December 21 

Lo, How a Rose E’er Blooming 

TEXT: German Hymn, ca. 1500

First written in German around AD 1500, this beautiful poem was translated into English by three different people at three different times. This translation was created by Theodore Baker in 1894. The poem uses imagery from the prophet Isaiah to describe Jesus as the “Rose” and the “stem” of Jesse. Some translations of Isaiah use the words crocus or lily, but these flowers are both known as the roses of the desert. Jesus came like a rose to a dry, barren land.

He is also the stem of Jesse, descending from the line of Jesse, King David’s father. The “men of old” in the song are the prophets, particularly Isaiah. The imagery continues: perhaps “cold of winter” refers to the Roman occupation and the 400 years of silence of the prophets. It was into this darkness for Israel that Jesus came. What might “when half-spent was the night” mean? Some think it means in the middle of the night, which is why many Christmas Eve services take place at midnight. It could also refer to the middle of human history as expressed by BC and AD, before and after Christ.

The first two stanzas tell a story with delightful flower metaphors. The final stanza explains the meaning of the imagery. The flower is Christ—“true man, yet very God.”

TUNE: German Melody, 16th c.

ES IST EIN’ ROS’ ENTSPRUNGEN is a German melody from the sixteenth century. Without knowing German, you might guess it means “a rose has sprung up.” The prolific German organist, composer, and musicologist Michael Praetorius arranged the tune for congregational worship around 1602. The rhythm of the melody is not in a strict meter, so a quarter note is what you focus on in counting instead of a bar line.

As you sing this hymn … enjoy the beautiful and poetic ways that the birth of Jesus is portrayed. In this carol, you are provided a new lexicon of praise. The metaphors deserve our consideration:

Rose e’re blooming | Christ is born

Sprung from tender stem | From the family tree

Amid the cold of winter | Coming when you might least expect

Flower of fragrance tender | Goodness of Jesus

Sweetness fills the air | Holy Spirit pervades

Dispels glorious splendor | Light of the World

Darkness everywhere | Sin ruling over the earth

Lightens every load | Righteousness brings peace

Read the prophecy of Isaiah 11:1 in “Christmas in the Bible,” #3 that employs a nature metaphor in foretelling the lineage of Jesus; then Isaiah 35:1–2 says a rose will blossom in the desert. This carol is like a living Christmas card illustrating the contrasts from the natural order of life. Meditate in prayer on these metaphors.