“Bright and Glorious is the Sky,” ELW 301 and LBW 75
1 Bright and glorious is the sky,
Radiant are the heavens high
Where the golden stars are shining.
All their rays to earth inclining
Beckon us to heav'n above,
Beckon us to heav'n above.
2 On that holy Christmas night
Through the darkness beamed a light;
All the stars above were paling,
All their luster slowly failing
As the Christmas star drew nigh,
As the Christmas star drew nigh.
3 Sages from the East afar,
When they saw this wondrous star,
Went to find the king of nations
And to offer their oblations
Unto him as Lord and King,
Unto him as Lord and King.
4 Him they found in Bethlehem,
Yet he wore no diadem;
They but saw a maiden lowly
With an infant pure and holy
Resting in her loving arms,
Resting in her living arms.
5 Guided by the star, they found
Him whose praise the ages sound.
We too have a star to guide us
Which forever will provide us
With the light to find our Lord.
6 As a star, God's holy Word
Leads us to our King and Lord;
Brightly from its sacred pages
Shall this light throughout the ages
Shine upon our path of life.
Devotion
Professor Kaufman of the University of Minnesota, a refugee from Latvia after World War II, lectured on the Star of Bethlehem often and widely until his death. He provided evidence of an alignment of planets in the days of Jesus’ birth. Thus, he concluded, experts in astronomy and astrology in Mesopotamia might have concluded that a new King had been born far to the West. Hymn writers, like Gruntvig, too saw the lighted winter sky as a sign of Jesus’ epiphany.
Are the stars ever brighter than on a winter night?
Are they just a natural phenomenon resulting from the big bang? Or are they lights to point to the One who came from heaven to earth to be our Lord and King?
Prayer
Father, we too have a star to guide us, which forever will provide us with the light to find our Lord. Amen.