Let Our Gladness Have No End (ELW 291)
1 Let our gladness have no end, alleluia!
For to earth did Christ descend, alleluia!
Refrain:
On this day God gave us
Christ, His Son, to save us;
Christ, His Son to save us.
2 Prophesied in days of old, alleluia!
God has sent Him as foretold, alleluia! [Refrain]
3 See, the loveliest blooming rose, alleluia!
From the branch of Jesse grows, alleluia! [Refrain]
4 Into flesh is made the Word, alleluia!
He, our refuge and our Lord, alleluia! [Refrain]
Devotion
In Tuesday’s reflection we alluded to the sometimes ambiguous emotions of this week following the Christmas celebration, when we can so swiftly turn to thoughts of New Year celebrations. In light of that, perhaps the title and first line of this hymn says it all: “Let our gladness have no end”—and then nicely punctuates each line of the hymn with a joyous “Hallelujah!” to seal the deal.
Though brief in scope and spritely in rhythm, the words of the hymn manage to capture the complete Christmas story—Old Testament prophesy, blooming rose of David’s line, Word made flesh among us, Jesus as savior and Lord—and all of it summarized in the repeated refrain, which could be seen as a paraphrase of Luke’s announcement to the shepherds by the angels: “To you is born this day in the city of David a Savior who is Christ the Lord.” (Luke 2:11)
Prayer
God of Love, may there indeed be no end to gladness that you have inspired among us in this gift that transcends every gift, that you should send your Son among us as our Savior and Lord. Amen.