Key Words: And let us not be weary in well doing
To set the scene for this Christmas carol, let's first answer two
questions: First, who was Wenceslas? And what is the feast of Stephen?
Wenceslas was the Duke of Bohemia during the early tenth century.
So the curtain rises on King Wenceslas in
Wenceslas represents God. He
leaves his warm home to provide for the poor man’s needs, just as God came to
earth as Jesus Christ to seek and to save the lost. The page, or servant, who follows Wenceslas,
symbolizes a believer in Christ. As he
follows his Lord in the wintry, cold world, he begins to falter, “Fails my
heart, I know not how;” he cries, “I can go no longer.”
“Mark my footsteps,” says the king, “tread thou in them boldly.” The servant does so and finds he can more
easily follow.
“Good King Wenceslas” was written and published in 1853 by the
Englishman J. M. Neale, perhaps to encourage people to follow in the charitable
footsteps of the Master where, “Ye who now will bless the poor, shall
yourselves find blessing.”
Good King Wenceslas looked
out
On the Feast of Stephen
When the snow lay round about
Deep and crisp and even.
Brightly shone the moon that night
Though the frost was cruel,
When a poor man came in sight
Gathering winter fuel.
What to do:
✞ This Christmas season let others know their greatest need is Jesus.
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