A Responsive Heart & the Story of “In the Bleak Midwinter”

The Story

Christina Rosetti (1830-1894) wrote “In the Bleak Midwinter” in 1872, but titled it, “A Christmas Carol.”  It was eventually renamed and then set to music twelve years after her death. Christina was the daughter of an Italian immigrant to England and a devout Christian who never married. She loved the arts and wrote several popular poems, including this one.

The Song

In the bleak midwinter
frosty wind made moan,
earth stood hard as iron,
water like a stone:
snow had fallen,
snow on snow, snow on snow,
in the bleak midwinter,
long ago.

Our God, heaven cannot hold him,
nor earth sustain;
heaven and earth shall flee away
when he comes to reign:
in the bleak midwinter
a stable place sufficed
the Lord God Almighty,
Jesus Christ.

Enough for him whom cherubim
worship night and day,
a breastful of milk
and a mangerful of hay:
enough for him
whom angels fall down before,
the ox and donkey and camel
which adore.

Angels and archangels
may have gathered there,
cherubim and seraphim
thronged the air,
but only his mother,
in her maiden bliss,
worshiped the Beloved
with a kiss.

What can I give him,
poor as I am?
If I were a shepherd,
I would bring a lamb,
if I were a wise man
I would do my part,
yet what I can I give him,
give my heart.

The Message

Some have criticized this hymn for its inaccurate reference to snow in Palestine. It’s true, Israel rarely gets snow. However, our author could be poetically describing more than a winter scene in Bethlehem. She might be comparing the bleak midwinter to the spiritual state of our world or even the terrain of our hearts before Christ enters: cold, barren, and hard. As the poem progresses, Rosetti depicts Christ’s astounding incarnation that brings him from heaven down to a stable. The One worshipped by legions of angels is now adored by a mother he created who lovingly cradles him. When Christ enters our bleak world, the only proper response is devotion and worship– like Mary’s gentle love. And the only thing we can give him (and the only thing he asks for) is the gift of our hearts.

Further Bible Reading: 

Luke 2:1-6

Matthew 1:18-25

Matthew 5:3

Deuteronomy 30:6

John 3:5-6

Luke 10:27