Christmas post #5 - Night

The night has arrived. In Bethlehem nearly two thousand years ago, a small manger, normally filled with hay or barley to feed to animals, was filled with a new kind of food. A food for the soul. A food that nourishes the heart. That manger, from which humble donkeys, sheep, and oxen would normally eat, now held the babe that would feed thousands. Who's words would inspire some of the greatest acts of compassion, mercy, love, and charity that the world has ever seen. Chicken Soup for the Soul? Christ was a feast fit for Heaven itself, and who was it for? Everyone. From the most holy of the rabbis at the Temple of Solomon in Jerusalem, straight down to the beggars in the street. To observant Jews, and practicing pagan Gentiles. To those who had come before and died, those who walked in His presence, and those who were yet to be born. Children, the elderly, and healthy adults alike, Christ came to give up His body and blood to fill the hunger and thirst of our souls. The hunger and thirst for the love, that pure unadulterated and unconditional love that only our grand Maker in Heaven can have for us, His broken children.

That holy evening, wise men from nearby Persia who were students of astronomy and astrology came to a tiny town in a backwater of Judea, the City of David, and brought gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. Shepherds came to wonder at the child. The very child who united rich and poor. Who cared not about skin color, language, culture, but only of the human heart.

In the 19th century, French poet and wine merchant, Placide Cappeau wrote a poem for Christmas for his friend, a parish priest. In 1847, Adolphe Adam wrote music for the simple poem, Minuit Chrétiens. In1855, Unitarian minister John Sullivan Dwight translated the words into the song we know today: O Holy Night.

O holy night! The stars are brightly shining,
It is the night of our dear Saviour's birth.
Long lay the world in sin and error pining,
'Til He appear'd and the soul felt its worth.
A thrill of hope the weary world rejoices,
For yonder breaks a new and glorious morn.

Fall on your knees! O, hear the angels' voices!
O night divine, O night when Christ was born;
O night divine, O night, O night Divine.

O holy night! The stars are brightly shining/It is the night of our dear Savior's birth
It was the night of the birth of our Savior. And that night, there was a star, which glowed brightly in the heavens. "Now when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea, in the days of Herod the king, behold there came Wise men from te East to Jerusalem, saying "Where is he that is born King of the Jews? For we have seen his Star in the East, and are come to worship him." . . . When they had heard the King, they departed, and loe, the Star which they saw in the East, went before them 'til it came and stood over where the young child lay." (Matthew 2:1-9).

Long lay the world, in sin and error pining/'Til he appeared and the soul felt its worth/A thrill of hope the weary world rejoices/For yonder breaks a new and glorious morn
For a long time, the world had been wallowing in Sin. Sin, being a state of a broken relationship with God, makes the soul cry out for the love of our Father, pining away, wanting for that relationship to be healed. It was this state until He appeared in human form, Jesus Christ, and the human soul rejoiced. Weary no more, the soul had hope. Darkness ended, and the Light of lights descended from heaven.

Fall on your knees! O hear the angels' voices/O night divine, O night when Christ was born/O night divine, O night when Christ was born
The night of Christmas, that holy evening, was when Christ came to us, and it was then, as we see in the Gospel according to Saint Luke, that "the Angel said unto them, Fear not: For behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day, in the city of David, a Savior, which is Christ the Lord. . . . And suddenly there was ith the Angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and sayng, 'Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, and good will towards men.'" (Luke 2:10-14). Fall on your knees world. Fall on your knees and thank God from the bottoms of your hearts for the beautiful gift of love.

Led by the light of Faith serenely beaming,
With glowing hearts by His cradle we stand.
So led by light of a star sweetly gleaming,
Here come the wise men from Orient land.
The King of Kings lay thus in lowly manger;
In all our trials born to be our friend.

He knows our need, to our weakness is no stranger,
Behold your King! Before Him lowly bend!
Behold your King, Behold your King.

