Good King Wenceslas

There is always an exception to the rule. This week, we find our exception in this sermon series. In setting out to find Traditional Christmas songs that went with our passages, there was one that I had penciled in from the start, “Good King Wenceslas.” Unlike many of our songs for this series, “Good King Wenceslas” is thoroughly Christian. Despite its association with the season and our tradition, it is a song that flies under the radar—we would be hard-pressed to find this song on any church’s service plan for advent. When I was in undergrad at Spring Arbor University, I was a part of the annual Ormston Tabernacle Choir with my dormitory. We would sing the first verse of “Good King Wenceslas” each year and add our own verses to the mix. One year we sang a verse that went a little like this, “O-O-O-O-r-m-ston, O-O-O-O-O-r-m-ston.” Another year we sang a verse dedicated to the birth of our Resident Director’s daughter, Noelle. As you might imagine, I got to know the lyrics of the verse pretty well, but I knew woefully little about the song as a whole. I could not have told you what the feast of Stephen was or anything about this Wenceslas guy other than that he was a supposedly good king. This morning, I want to present Good King Wenceslas as a foil to King Herod.

I have a note here to sing these lines with Gusto… Bear with me.

Good King Wenceslas looked out
On the Feast of Stephen
When the snow lay round about
Deep and crisp and even
Brightly shone the moon that night
Though the frost was cruel
When a poor man came in sight
Gathering winter fuel

Wenceslaus was the son of Vratislaus I, Duke of Bohemia, in 907. In 921, when Wenceslaus was about thirteen, his father died and his grandmother became regent. Jealous of Ludmila's influence over Wenceslaus, his mother, Drahomíra, arranged to have her killed. Ludmila was at Tetín Castle near Beroun when assassins murdered her on September 15, 921. Drahomíra then assumed the role of regent and immediately initiated measures against Christians. When Wenceslaus was 18, the Christian nobles who remained rebelled against Drahomira. The uprising was successful, and Drahomira was sent into exile to Budeč. With the support of the nobles, Wenceslaus took control of the government. He was known especially for the way in which he saw those in need. The second verse of our song continues:

Hither, page, and stand by me,
If thou knowst it, telling
Yonder peasant, who is he?
Where and what his dwelling?
Sire, he lives a good league hence,
Underneath the mountain
Right against the forest fence
By Saint Agnes fountain.

His rule was marked by efforts toward unification within Bohemia, support of the Church, and peace-making negotiations with Germany, a policy that caused trouble with the anti-Christian opposition. His brother Boleslav joined in the plotting and, in September of 935, invited Wenceslaus to the celebration of the feast of Saints Cosmas and Damian. On the way to Mass, three of Boleslav's companions fell on the duke and stabbed him to death. As the duke fell, Boleslav, his own brother, ran him through with a lance. Wenceslaus was considered a martyr and saint immediately after his death when a cult of Wenceslaus grew up in Bohemia and in England. Within a few decades, four biographies of him were in circulation. These hagiographies had a powerful influence on the High Middle Ages concept of the righteous king, a monarch whose power stems mainly from his great piety as well as his princely vigor.

Referring approvingly to these hagiographies, the chronicler Cosmas of Prague, writing in about the year 1119, states:

“But his deeds I think you know better than I could tell you; for, as is read in his Passion, no one doubts that rising every night from his noble bed, with bare feet and only one chamberlain, he went around to God’s churches and gave alms generously to widows, orphans, those in prison and afflicted by every difficulty, so much so that he was considered, not a prince, but the father of all the wretched.”

Indeed, Good King Wenceslas was very different than King Herod. He was a scared king who cared more about his position than his subjects. He sought after the Messiah not in worship but with malous in his heart. His conniving spirit did not want to offer Jesus homage but the edge of his sword. This was a king who abused his power rather than using it to serve the people. Where Wenceslas was good-hearted, King Herod was one whose heart had long ago turned cold. Where Wenceslas looked out, seeing his neighbor in need, King Herod only had eyes for himself. Where Wenceslas jumped to action in the midst of a great snowstorm, King Herod remained idle while others did his bidding. In our song, we see the lengths Wenceslas went to help the family in need:

Bring me flesh (meat) and bring me wine
Bring me pine logs hither
Thou and I shall see him dine
When we bear them thither.
Page and monarch, forth they went
Forth they went together
Through the rude winds wild lament
And the bitter weather

“Good King Wenceslas” lived out his faith. Even in the midst of political instability, he was able to incarnate his Christianity. Despite living in a time filled with deep division and unrest, he showed the love of God to his neighbors through generosity, compassion, and kindness. He preferred to dignify his neighbor rather than himself. Wenceslas had every opportunity to turn around and return to his warm hearth, but he did not waver. He did not shutter at the simplest inconvenience but carried on, emboldened and strengthened by the Spirit’s flames in his heart. This neighbor in need was much more than a muse or object. Through the rude winds wild laments and the bitter weather they carried on:

In his masters step 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.

Herein lies the difference between our two kings. Herod sought his joy and blessing in power, wealth, and in status, whereas Good King Wenceslas found his joy in being a blessing to the poor, afflicted, and less fortunate. In Herod, we find a man fearful and challenged by a baby. In Wenceslas, we find a man who did not buffet in the face of even the cruelest storm. In Herod, we find a man whose faith was in himself, but in Wenceslas, we find a man whose faith remained steadfast in the promises of God. One man was rich, and the other was quite poor. This morning we are invited to joyfully accept the gift of faith—the gift that Wenceslas cherished and held in his heart. We are reminded that this gift is one to be shared again and again and again so that Christ’s light may shine in every corner, to all those who are hungry, to all those who are sick, to all those who are lonely, and to all those in need. This morning we are called to live like Saint Wenceslas a king who was good, kind, righteous, and embodied the joy of the Lord.