr. Rachelle Keck,”Marilyn Andersen Gift introduces the person who will be leading the next chapter of the university and gives highlights of her inauguration. Sonja Knudsen, daughter of former Grand View President Johannes Knudsen, serves as secretary of the Danish Interest Conference. The board has already approved her minutes from this year’s annual Board of Director’s meeting, so they are published here for the sake of transparency. A little prayer of thanksgiving, shared at a Folk School Alliance community of practice meeting, appropriately comes with the listing of gifts to Church and Life. You may note a few gifts in memory of Don Lenef, Joy Ibsen’s husband. The next issue will carry a remembrance of his life. The final Post Script by editor Bridget Lois Jensen is a personal reflection spawned by the death of a longtime family friend. |
Editor InformationBridget Lois Jensen Archives
March 2023
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