Led by the light of Faith serenely beaming/With glowing hearts by His cradle we stand/So led by light of a star sweetly gleaming/Here come the wise men from Orient land
Led by the light of Faith. Faith, that beautiful word. It is in our Faith in Christ as God that we heal our broken relationships and find salvation. It is in our Faith, not works, not pride of our good deeds, not attending church luncheons, not singing in your local choir, or donating to give your church that new sound system. It is in Faith that we are drawn to Jesus. Even today, the Holy Spirit, the God within us that Jesus paved the way for with His presence, draws us in on our Faith, bringing us into the Grace of God. With glowing hearts, hearts glowing with the light of mankind that John referenced in his Gospel: "In Him was life, and the life was the light of men." (John 1:4). Comparing us with the Wise men who were drawn to Christ from the East, we too are drawn by the light, not of a star, but of Faith.

The King of kings, thus in lowly manger/In all our trials, born to be our friend/He knows our need/To our weakness, is no stranger/Behold your king! Before Him, lowly bend!/Behold your king!/Behold your king!
Story time. In the Russian novel, "The Brothers Karamazov", the fervent rationalist brother, Ivan, argues with his brother Aloysha who is an Orthodox Priest, that there are so many supposed 'good Christians' in the world who betray themselves and their faith by acting towards their fellow men with barbarity, including to children, citing several horrific examples of child abuse that would even make our modern hearts cringe in disgust and pity. Ivan makes the point that if believing in Christ and salvation means that people are saved who act like that? That he would 'hand the ticket back, for the price is too high'. But that's just it. In those trials, in those hardships of those children, Christ was there. Christ was not some distant figure who died almost two thousand ears ago. Christ was not some being who doesn't care and is so far removed from humanity that He cannot be there for us. Christ was human. He loved. He cared. Especially for children. And in all of our trials, He was born specifically to be there among humanity. To be there with us through everything in the form of the Holy Spirit within us. The King of kings was born as lowly as can be, to be with us. The common people and the rich alike.

Truly He taught us to love one another;
His law is love and His gospel is peace.
Chains shall He break for the slave is our brother;
And in His name all oppression shall cease.
Sweet hymns of joy in grateful chorus raise we,
Let all within us praise His holy name.

Christ is the Lord! O praise His Name forever,
His power and glory evermore proclaim.
His power and glory evermore proclaim.

Truly He taught us to love one another/His law is love and his gospel is peace
"This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. Greater love hath no one, that someone lay down his life for his friends." (John 15:13), as well as "By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another." (John 13:35). The commandment of love, and peace. That is how we know what God is. Jesus IS God. And Jesus loved and commanded us to love one another.

Chains shall He break for the slave is our brother/And in His name all oppression shall cease/Sweet hymns of joy in grateful chorus raise we/Let all within us praise His holy name
Meant originally as a theological support for Abolition of Slavery in Britain and the Christian world, one can see the very Christian meaning here. The oppression of Sin. The bondage we were in to the powers of hell. All of it ceased. Why? Faith in Christ. Faith that He allowed us to have. The slaves ARE our brothers and sisters, brothers and sisters who live in Sin that we can save from oppression through the ministry of Christ, but it should never grow into a ministry of oppression. We should praise Him, in those sweet hymns of joy that mimic the angels. Remember Luke 2:10-14? "You shall love the Lord thy God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind." (Matthew 22:37, Mark 12:30, Luke 10:27) With all we have and are, we should praise Him.

Christ is the Lord! O praise His name forever/His power and glory evermore proclaim/His power and glory evermore proclaim.
Christ IS the Lord. He is not merely the Son of God, created for a purpose. Remember the Arian controversy? Christ is of the same essence as the Father. Christ IS God. Christ IS Emmanuel, God with us. His power and glory evermore proclaim that HE is the answer to our prayers for salvation.


Ladies and gentlemen, tomorrow is Christmas Day. I sincerely hope that any of you reading this will have a safe, beautiful, loving, blessed Christmas. Even if you are far away from family, even if there are those who will never be there around the Christmas tree again, know that we are all united in that beautiful Christmas gift that rested under a star so long ago. That gift of love, faith, and hope that God gave to us. Merry Christmas, and I hope some will tune in, perhaps after the holiday, to see my open gift on here, an analysis of another song especially for Christmas Day.