A Hero Made from God and Man

Now come, Saviour of the heathen / Renowned child of the Virgin;

Let all the world be amazed / That God ordained him such a birth.

Not from man’s blood nor flesh / But only from the Holy Ghost.

Has God’s Word become human and blood / A fruit of woman’s flesh.

The virgin body became pregnant / Yet her chastity remained pure.

Such virtue shines forth here / Where God is enthroned.

He went forth from his chamber / That kingly hall so pure

A hero made from God and man / He hastens to walk his path.

These words are from a Christmas carol titled “Now Come, Saviour of the Heathen” written by Kaspar Othmayr (1515–1553). The lyrics were copied from the liner notes on a CD titled Ther is no Rose (London, England: Virgin Classics Limited, 1997).

Over half a millenium ago, our humankind was making music to accompany sound theology, and today, thankfully, we can hear their language and add not only our affirmation but our own voice and substance to the great work that has been ever before us. We, too, must “hasten[s] to walk his path.”