Unto Us a Boy is Born:

“Now may Mary’s Son who came long ago to love us, lead us all with hearts of flame unto the joys above us”

Written by Jo Oughton

The carol “Unto us a Boy is Born” is based on a reading from

Isaiah 9:6 which we hear in the service of nine lessons and carols from Kings College. The reading foretells the coming of the Wonderful Counsellor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, and Prince of Peace. He speaks of the moment when God took human form and embodied all those titles. Emmanuel, which means “God with us”, is the title that we often used to speak of Jesus, especially at Christmas.

The line we are examining today is “now may Mary’s Son who came long ago to love us, lead us all with hearts of flame unto the joy above us.” It refers to Jesus’ birth in a stable in Bethlehem but also brings him up to date in our own lives. It speaks of the fire we can feel inside us when we are with Jesus. If we let a small spark from Jesus ignite us, we can have hearts that burn for him. We can carry his light into dark places and it can light our path to the Kingdom of God.

If the full extent of the Kingdom of God feels like what we experience when our hearts burn for Jesus, then the joys mentioned in the carol will indeed be beyond compare - the best gift we could ever receive. This Christmas, let us forget the worries about whether a gift is right or can be returned, and instead remember the real reason why we exchanged gifts during the season. It is to remember the gift that God gave us - sending his son to be Emmanuel, God with us.