Love came down at Christmas

Love came down at Christmas,
Love all lovely, love divine;
Love was born at Christmas,
Star and angels gave the sign.

( Worship we the Godhead )

A gem of a hymn, this, deceptively simple, and encapsulating in a minute and a half the impossibility of comprehending the great gift of Christmas. The repeated 'love', almost as if Rossetti is trying it in different places to see if she can get it to fit, drives the verse onwards. It doesn't fit. It's too big. Love came down, no, love was born, no, it's incarnate, yes, it's all those things, and it is ours but it comes from God and we can give it back. We, who have not stars or angels to play with, we can have our token, too, if it is love. Plea and gift and sign. 'See how these Christians love each other'. It is all we have to give that really has any meaning.

I went to see the Pre-Raphaelites exhibition at the Tate this week, so it seemed rather appropriate to include a piece by Christina Rossetti. The tune I most associate with this hymn is Hermitage by R. O. Morris, which can be heard here.

Here it is in a rather less hymn-like style:

And, because this made me smile, the Jars of Clay version with a stop-motion Playmobil video: