Jesus Imagery in Christmas Carols
Angels We Have Heard on High: Christ, Lord, Newborn King, Glad Tidings
Hark! The Herald Angels Sing: Newborn King, Christ, Everlasting Lord, Emmanuel, Prince
of Peace, Son of Righteousness, Desire of nations, Second Adam, Virgin born
It Came Upon the Midnight Clear: Gracious King, Good news
Joy to the World: King, Savior, Ruler, Source of joy
O Come All Ye Faithful: Christ, Lord, Word of the Father, Word made flesh
O Come, O Come, Emmanuel: Emmanuel, Son of God, Dayspring, Key of David
O Little Town of Bethlehem: Light, Born of Mary, Emmanuel
Silent Night: Holy Infant, Christ, Savior, Son of God, Light, Redeemer, Jesus
What Child is This: Christ the Lord, King of Kings, Son of Mary, Word made flesh
Witnessing Based on Christmas Carols
1. Write down a line from a carol or from the Christmas Scriptures that touches you. (For the Christmas story, see Lk.1&2; Mt.1&2; Jn.1)
2. In one or three sentences, share how God is present to you through this line of your carol.
3. Choose a line or an image from another carol. Write down how God is present to you.
4. Which images listed above would be difficult for an inactive Catholic to understand? How would an awareness of this difficulty change what you might share about a particular carol?
If necessary, rewrite your response, in the light of the needs of inactive Catholics. Then share what you have written with someone else for another point of view.
5. Share one of your one to three sentence summaries with a partner. Then offer each other observations about the strengths of your mini-carol witnesses. Consider using one of these witnesses as you invite people to the festival. They can also be used to introduce carols.
6. Your sharing might be about a new conversion in response to a crisis. It can be about God's invitation to a deeper faith, or about God's call to community. To be most effective a witness includes sharing how God moved you from fear to courage, or hatred to love, weakness to strength, despair to hope, sickness to health, guilt to peace, bondage to freedom, loneliness to community, being lost to being home……. Your witness could be lengthened to include more details about one of these invitations. It could then be used in longer conversations.
Preparing for a Featured Christmas Witness
Using Story Webbing
(See page 32 in the guidebook)
About Story Webbing
This exercise is designed to help you get in touch with the meaning of a word, phrase or image and the personal events associated with it.
Step one: Start with a word that touches you or a word you want to explore.
Step two: Draw a circle around this word and generate lots more words by free association, until one word or phrase strikes you as a good beginning for a story.
Step three: Write a paragraph, starting with the most striking word, image, in preparation for sharing with others, either in writing, through an audio file, on in a video.
Example
This was Harry's official good bye photo taken in 1943, just before he left for war in the South Pacific. He was grateful for Grandpa Barton who had taught him carpentry. Then there was grandpa's advice, "Don't take a second drink until the ice cubes in the first one are melted." But what would Grandpa offer today? Harry was not disappointed. Grandpa gave him a Soldier's Prayer to the Holy Spirit. His grandson would use it every day, in Saipan, in Okinawa and in a dozen horrible places. And by God's grace he would return in 1945 with two more years to enjoy his grandfather, a few ice cubes and more singing on the porch.
Christmas Carol Story Web
Step One: Place the word or phrase from a favorite carol in the circle.
Step Two: Generate more words and thoughts that you associate with this carol imagery.
Step Three: Write a paragraph, starting with the most striking word. Your goal is to describe how God is or has been present to you through the particular event or experience that emerges.
