The Tenth Day of Advent...

          One thing I find quite fascinating about the story of the Shepherds is that they did not seem to scorn or mock Jesus's lowly birth, or find it inconceivable that He could be the Messiah. Granted, they had been visited by a hoarde of angels which I'm sure did a lot to grease the wheels on that score, but still, it is yet another reason the Shepherds are my favourite element in the Christmas story.

           Today's carol is another bit of imaginative work. I don't think the Shepherd's would have ventured to sing a lullaby. Rather like "The Shepherd's Farewell" which I shared last year, it is intended to tell a story from the perspective of present, first person plural rather than the typical past, third-person narrative. Once again, a way to present the story of the incarnation in a different faucet.

            It is, in the end, truly a lullaby keeping to the typical lullaby format of rocking your baby to sleep and singing to it of terrible things.

             My flatmate in Scotland, reading for a degree in History, was puzzled by this phenomenon for a while as the Scotts seem to have a lot of troublesome lyrics in their lullabys, but her discovery upon further study is that the way this happened is the mother's singing those lullabys were simply voicing their fears. The baby wouldn't understand the words, the soft melody would lull it to sleep, while the mother, rocking back and forth, holding her child close would sing of the things that troubled her mind. It was an ancient way of destressing.

          I found that perspective rather fascinating. It made me want to learn all the lullabys ever written in preparation for having my own children.

           Leaving that aside, here is today's selection: The Shepherd's Cradle Song

                   The tune is lovely, and the words do not shy away from proclaiming the coming woe of the king in the manger.