Do you know the Christmas carol, Good King Wenceslas? It’s included in many Christmas carol collections.

Good King Wenceslas is out on the Feast of Stephen (December 26th). It's snowing and cold. A poor man comes into view gathering wood. The end.

If that ending seems absurdly abrupt, it is because many Christmas carol collections only print the first verse of each carol. However, when you read/sing the whole carol you find a rich and compelling story.

The King isn’t alone. He asks his Page who this poor man is. The Page tells the King the poor man is a Peasant who lives near the forest. The King then decides to bless this Peasant. He tells his Page to gather wood and meat and wine, which they will bring to the Peasant. But as they go, the winter winds get colder and the Page discovers he can’t go any further. He's freezing. Then King Wenceslas tells his Page to tread in his own footsteps and then he won't be as cold. Here's the last verse:

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.

When I first read the final verse, it completely floored me. The carol isn’t about the King blessing the Peasant, but about the Page—the Page who followed in his King’s steps, and received the blessing of warmth, so that he could continue to serve the Peasant. The storyteller then goes on to encourage Christian’s to do the same.

Christ is the King. You and I are His Page (1 Cor. 4:1-2). Christ sends blessings to others through us (1 Peter 4:10). And when things get really hard, by following Him, we can continue our work (Psalm 28:7) of blessing others (Phil. 2:4).

Christ came at Christmas to serve us by His life, death and resurrection. Christ our King asks us to serve others in His name. And He himself will provide whatever is needed to complete the tasks He sets before us. Though we all have our family responsibilities at this Christmas time, has He set someone else before you to bless?

If so, may I encourage you to also to trust and follow in the master’s steps, and feel the warmth that He will provide in your service to others.

God bless you. And Merry Christmas!

✝️ Pastor Deming

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