Lo How a Rose is Growing
Lo, how a rose e'er blooming
The hymn celebrates Christ's incarnation emerging from Jesse's line (Isaiah 11:1), emphasizing that divine salvation breaks into history through humble, hidden means. It reflects Lutheran theology of the hidden God (Deus absconditus) revealing himself in the weakness of the Christ-child.
History & Background
This hymn emerged from 15th-century German Christmas mysticism, first printed in a Strasbourg collection in 1494. Theodore Baker translated it into English in 1894, becoming the standard version in Lutheran hymnals.
This “Twelfth Night” German carol from the Rhineland region Scripture References combines the story of Luke 1-2 and Matthew 2 with Isaiah’s st. 1-2 = Isa. 11:1 prophecies about the “rose” from the “stem ofJesse” (Isa. 11:1; Isa. 35:1-2 35:1-2). Stanzas 1 and 2 are a combination of folklore (“amid the Luke 1-2 cold of winter”) and Christological interpretation of Isaiah 11:1 Matt. 2 and 35:1-2. Stanza 3 introduces imagery from John 1. st. 3 =Johnl Originally “Es ist ein Ros entsprungen,” the carol may date back to the fifteenth century. However, the earliest manuscript containing the text, found in St. Alban’s Carthusian monastery in Trier and preserved in the Trier munici pal library, is dated around 1580. It was first published with twenty-three stanzas in Alte catholische geistliche Kirchengesdnge (Cologne, 1599). Originally stanza 2 interpreted the “rose” as being Mary, mother ofJesus. But in Musae Sionae (1609) Michael Praetorius changed the interpretation to point to Christ as the rose in accord with actual biblical imagery. In that hymnbook Praetorius published only stanzas 1 and 2. 504 CHRISTMAS The English translation of stanzas 1 and 2 in the Psalter Hymnal are by Theodore Baker (b. New York, NY, 1851; d. Dresden, Germany, 1934) and are possibly from an anthem setting published by G. Schirmer, Inc., in 1894 when Baker was music editor there. Baker is well known as the compiler of Bakers Biographical Dictionary ofMusicians (first ed. 1900), the first major music reference work that included American composers. Baker studied music in Leipzig, Germany, and wrote a dissertation on the music of the Seneca people of New York State—one of the first studies of the music of American Indians. From 1892 until his retirement in 1926, Baker was a literary editor and transla tor for G. Schirmer, Inc., in New York City. In 1926, he returned to Germany. Stanza 3 is a translation by Gracia Grindal (b. Powers Lake, ND, 1943), originally published in the Lutheran Book of Worship (1978). Grindal was educated at Augsburg College, Minneapolis, Minnesota; the University of Arkansas; and Luther-Northwestern Seminary, St. Paul, Minnesota, where she has served since 1984 as a professor of pastoral theology and communications. From 1968 to 1984 she was a professor of English and poet-in-residence at Luther College, Decorah, Iowa. Included in her publications are Sketches Against the Dark (1981), Scandinavian Folksongs (1983), Lessons in Hymnwriting (1986,1991), and We Are
Hymnal Appearances
- Chalice Hymnal — 160
- Evangelical Lutheran Worship — 313
- Glory to God — 129
- Lutheran Book of Worship — 58
- Lutheran Service Book — 359
- Lift Up Your Hearts — 76
- Lutheran Worship — 67
- New Century Hymnal — 127
- Psalter Hymnal — 351
- The Lutheran Hymnal — 645
- United Methodist Hymnal — 216
- Voices Together — 234
Translation
Liturgical Use
Advent and the Christmas season; useful as a response to the Isaiah 11 passage, especial ly in services of lessons and carols or “carols from many lands.”
Bulletin Note
From 15th-century German tradition, this carol meditates on Isaiah 11:1's promise of a shoot from Jesse's stump. Its central image—a rose blooming in winter—embodies Luther's theology of God's hidden yet redemptive presence in apparent weakness.
Preaching Connection
This hymn amplifies the Gospel's reversal of power by imaging Christ as a rose pushing through winter's death, transforming Isaiah's messianic promise into an incarnational claim that God's strength perfects itself in weakness and humility.
Stanza Arc
The narrative or theological arc traced by this tune's stanzas: Law (expectant longing) → Gospel (miraculous birth) → Gospel (proclamation of Christ's glory) → Gospel (prayer for sanctification)
Themes
Incarnation of Christ Messianic hope Divine mercy and grace Virgin birth Christ's humility