Most people who know the name of Phillips Brooks probably recognize him as the author of the words to the Christmas carol, “O Little Town of Bethlehem.” But in his years as an Episcopal priest and bishop, he had the reputation as one of the best preachers in America. He spoke courageously against slavery and was the preacher for one of several funeral services in connection with Abraham Lincoln’s death.
Born on this date, December 13, in 1835, Brooks was a graduate of Harvard University and later came back to Boston as rector (pastor) of Trinity Episcopal Church near Harvard, 1869-1891. Earlier, he was ordained as a priest in 1860 and, during the Civil War, served a church in Philadelphia where he was a strong advocate of emancipation. When slaves were freed, he further called for their right to vote.
He was immensely popular among faculty and students at Harvard, regularly leading morning prayer services and counseling students. He turned down an offer by the Harvard president to join the faculty. Helen Keller, the famous blind and deaf woman, attended Trinity Church while she studied at Harvard. After one of Brooks’s sermons was interpreted for her, Ms. Keller said she had always known there was a God, but now she knew his name.
Books of his sermons were widely distributed, enabling many people who never heard him to read his sermons. For those who saw him, Brooks also was an imposing physical presence: 6 feet, 4 inches tall and weighing nearly 300 pounds.
After serving the Boston church some 22 years, Brooks was appointed Episcopal bishop of Massachusetts in 1891, but he served only two years, dying in 1893 at age 57.
A trip to the Holy Land inspired Brooks to compose “O Little Town of Bethlehem,” though he did not actually write it until three years after he stopped at the traditional Shepherds Field to watch lights come on in the town on Christmas Eve in 1865.
If Brooks thought in terms of how he would be remembered in coming generations, he probably did not think of his carol.
Advent season is a good time for us to look at our lives and reflect on whether we will be remembered for
contributions we have made to the lives of others.
A Verse for Today
“Well done, good and faithful servant: thou has been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many thing: enter thou into the joy of thy Lord” (Matthew 25:21 KJV).
Each day through New Year’s Day, January 1, 2013, inspirational thoughts will appear, in keeping with Advent, Christmas, and New Year’s Day. These are from my book, Reflections for the Festive Seasons. © 2002. All rights reserved.
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