December 13 

What Child Is This? 

TEXT: Traditional English Carol

Adapted, William Chatterton Dix

b. June 14, 1837, Bristol, England

d. September 9, 1898, Cheddar, Somerset, England

William Dix’s father gave his son the middle name Chatterton after one of his heroes, Thomas Chatterton, an English poet. And he encouraged his son to follow after his namesake. Dix studied poets and poetry, read classic literature, and spent time in college focusing on his writing. Although he became the manager of a marine insurance company, Dix made time to write. When illness caused him to be bedridden for months, he wrote a lengthy poem, “The Manger Throne,” the story of the men from the East who came to visit the baby Jesus (Matt. 2:1–12). The text is written from their perspective, which is why it is in the “Epiphany” section of this hymnal (see “As with Gladness Men of Old”). The poem was published and quickly became popular in England and America, where the Civil War was just ending. An unknown Englishman put the words of the poem to the beautiful English folk song GREENSLEEVES, creating this carol.

TUNE: English Melody, 16th c.

GREENSLEEVES is an English folk melody of uncertain origin, dating back to the sixteenth century. Some attribute it to King Henry VIII as a gift to Anne Boleyn, but for reasons based on style, that is not likely. In Shakespeare’s The Merry Wives of Windsor, written around 1602, one character calls out, “Let the sky rain potatoes; let it thunder to the tune of ‘Greensleeves’!” It is truly one of the most hauntingly beautiful tunes ever written, and “What Child Is This?” is the reason it is well-known to this day.

As you sing this hymn … notice that the first two stanzas ask two profound questions, “Who?” and “Why?” The first, “What child is this?” is rhetorical, a way of asking, “who is this one?” Although you know the answer, you sing as an expression of wonder and awe, a way of saying, “this appears too good to be true!” Is this baby on Mary’s lap really Christ the King? The “why?” follows: Why would God in Jesus come to earth “in such mean estate” (a lowly place)? And why would “nails, spear … pierce him through”? A false view of Christmas expects Christmas songs to be only lullabies of happy thoughts. Think of secular Christmas songs. While a few are melancholy, can you think of any that speak of death or tragedies?

We understand the nativity is only the beginning of the story. We cannot stop at the stable. David Mathis writes: “The light and joy of Christmas are hollow at best, and even horrifying if we sever the link between Bethlehem and Golgotha …‘Nails, spears shall pierce him through’ doesn’t ruin Christmas. It gives the season its power.”²⁹

The third stanza describes the right response: offer your highest treasures, enthrone Him as reigning Lord, and raise songs of praise. In short, this carol is a Q&A—a question and answer concerning a matter of more importance than all other mysteries in our universe. In a sermon, Pastor Richard Phillips declared, “Our response must be far more than a little cultural observation. It calls us to our greatest life commitment.”³⁰ Which response have you made?