{"id":20354,"date":"2022-12-28T06:00:00","date_gmt":"2022-12-28T06:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mailchi.mp\/urc\/urc-daily-devotion28-december-2022"},"modified":"2022-12-28T06:00:00","modified_gmt":"2022-12-28T06:00:00","slug":"urc-daily-devotion-28-december-2022","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.trinitywimbledon.org\/index.php\/urc-daily-devotion-28-december-2022\/","title":{"rendered":"URC Daily Devotion\u00a028 December 2022"},"content":{"rendered":"

Leanabh an \u00e0igh Leanabh<\/em><\/span> is a Gaelic hymn rendered Child in the Manger in its English translation by Lachlan MacBean to fit the tune Bunessan (Morning has broken).  <\/p>\n

The Gaelic was written by M\u00e0iri Dh\u00f2mhnallach, well known as a poet and singer, from the Isle of Mull in the Inner Hebrides.  Born in 1817 at \u00c0ird Tunna near Bunessan on Mull.  She married Neil MacDonald, a local man, and Mull was her home all her life.  She died in 1890 and Scottish Gaelic was her only language.  As she sat spinning or performing other chores, she composed songs. Several of her compositions were hymns because she was very religious. She attended the Baptist Church in Bunessan. The lyrics were hers, but she sang them to an older tune she\u2019d heard.  Writing new words and setting them to old tunes was common, and the island was full of tunes from which to choose. Her most famous hymn was Leanabh an \u00c0igh (Child of Joy) and it was set to a tune MacBean called Bunessan.  MacBean\u2019s English \u2018translation\u2019 with its emphasis on suffering is bleaker than the Gaelic words in the first verse. He changed the tone: no words for \u2018outcast and stranger\u2019, no \u2018mighty redeemer\u2019 in Gaelic, and \u00e0igh does not mean \u2018manger\u2019, it means \u2018joy\u2019. M\u00e0iri\u2019s words are gentler yet more realistic.  The English, below, is a better translation but doesn\u2019t fit the tune.<\/span><\/p>\n

Leanabh an \u00e0igh Leanabh <\/span>
bh\u2019 aig M\u00e0iri <\/span>
Rugadh san staball <\/span>
R\u00ecgh nan dul <\/span>
Th\u00e0inig don fh\u00e0sach <\/span>
Dh\u2019 fhuiling nar n-\u00e0ite <\/span>
Son\u2019 iad an \u00e0ireamh <\/span>
Bhitheas Dha dl\u00f9th.<\/span><\/p>\n

Ged a bhios leanabain <\/span>
aig r\u00ecghrean na talmhainn <\/span>
An greadhnachas garbh <\/span>
is anabarr m\u00f9irn <\/span>
\u2018S ge\u00e0rr gus am falbh iad <\/span>
\u2018s f\u00e0saidh iad anfhann <\/span>
An ailleachd \u2018s an dealbh <\/span>
a\u2019 searg san \u00f9ir.<\/span><\/p>\n

Cha b\u2019 ionann \u2018s an t-uan <\/span>
Th\u00e0inig gur fuasgladh <\/span>
Iriosal, stuama <\/span>
ghluais E \u2018n t\u00f9s <\/span>
E naomh gun truailleachd <\/span>
Chruithfhear an t-sluaigh <\/span>
Dh\u2019 \u00e8irich e suas <\/span>
le buaidh on \u00f9ir.<\/span><\/p>\n

Leanabh an \u00e0igh <\/span>
Mar dh\u2019 aithris na f\u00e0ighean <\/span>
\u2018S na h-\u00e0inglean \u00e0rd <\/span>
b\u2019 e miann an s\u00f9l <\/span>
\u2018S E \u2018s airidh air gr\u00e0dh <\/span>
\u2018s ar n\u2019 urram thoirt Dha <\/span>
Sona an \u00e0ireamh <\/span>
Bhitheas Dha dl\u00f9th.<\/span><\/p>\n

