What Kind of Carol is That?

My Dancing Day

            This month at Walla Walla First Presbyterian church the Chancel Choir is using a traditional English Carol as our call to worship.  If you were in church on the 9th or heard us over the radio, you might have thought it did not sound very “Christmasy.”  In part, that is because we only sang the first verse and chorus.  The entire song is as follows:
  1. Tomorrow shall be my dancing day;
    I would my true love did so chance
    To see the legend of my play,
    To call my true love to my dance;

    Sing, oh! my love, oh! my love, my love, my love,
    This have I done for my true love.
  2. Then was I born of a virgin pure,
    Of her I took fleshly substance
    Thus was I knit to man's nature
    To call my true love to my dance.
Sing, oh! my love, oh! my love, my love, my love,
This have I done for my true love.
  1. In a manger laid, and wrapped I was
    So very poor, this was my chance
    Betwixt an ox and a silly poor ass
    To call my true love to my dance.
Sing, oh! my love, oh! my love, my love, my love,
This have I done for my true love.
  1. Then afterwards baptized I was;
    The Holy Ghost on me did glance,
    My Father's voice heard from above,
    To call my true love to my dance.
Sing, oh! my love, oh! my love, my love, my love,
This have I done for my true love.
  1. Into the desert I was led,
    Where I fasted without substance;
    The Devil bade me make stones my bread,
    To have me break my true love's dance.
Sing, oh! my love, oh! my love, my love, my love,
This have I done for my true love.
  1. * The Jews on me they made great suit,
    And with me made great variance,
    Because they loved darkness rather than light,
    To call my true love to my dance.
Sing, oh! my love, oh! my love, my love, my love,
This have I done for my true love.
  1. For thirty pence Judas me sold,
    His covetousness for to advance:
    Mark whom I kiss, the same do hold!
    The same is he shall lead the dance.
Sing, oh! my love, oh! my love, my love, my love,
This have I done for my true love.
  1. Before Pilate the Jews me brought,
    Where Barabbas had deliverance;
    They scourged me and set me at nought,
    Judged me to die to lead the dance.
Sing, oh! my love, oh! my love, my love, my love,
This have I done for my true love.
  1. Then on the cross hanged I was,
    Where a spear my heart did glance;
    There issued forth both water and blood,
    To call my true love to my dance.
Sing, oh! my love, oh! my love, my love, my love,
This have I done for my true love.
  1. Then down to hell I took my way
    For my true love's deliverance,
    And rose again on the third day,
    Up to my true love and the dance.
Sing, oh! my love, oh! my love, my love, my love,
This have I done for my true love.
  1. Then up to heaven I did ascend,
    Where now I dwell in sure substance
    On the right hand of God, that man
    May come unto the general dance.
Sing, oh! my love, oh! my love, my love, my love,
This have I done for my true love.
I chose this song, in large part, because it summarizes Jesus’ entire ministry while on earth in human form.
For me, Christmas and Easter are inextricably linked.  This is one reason I love songs that tell about Jesus’ entire life.
God is so much more than our tiny human minds can comprehend, and all the languages of the world combined do not have the power to fully describe Him!  So although it is correct to say Jesus came to earth to bring peace, if you read His life story (i.e. The Bible), you have to agree that is a simplistic view of the reason for Christmas.
In order to understand why Jesus came to earth—why there was a first Christmas—we must look at what He actually did while He was here.  Using my admittedly limited knowledge and vocabulary (At least where defining God is concerned!), what Jesus did while on earth was: 

>      Fulfill all the prophesies made about His earthly life,

>      Model the way He wants us to behave,

>      Teach us about God and the life He has for us,

>      Died and rose again to pay for our sins and conquer death itself

So Jesus didn’t come to earth as a baby at Christmas just for the sake of that event.  Had He not lived, died, and risen again, and done all the other things He did in between all that, we would not have His example, nor His teachings, nor the forgiveness of sin.  If Jesus had not lived His entire earthly life as He did, Christmas would be just a quaint story about a couple who had a rough time bringing their first born son into the world!  Christmas was not a terminal event.  Instead it was a kind of mini-Genesis.  It was the physical beginning of Jesus’ life on earth.
            In order to truly be the Messiah, Jesus had to fulfill all the prophesies made about Him, including both those made about the beginning and the end of His earthly life and His resurrection!
            So I don’t allow my thoughts to steep too much in the sentiments of Christmas itself.  Rather, I like to use Christmas as an impetus to think about Jesus’ entire, eternal existence.  And as far as my limited mind can comprehend them, Christmas and Easter and all they signify are truly inextricably linked, and that is why I like songs that strive to encompass Jesus’ entire earthly life.

Ever His,

* Verse six came into tradition during a time when books were an expensive luxury, and so biblical knowledge was more limited, and poor or incorrect teaching about Jesus’ persecutors was rampant.  We will not be using this verse in church, and its inclusion here should not be misconstrued as official policy or opinion of FPCWW, or the PCUSA concerning the Jewish race or religion.

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