Monday, December 18: Do You Hear What I Hear?
You may have thought this is an old English Christmas song, but it was actually written in October of 1962, surrounding the emotions of the Cuban Missile Crisis. Do You Hear What I Hear? was written by Noel Regney and Gloria Shayne as a prayer for peace.
While walking down the windy streets of New York, Noel got a glimpse of two mothers walking their babies in strollers, and it reminded him of newborn lambs (“Said the night wind to the little lambs”). By the time he got home, he had all the lyrics in his mind and asked his wife to set them to music.
“A star dancing in the night with a tail as big as a kite”: this is a vision of the nuclear bomb. “A song above the trees with a voice as big as the sea”: the noise from the bomb would be overwhelming and mighty. “A child shivers in the cold”: the cold was referring to a nuclear winter. “Said the King to the people, pray for peace everywhere”: a thirteen-day confrontation with the Soviet Union had people praying. Prayers were answered with an agreement, and a nuclear war was averted.
The power of prayer and the Holy Spirit at work was very evident during this time in our history. Before I knew the meaning of this song, I correlated it with the Holy Spirit, the night wind, a voice as big as the sea, and the birth of Jesus who gave us the Holy Spirit.
“The wind blows where it chooses, and you hear the sound of it, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit.” -John 3:8
Dear Father, Son, and Holy Spirit: May we all call on the Holy Spirit, our Guide and Helper, should a national crisis arise. May the Trinity protect us and come to our defense if we are ever confronted with nuclear destruction. Grant that we are a nation of love, hope, and peace. We ask in Jesus’ name. Amen.