This translation is close to the Gaelic:<\/span><\/p>\n

Child of Joy <\/span>
Child of Mary <\/span>
Born in a stable <\/span>
King of the universe <\/span>
Came to the wilderness <\/span>
Suffered in our place <\/span>
Happy are they who are close to Him.<\/span><\/p>\n

Although the kings of the earth <\/span>
have children with great rejoicing <\/span>
and much cheer; <\/span>
Soon they will leave and grow weak <\/span>
Their beauty and appearance <\/span>
Fading in the grave.<\/span><\/p>\n

There is no equal to the Lamb <\/span>
Who came to free us <\/span>
Humble, modest since he first walked; <\/span>
He was holy without impurity <\/span>
Creator of humanity <\/span>
He rose up Victorious from the grave.<\/span><\/p>\n

Child of Joy <\/span>
As foretold by the prophets <\/span>
And the Archangels <\/span>
He was the apple of their eye; <\/span>
He is worthy of love <\/span>
And the worship given Him <\/span>
Happy are they <\/span>
Who are close to him.<\/span><\/p>\n

St Luke 2: 4 – 7<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

So Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to Bethlehem the town of David, because he belonged to the house and line of David. He went there to register with Mary, who was pledged to be married to him and was expecting a child. While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born, and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no guest room available for them.<\/span><\/p>\n

Reflection<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

I am blessed with a reasonable command of the English language but I\u2019m perfectly dreadful at any other language I\u2019ve ever attempted to learn.  Knowing just enough French to make a fool of myself with Francophone friends I learned, early on, that some things just don\u2019t translate well – humour and idiom in particular.  Lachlan MacBean clearly wanted to spread the fame, and use, of M\u00e0iri Dh\u00f2mhnallach\u2019s beautiful hymn wishing to pair it with the lovely tune Bunessan.  Yet he lost much of its joy in his translation.  <\/span><\/p>\n

Living a simple, poor, life on the edge of Britain, in Mull, gave M\u00e0iri an insight into Jesus the king of the universe who was born on the edge in a stable.  In contrast to the earthly joy and rejoicing when new princes are born, Jesus came amongst us in simplicity.  Yet, unlike those princes who wither and decay, Jesus lives forever.  M\u00e0iri wished to express joy in her carol; the infectious joy of a simple believer who lived on the edge.  <\/span><\/p>\n

Jesus, another who lived on the edge, who probably spoke little else beyond Aramaic (though he could read Hebrew) found ways to have joy in the simple things of life – telling us not to worry about money or food or clothes but to give praise to God in all things.  <\/span><\/p>\n

In the midst of our Christmas celebrations and reflections we remember the joy of the season  – a simple, edgy, joy not based on wealth or possessions but on M\u00e0iri\u2019s idea that \u201chappy are those who are close to Him.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Prayer<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

The peace of earth to Him,<\/span>
the joy of heaven to Him,<\/span>
behold His feet have reached the world;<\/span>
the homage of a king be His,<\/span>
the welcome of a lamb be His,<\/span>
King all victorious, Lamb all glorious,<\/span>
Earth and ocean illumed to him,<\/span>
all hail,  let there be joy!<\/span><\/p>\n

Carmina Gadelica<\/span> <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Leanabh an \u00e0igh Leanabh is a Gaelic hymn rendered Child in the Manger in its English translation by Lachlan MacBean to fit the tune Bunessan (Morning has broken).   The Gaelic was written by M\u00e0iri Dh\u00f2mhnallach, well known as a poet and singer, from the Isle of Mull in the Inner Hebrides.  Born in 1817 at … <\/p>\n

Continue reading “URC Daily Devotion\u00a028 December 2022”<\/span><\/a><\/div>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-20354","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.trinitywimbledon.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20354","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.trinitywimbledon.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.trinitywimbledon.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.trinitywimbledon.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.trinitywimbledon.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=20354"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.trinitywimbledon.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20354\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.trinitywimbledon.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=20354"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.trinitywimbledon.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=20354"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.trinitywimbledon.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=20354"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}