Lo, How a Rose E’er Blooming
“Lo, How a Rose E’er Blooming” is a lovely hymn for the Advent/Christmas season, a rich text surrounded by a lovely, expressive four-part accompaniment. It can be found in a variety of hymnals spanning many denominations, including the two most recent editions of the Baptist Hymnal. Unfortunately, many Baptist churches seem to be unaware of the hymn or omit it from the Advent calendar of music, opting instead for popular carols more familiar to their congregations. However, it contains depth and musical interest that, in my opinion, lends itself to inclusion as a valuable Advent song.
“Lo, How a Rose E’er Blooming” is a German hymn, first printed in 1582 under the title “Es ist ein Ros entsprungen.” The original song included 19 stanzas, although most current hymnals include at most five or six; the 2008 Baptist Hymnal lists three stanzas. Born as a Catholic hymn, the original focus was Mary, who is compared to the mystical rose praised in the Song of Solomon 2:1: “I am a rose of Sharon, a lily of the valleys.” By 1609, however, Protestant Lutherans had adopted the hymn and altered its focus from Mary to Jesus, citing Isaiah 11:1, referencing a Messianic King: “There shall come forth a shoot from the stump of Jesse, and a branch shall grow out of his roots.” Scholars have debated whether “ros’” (rose) or “reis” (branch) was intended as the original word in the first line of text.
Composer Michael Praetorius published the adapted text of the hymn in his Musae Sioniae in 1609 to his harmonized tune Es Ist Ein Ros, which has become the commonly-associated accompaniment to the text. The son of a Lutheran minister, Praetorius had a special fondness for adapting music of the Roman Catholic church and shaping it into more of a Protestant leaning. Early Lutheran hymnals printed the hymn text with these changes, and most modern-day singers utilizing the hymn are unaware that it was originally intended to glorify Mary, not the Savior Jesus as foretold by the prophet Isaiah.
The opening stanza introduces the concept of the Messiah as the bud of a Rose, referencing the “shoot of Jesse” in Isaiah as the generational line from which the Savior of Israel would be born. Jesus is the “stem” coming from the branch of Jesse, the expected One spoken about for generations. Poetically, the Messiah comes as “a flower bright, amid the cold of winter when half-gone was the night.” It is interesting to note how the context of the location is “Germanized” (and later “Americanized”) to insinuate that the arrival of the Messiah occurs “amid the cold of winter” — while the Advent season without a doubt includes cold weather in Germany, it was likely much more temperate when Jesus was born in Bethlehem.
1 Lo, how a Rose e’er blooming from tender stem hath sprung!
Of Jesse’s lineage coming as men of old have sung.
It came, a flower bright, amid the cold of winter when half-gone was the night.
The second stanza alludes to the role of Mary; while in the original Catholic text Mary is seen as the source of God’s favor, in this adapted verse she is seen as the vessel God utilizes to bring the Savior into the world. We see Jesus as Savior along with Mary, and she also recognizes that it is Jesus, not her, who is the Savior born that night. The Scripture text from Isaiah is reinforced as the source of the prophecy about Jesus.
2 Isaiah ’twas foretold it, the Rose I have in mind:
With Mary we behold it, the virgin mother kind.
To show God’s love aright she bore to men a Savior when half-gone was the night.
There is great depth in the brief lines of the third stanza. Jesus is described as the Rose whose sweetness brings a fragrant aroma to the world; He is also seen as the Light of the world, as Jesus also testifies about Himself in John 8:12: “Jesus again spoke to them, saying, ‘I am the Light of the world; he who follows Me will not walk in the darkness, but will have the Light of life.’” As Light, He “dispels with glorious splendor the darkness everywhere;” what a glorious thought! Finally, Jesus is affirmed as one with God, the Emmanuel, “God-with-us” who is the fullness of God as well as the fullness of mankind and as such is the only One who can relieve us from the burden of sin and the finality of death.
3 This Flower, whose fragrance tender with sweetness fills the air,
Dispels with glorious splendor the darkness everywhere.
True man, yet very God, from sin and death He saves us and lightens every load.
I encourage utilizing this hymn at the Advent season as a beautiful, peaceful musical setting to help a congregation consider Jesus as the source of hope. Many of the more familiar hymns and carols of the Christmas season consider the Old Testament prophecies of the promised Messiah but tend to focus on the Baby in the manger, forgetting to consider His purpose for coming to earth. Instead, while this hymn celebrates his birthday, it also reminds us that His first arrival in the world brought the promise of new life to all of mankind. Jesus came not that we would only celebrate His birthday at Christmas but that He would give Himself at Easter so that we could have the hope of eternal life because of His sacrifice. Believers in Jesus have the hope at Advent that Jesus will again one day return to make all things new.
“Lo, How a Rose E’er Blooming” musically creates a peaceful mood while insightfully pointing the way from Christmas to Easter, reminding the listener/singer that Jesus brings light to remove the darkness everywhere. Try it with your choir or with an SSA or SATB ensemble; use it at a reflective moment in worship, perhaps at the lighting of the Advent candle or the observance of Communion. May the fragrance of the Christmas Rose bring a sweet aroma to your season of worship.
Some source material gathered from:
· Hymnary.org
· Blog, Steven Wedgeworth, wordpress.com
· hymnsandcarolsofchristmas.com
