Christmas Hymns: Good King Wenceslas

I have been reviewing some modern worship songs, but I’ve taken a break to explore some Advent and Christmas hymns. 😀. Today, I’ve chosen “Good King Wenceslas” .

It’s strange to have a Christmas hymn about someone other than Christ. It’s not the sort of hymn that we’d sing in church.

Who was Wenceslas anyway? Wenceslas was a 10th‑century duke of Bohemia, later elevated to “king” posthumously in legend and liturgy. He was was known for his piety and charity, which inspired the carol’s narrative. When you think of it, back then, society was often very cruel, so you’d be truly delighted with someone like Wenceslas. And perhaps, the writer of the hymn wrote it to provide an example for nobility of his day, and for us all. The lyrics were written by Anglican priest John Mason Neale in the mid‑19th century.

Lets examine the lyrics – I’ll just show the first and last verse:

Good King Wenceslas looked out,
On the Feast of Stephen,
When the snow lay round about,
Deep and crisp and even.
Brightly shone the moon that night,
Though the frost was cruel,
When a poor man came in sight,
Gath’ring winter fuel.

In his master’s steps he trod,
Where the snow lay dinted;
Heat was in the very sod
Which the saint had printed.
Therefore, Christian men, be sure,
Wealth or rank possessing,
Ye who now will bless the poor,
Shall yourselves find blessing.

The one line that interests me most is “The Feast of Stephen.” I think of Stephen, the first martyr. His death features in the Book of Acts, Chapter 7.

Acts 7:54-60
⁵⁴When the members of the Sanhedrin heard this, they were furious and gnashed their teeth at him. ⁵⁵But Stephen, full of the Holy Spirit, looked up to heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God. ⁵⁶“Look,” he said, “I see heaven open and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God.” ⁵⁷At this they covered their ears and, yelling at the top of their voices, they all rushed at him, ⁵⁸dragged him out of the city and began to stone him. Meanwhile, the witnesses laid their coats at the feet of a young man named Saul. ⁵⁹While they were stoning him, Stephen prayed, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.” ⁶⁰Then he fell on his knees and cried out, “Lord, do not hold this sin against them.” When he had said this, he fell asleep.

God the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit feature in these few verses, as does Saul, who was someway involved in Stephen’s death. In Acts 9, you can read about how Saul was converted and became known as the Apostle Paul.
Generally speaking, prayers in the Bible are directed towards the Father, through Jesus, but here Stephen prays directly to Jesus.
What’s meant by “full of the Holy Spirit”? We can all be filled with the Holy Spirit. Someone has compared it to air in a balloon. We can be filled, but there’s always room for a bigger filling. Throughout his trial, God manifested himself to Stephen in a very unusual way. So, he was filled in a very special way.
Stephen was the first martyr, but today people continue to die for Christ. When we speak of Christian martyrs, we’re not speaking of suicide bombers or people dying while committing acts of terrorism. They are innocent people, simple being killed because they are Christians or because they are wanting to gently spread his message, not by military means, but by simply making the gospel known. No doubt, in history there may have been evil people who classified themselves as Christian martyrs, but genuine Christians wouldn’t identify with them in any way.
This very day in which I’m writing is known as Saint Stephen’s Day in Ireland. As evangelicals, we don’t have feast days, but it’s nice to see people being reminded of Stephen.