The large proportion of Christmas music from the last 75 years is secular in nature. A lot of it is pretty fun: “Elf’s Lament,” “Text Me Merry Christmas,” “White Christmas,” “The Little St Nick,” “All I Want for Christmas is You,” “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas,” “Leroy the Red-necked Reindeer,” “Wonderful Christmastime.” These songs are emblematic of contemporary culture’s efforts to fill Christmas with joy and meaning while carefully avoiding any focus on the incarnation of the Lord.

Yet there are some genuine Christmas carols being written. Joseph Bottum (b. 1959), prolific essayist, editor of First Things (2004-2010), and contributor to journals like Commonweal and The Atlantic, wrote this hymn in 2014. The lyrics ponder on the various reasons we gather at Christmas: the quest for peace, the desire for a changed life, and especially the longing to encounter the Lord.

The tune for this hymn, Bereden väg för Herran, is a Swedish folk melody that emerged somewhere between the 14^th and 16^th centuries. It is fairly well-known in Swedish Lutheran churches via the hymn set to this tune by Franz Mikael Franzen (1772-1847), Lutheran bishop of Härnösand (1831-1847). The hymn was translated into English as “Prepare the Way, O Zion” by Augustus Nelson (1863-1949); a different translation, “Prepare the Royal Highway,” was produced by The Lutheran Book of Worship (1978).

Notice, in Bottum’s carol, the effectiveness of the repeated phrase in the first couplet in each stanza.

1. Some come because as children they sang old Christmas songs.
Some come because as children they suffered hurts and wrongs.
The wounded, poor, and shattered – the heartsick, lost, and battered:
Some come for life restored. Some come to see the Lord.

2. Along the city sidewalks cold Santas ring their bells.
Along the city sidewalks the storefront music swells.
So much leads to the manger: the cheer you lent a stranger,
the gift for no reward, the love you gave the Lord.

3. Across the fields in winter, the snow lies soft and clean.
Across the fields in winter, a new-made world is seen.
We will escape the sadness. There lives now grace and gladness
and peace beyond the sword: this child who is the Lord.

4. A storm of angels swirling while great kings kneel in straw,
A storm of angels swirling while shepherds watch in awe:
The world is charged with glory and changed by faith’s new story.
Some come for love outpoured. Some come to see the Lord.

Mallory Reeves is the vocalist on this video.