King of the Carols - Hark the Herald Angels Sing - Born to Bless!

 

Hail the heaven-born Prince of Peace!
Hail the Sun of Righteousness!
Light and life to all he brings,
risen with healing in his wings.
Mild he lays his glory by,
born that we no more may die,
born to raise us from the earth,
born to give us second birth.

Our final verse of this wonderful carol reels of a list of six blessings Jesus came into the world to give us.

Light and Life

"Light and life he gives to all"

John says that Jesus is "the true light that gives light to everyone." (John 1:9). A deep and profound truth. It cannot mean that everyone that has ever lived has come to salvation, for that is not confirmed by the rest of Scripture. But in some way, everyone has been blessed by the Son of God. 

We experience the blessing of Jesus' light when we follow him, for he said, "I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness but have the light of light." (John 8:12). 

Life as well as light, says the carol writer! "I have come" said Jesus, "that they may have life, and have it to the full." (John 10:10). We can never experience true life until we come to Jesus and experience his Spirit working through us. Jesus came not to load us with a thousand killjoy rules, but to set our hearts free with his easy yoke.

Healing and Freedom from Death 

Our jubilant carol writer, filled with joy, wants us to remember two more blessings:

Risen with healing in his wings.
Mild he lays his glory by,
born that we no more may die

One day our bodies will be healed. It is not a promise for this world, but a joy to look forward to. Some say its a believer's right in this world, quoting "By his stripes we are healed." (Isaiah 53:5). Our souls are healed by his stripes, for their sins are forgiven, and our bodies will be healed one day too. A friend of mine complained about his visits to an ageing relative. Every time he got "an organ recital" he said. Every faculty is in decline, says the writer of Ecclesiastes, as we grow old. But one day all of our organs will be renewed. Our bodies will not be patched up, but made new, just like the never dying resurrection body of Jesus.

Freedom from death! "Born that we no more may die." The wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life. We all deserve to die! And all who reject the Gospel will die twice. Their bodies will die and then their souls will die eternally. But those who believe will never experience the second death, though they may have to pass through the first one. 

Eternal Life and Second Birth

Born to raise us from the earth,
born to give us second birth. 

So ends this edifying carol. Our final home is not here - let none of us forget. Jesus came to "raise us from the earth", to save us and then to take us home to his mansion of many rooms. 

Second birth is being born again by the Holy Spirit. It's a miraculous event that transforms our characters to such a degree that afterwards it can be said that we are new creatures. It takes place through "the living and enduring word of God." (1 Peter 1:23)

What a list of blessings! Light! Life! Healing! Escape from Death! Eternal life and Second Birth! And there are many more besides.  

And every one of them has come through the Lord Jesus Christ, born in Bethlehem, Crucified outside of Jerusalem, raised on the third day and reigning in heaven now! 

 A SONG FOR THE DAY
This new song says it, "In Christ Alone."

A PRAYER FOR THE DAY

Our Father in heaven,

We echo the worship  of our carol's author, "hark the herald angels sing, glory to the new born King." We bring worship and adoration to Jesus Christ, heaven's King and thank you for the many blessings that have come through him.

Thank you that we no longer walk in the darkness of sin and ignorance.

Thank you that we have been given life abundant.

Thank you that our souls have been healed and we look forward to the compete healing of our bodies.

Thank you that we will never experience the second death.

Thank you for eternal life and thank you for a new heart.

Forgive us when we do not live in the light of such blessings and help us, by your indwelling Spirit to live holy and upright lives pleasing to you.

We ask this in Jesus' name,

Amen.

King of the Carols - Hark the Herald Angels Sing - Veiled in Flesh

 

 

Christ, by highest heaven adored,
Christ, the everlasting Lord,
late in time behold him come,
offspring of the Virgin's womb:
veiled in flesh the Godhead see;
hail th'incarnate Deity,
pleased with us in flesh to dwell,
Jesus, our Immanuel.

 Glory Veiled

This  second verse of "Hark the herald Angels Sing" reminds us that Jesus Christ is God, the Son of God, by highest heaven adored. And reminds us that no-one looking into the manger would have known, for his glory was veiled in flesh.

This is both a mystery and a stumbling block to some.

It is a mystery to all of us how the divine the Son of God, "the everlasting Lord," who had no beginning or end, could combine that divine nature with a truly human nature, so that there is only one Person, the divine and human Jesus Christ, the Son of God. 

