From Heaven Above To Earth I Come

   In the 1500s reformer Martin Luther wrote a Christmas hymn for his little son, Hans. He wrote it to communicate to him the life-transforming message of Christ. 

   God communicated to us all by sending his Son that first Christmas night, announcing the birth through angels singing to the lowest class of people - shepherds watching their flocks. 

   The wise were bypassed; they would not understand. But even children can grasp the meaning: God became a human being to reveal his loving and gracious character to us all.

The first two stanzas of Luther's hymn, as translated:

From heaven above to earth I come

To bear good news to every home:

Glad tidings of great joy I bring,

Whereof I now will say and sing.

To you this night is born a child

Of Mary, chosen mother mild;

This little child, of lowly birth,

Shall be the joy of all the earth.