“I Wonder as I Wander”
Lyrics
I wonder as I wander out under the sky
How Jesus, the savior, had come for to die
For poor on'ry people, like you and like I.
I wonder as I wander out under the sky.
When Mary birthed Jesus, t'was in a cow's stall
With wisemen and farmers and shepherds and all,
But high in god's heaven a star's light did fall,
And 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!
I wonder as I wander out under the sky
How Jesus, the savior, had come for to die
For poor on'ry people like you and like I.
I wonder as I wander out under the sky.
If my scheming worked out, the communion music recently would have included “I wonder as I Wander” by John Niles. I’d like to pause and digest the lyrics. Sometimes I need to be reminded how significant it was that the creator of the universe chose to become human and be born in squalor. I know we’ve focused on when Jesus was tempted before his ministry started and when he was crucified how he could have had all of the angels come to his aid. But his human birth was in a manger with animals. What an example of sacrifice and service to give us.
Now, I want to tell you a little about the background of this Christmas song. The story goes that during the depression, a traveling pastor and his family came to the North Carolina town of Murphy and camped while they held revival meetings. The residents complained since they obviously didn’t have any resources, and the sheriff was called to run them out of town. The pastor replied that they didn’t have any money to leave. Their beautiful daughter, Annie Morgan, who was dressed in dirty and torn rags, sat on a platform attached to their truck and sang a few lines for a quarter per line. After singing mostly the same line seven times, they moved on. John Niles took three lines and eventually composed the song.
Besides the meaningful lyrics, the story of how it was created provides many lessons
1). God's given creativity is not limited to the well to do or even to those that have experience
2). The town, in a manner, recognized their plight and, even though they wanted them to leave, they ultimately contributed funds in response to the young girls’ lyrics
3). God used this experience as inspiration to the composer to create an enduring song
We'd all benefit if we pay attention to God's graces around us
“According to the grace of God given to me, like a skilled master builder I laid a foundation, and someone else is building upon it. Let each one take care how he builds upon it. For no one can lay a foundation other than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ. Now if anyone builds on the foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw— each one’s work will become manifest, for the Day will disclose it, because it will be revealed by fire, and the fire will test what sort of work each one has done. If the work that anyone has built on the foundation survives, he will receive a reward. If anyone’s work is burned up, he will suffer loss, though he himself will be saved, but only as through fire. Do you not know that you are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in you?” - 1 Corinthians 3:10-16 ESV
May you be blessed by our Savior on this, Christmas Day.
