Jesu Upanda

When Jesus was born, the lowly became kings..
In the still, cold night, in that poor cattle shed,
because Jesus was born, the lowly became kings
in his very poverty, Jesus lifted the lowly high
from that day on, the lowly had a place of their own
When Jesus was born, the lowly became kings..

What became of the Jesus who raised up the lowly?
by the power of a king, he was forced that day to flee
and in later days, in the name of Jesus, what came to pass?
because of the poor Jesus, wealth came to reign on every side.

This is a Christmas hymn with a sharp and thoughtful eye, one that celebrates the birth of Jesus but also asks hard questions about what the world has done with it. Its opening declaration is pure gospel joy, “when Jesus was born, the lowly became kings.” Born “in the still, cold night, in that poor cattle shed,” Jesus arrived not in a palace but in poverty, and “in his very poverty, he lifted the lowly high.” The good news is that the God of the universe took the side of the poor from his very first breath, so that “from that day on, the lowly had a place of their own.”

But the hymn does not stop at the manger. Its second verse turns to what happened next, and grows pointed. “What became of the Jesus who raised up the lowly?” First, “by the power of a king, he was forced that day to flee,” recalling how the infant Jesus had to escape the murderous King Herod. The powerful of the world were threatened by him even as a child.

The final lines carry the sting, and a quiet challenge. “In later days, in the name of Jesus, what came to pass? Because of the poor Jesus, wealth came to reign on every side.” It observes, sadly, that a movement begun by a poor man for the poor has often become wrapped in riches and power, the opposite of its origin. What the listener is left with is a Christmas song that both rejoices and examines its conscience, praising the child who exalted the lowly, and gently asking whether those who bear his name have remembered why he came.