Jesus, the Greatest Gift

“What sweeter music can we bring/ Than a carol for to sing/ The birth of this our heavenly King?” The lines of this seventeenth-century poem “What Sweeter Music” by Robert Herrick were reimagined by modern-day choral composer John Rutter to become an Advent season favorite. Its gentle melody describes a long, cold season of waiting that’s thawed by the springtime feeling of Jesus’ arrival. The singers bring Him a Christmas carol; the listeners are invited to bring their hearts.

Rutter’s arrangement was commissioned to correspond with a church reading on the wise men who brought Jesus gold, frankincense, and myrrh. These mysterious magi traveled a great distance to meet baby Jesus with the express purpose of worshiping Him (Matthew 2:1-2). When they finally found Him, they “were overjoyed,” bowed down in reverence, and “opened their treasures” at His feet (vv. 10-11). Warned in a dream, they left without informing wicked King Herod (v. 12).

The Christmas season shouldn’t focus on material gifts—but it’s certainly about giving and receiving gifts. God gave His Son to heal a broken world. If we’ve never given Him our hearts, today’s a wonderful day to do so. If He already reigns there, let’s offer a carol of peace and joy as we think about His arrival all those years ago in Bethlehem—and wait for His return.