Maybe you have heard the beautiful old Appalachian carol, “I Wonder as I Wander”, rediscovered by John Jacob Niles in about 1932. It is said that he heard a young girl singing this carol and made her sing it over and over until he captured it. One can feel the passion of the lyricist, lost in obscurity, as the haunting melody weaves its way in and out of the lyrics. Take a listen on Youtube. You won’t be sorry.
I wonder as I wander out under the sky
How Jesus the Savior did come for to die
For poor or’nry (ordinary) people like you and like I
I wonder as I wonder out under the sky.
When Mary birthed Jesus ‘twas in a cow stall
With wise men and farmers and shepherds and all
And high from God’s heaven a star’s light did fall
As the promise of ages it then did recall.
If Jesus had wanted for any wee thing
A star in the sky or a bird on the wing
Or all of God’s angels in heaven for to sing
He surely could have it, for He was the King.
Ponder the mystery. God the Son, who spoke the worlds into being, confined in swaddling clothes and sleeping in a manger, a cattle trough. He emptied Himself, humbled Himself, made Himself nothing. Why? Because He didn’t want a star, or a bird, or an angel choir. He wanted you and me, and there was only one way to rescue us from our enemy. So He became obedient unto Death, even Death on a Cross. Now highly exalted, Lord of all, He calls us into fellowship with Himself, His Father and the Holy Spirit. What wondrous love is this!