The Star of Bethlehem

The world is silent!
The stars shine,
With clarity they greet us
From heavenly remoteness.
Mysteriously
There is a soughing in the palms,
In yearning watchfulness
The world harkens.
Over river and sea,
Over valley and heights
With a strain of premonition
The breezes blow.
Though the flowers
Lie wilted,
Their scent wishes 
To conquer the rigour.
After such an anxious time,
Invisibly through the
Nightly hour wafts
News bringing bright comfort!
It comes from on high
Like dewy rain,
World, open yourself
To the heavenly blessing.

Oh bless the meadow, Creator of the world,
It is Thou who sustains shepherds and flock.

Be watchful!

High above the stars Thy eye keeps watch,
It sees us during the day, in the dark of night.
Praises to Thee, oh Lord, who gives the blessing,
Who loves His own with eternal faithfulness.

Be watchful!

But woe to the people who forget Thee,
Who impudently transgress your commandments with sin.
Once the floodwaters came down from the sky,
And shepherds and flocks sank into the grave.

Be watchful!

Therefore, brethren, be watchful, time is fleeting:
May the voice of the Lord find us ready.
Oh bless the meadow, Creator of the world,
It is Thou who sustains shepherds and flock.

Be watchful!

Thou guidest the days, Thou guidest the night,
Blessed is he who watched in faithfulness to the end.

Be not afraid! For lo,
God hears the prayers of the pious.
I proclaim to you a great salvation
That shall come to all people.
The City of David has been chosen,
In it this night was born
Christ the Lord!
Alleluia!
A sign shall proclaim it to you:
Wrapped in swaddling clothes,
A poor child lies in a manger.
A small, poor child.
Alleluia!
Glory be to God on high,
And peace on earth to mankind
Who are of goodwill.

The radiance vanishes,
The heavenly choir falls silent.
The shepherds raise their
Faces from the earth,
Filled with awe,
[Filled] with wondrous blessed happiness.
They travel hence
And leave their herd behind.
Hastening to Bethlehem,
In their hearts the angel’s words,
Devoutly they reach
The poor shelter.
They find the mother
And in the manger the child:
Christ the Lord!

Godchild, we worship Thee,
For Thou art Christ, the Son of God;
That Thou hast left the throne of Heaven,
Thou didst so only for love.
As we were keeping watch in the quiet night,
An angel, bright and beautiful, came [and]
From the eternal heights
Brought us this message of salvation.
Godchild, Saviour of the world,
Light that brightens all darkness,
Comfort and balm for suffering and agony,
We bring you many thousand greetings.
What we had hoped for has come to be,
God’s Word descended to us.
Thou takest away the thorn of poverty,
Holy yearning -- it is stilled.
What a recompense trust receives,
What a happiness comes to us,
Now to see Thee, the long promised salvation,
With our own eyes.
Godchild, Saviour of the world,
Light that brightens all darkness,
Comfort and balm for suffering and agony,
We bring you many thousand greetings.

Disperse, stormy clouds,
Be calm, whirling sand!
Travelling through the desert come
The wise men from the East.
And, more clear than moon and sun,
A glorious star, 
The blessed joy of hope,
Leads them to the realms of the Lord.
Is the pillar of fire,
Is the leader of Israel to be seen once more?
They do not ask and wish to trust in
The faithfulness of the flaming star.
Yearning gives them wings,
Carries them far from their homeland;
Jerusalem’s forested hills --
There they lie in the evening glow.
They ask at the doors of Zion:
"Where do we find the Lord of Judah,
The King, the newborn [King]?
We saw His star!
We have come from the distant East
To worship Him,
And we shall find no rest
Until our eyes have seen Him."
But, -- as they travelled forth from the city,
Where was the guiding light?
Upon the wide arc of heaven
They do not see the star.
The kings, filled with sad anxiety,
Ride silently through the night
And bear a fervent yearning 
For the comforting splendour of the star.
Suddenly the darkness is parted;
Down to earth sinks
The star with a bright sparkling,
And happiness flows through their hearts.
They see it go before them,
So radiantly wondrous,
It stopped over Bethlehem,
There, there where the child was.

Oh Thou King, in a poor stable,
We fall upon our faces before Thee,
The jubilant echoes of the angels
We hear within our hearts.
Accept the frankincense, myrrh, and gold,
Accept the treasures of the east.
We stand, oh King, in Thy service,
We live under Thy protection.
Amidst frankincense may our prayers rise
Before Thy face.
Open the wide gate of Thy mercy,
Do not spurn the pleading ones!
The myrrh signifies the bitterness
That Thou didst come to suffer;
But also that Thou hast sanctified the sorrows,
And taken their sting from them.
May our love [to Thee] be like refined gold,
So genuine and pure.
Whatever remains to us of [earthly] goods and treasures,
All of it, o King, shall be Thine.

It is silent in the holy chamber,
The wise men, too, have travelled back to their homeland.
Everything that they saw of blessed happiness
dissolves for them like a dream.
Only a faint light burns
Before the sanctuary of the manger.
The mother of Christ kneels before it,
Quietly her lips are moving,
Acknowledging God in the child.
From her soul sounds forth
Wondrously anew: "Magnificat!"
Only to the child she whispers
That she has understood everything,
[Has] locked everything [into her breast] in silent peace.
The Christchild gazes at the mother
[With a gaze that is] deeper than the bottom of the sea.
A first smile breaks forth
Upon the little boy's sweet mouth.
Gentle Mary holds His little hand
And caresses it tenderly and gently.
Slumber sweetly, Saviour of the world.
Slumber sweetly, Thou divine child.

The world falls silent!
The stars shine,
With clarity they greet us
From heavenly remoteness.
There is a mysterious
Soughing in the palms,
In loving watchfulness
The world harkens.
Though the flowers
Lie wilted,
Their scent wishes 
To conquer the rigour.
Rejoice, world,
Wrested from death,
You have found
Life in Christ.
Alleluia!