Sunday's Song . . .

. . . is late.  I could say it's because yesterday was a full and tiring day.  But here it is nearly 1:30  2:00 on Monday afternoon and I'm still trying to decide on a song.  Too many choices!  While the Second Sunday of Advent could be summed up in the word Prepare, that doesn't necessarily narrow down the choices.

When I think of preparing, I think of having some expectations of what's coming.  I mean, really, how can one prepare for something if you don't know what it is?  But expectations are tricky things.  Sometimes the cause of great disappointment; sometimes ending in surprised delight.  And the expectations connected with Christmas run the gamut: all the way from expecting the Messiah to be a great warrior or honored king instead of a poor little baby, to expecting the sight of the baby in a manger, the sound of angels singing and all the other traditions of the season to produce sentimental warm fuzzies.  So maybe preparing for Jesus requires allowing God to defy our expectations.  No easy feat.

Okay, enough rambling!  Let's get to the song.  This is from a recording of our Family Christmas Concert, presented in 1983.  While the quality is quite poor, it is still something I treasure.  The reading was done by my dad.

Once In Royal David's City (with reading) by queenodella
Once in Royal David's City
Stood a lowly cattle shed.
Where a mother laid her baby
In a manger for his bed.
Mary was that mother mild,
Jesus Christ, her little child.

He came down to earth from heaven,
Who is God, and Lord of all.
And His shelter was a stable,
And His cradle was a stall.
With the poor, and mean and lowly
Lived on earth, our Savior holy.

Not in that poor lowly stable
With the oxen standing by;
We shall see Him, but in heaven
Set at God's right hand on high.
When like stars His children rise
Singing praises in the skies.