Jesus was not at one moment divine and at the next human. From the moment he took on human flesh in the womb of Mary he was the God-man and to this very day he is the God-man and for all eternity future he will be the eternal God-man.

No-one can get that, absolutely no-one can understand this high truth. But where the mind fails, the heart can still worship.

A stumbling block for others who refuse to believe simply because they don't understand the mystery or because they think that God taking on a human nature would diminish God.

The so-called Jehovah's Witnesses refuse to accept that Jesus was both man and God, robbing him of his glory by assigning him to the status only of a man. 

But everywhere in Scriptrue the true humanity and true divinity of Jesus Christ is attested. Those disputes are long over and settled and those who deny the dual-natures of Jesus Christ, combined in One Person, are rightly regarded as heretics and false teachers.

Why veil his divine nature?

But why did the Son of God veil his divine nature while he was in the world so that anyone passing Jesus in the street would have failed to notice that this was God? 

Except to those whose spiritual eyes were opened to the truth, no-one could "see" that Jesus was God, and perhaps especially so, when he was a tiny babe in Bethlehem.

If the Son of God had not veiled his human nature it would have been impossible for anyone to get near him, so bright would his countenance have been. Moses was forbidden to see God's glory because "no-one can see God and live." (Exodus 33:20)

And if his countenance was too glorious to behold, he could not have lived an ordinary human life.  He would always have been held in high esteeem and never become the "man of sorrows and aquainted with grief."  

No soldier could have got near him to arrest him, and no Roman ruler could have crucified him. 

And if he had not veiled his divinity he could not have become the kind of sacrifice that was necessary to effectually pay for the sins of other human beings. It was necessary that the Saviour be a real man - a  sinless man, true - to  take away the sins of a world of real men.

So, all for love's sake, so he could save us, the Son of God was born as a human babe leaving aside all the trappings of divine majesty.

A SONG FOR THE DAY
How about THIS lovely rendition of "Joy to the World." One bloke, four voices, in beautiful harmony. 

A PRAYER FOR THE DAY

Our loving and holy Father above,

We thank you for the wonderful plan of salvation. We thank you that in the wisdom of God your Son veiled his divinity so that he could experience a normal human life, be a sympathetic high priest and become a suitable sacrifice for sinners.

We will never know the sorrow you went through as you saw your beloved Son suffer and we will never understand the agony of your Son. But we thank you that for love's sake, Jesus became poor.

We worship Father, Son and Holy Spirit for such a great salvation,

Amen

King of the Carols - Hark the Herald Angels Sing - Peace, what Peace?

 

 

What kind of Peace?
 

1. Hark! the herald angels sing,
"Glory to the newborn King:
peace on earth, and mercy mild,
God and sinners reconciled!"
Joyful, all ye nations, rise,
join the triumph of the skies;
with th'angelic hosts proclaim,
"Christ is born in Bethlehem!"

 
Hark! the herald angels sing,
"Glory to the newborn King"

Some of us are old enough to remember the "Liberation  Theology" of the 1970s. This peculiar strand of thinking said that Christians should put all their energies into helping to set the oppressed free. In other words the church should adopt a political agenda and work for the freedom of all enslaved peoples.

They would have read the words of the Christmas angels, "on earth peace" to mean, "Jesus and his people should work for peace and freedom and democracy."

But is that what the angels meant when they sang "peace on earth?"

Well Yes, and No.

First Yes.

 Horizontal Peace 

Every follower of Jesus ought to be a peacemaker, in our homes, neighbourhoods, places of work and churches. It is profoundly unChrist like to be a mischief maker and a warmonger. 

Christians walk softly, and most esepcially in the fold.

So, yes, we are all for peace! 

And where given the chance of working for peace in the wider world, we should do what we can and to pray for "those in authority that we may all live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness." (1 Timothy 2:2) 

And we look forward to the day when the Prince of Peace will, return and in the words of another carol:

when with the ever-circling years
shall come the time foretold
when peace shall over all the earth
its ancient splendors fling.

Vertical Peace

So yes, we are called to work for peace, but also No! No, the angels were not talking mainly about horizontal peace, peace between men or between nations. They were singing mostly about peace between God and sinners. As our carol says:

Peace on earth, and mercy mild,
God and sinners reconciled!

The biggest relationship breakdown in the universe is not between this man and that woman, this nation and that country. The biggest disruption is between God and mankind. 

God is angry with us for our deliberate walking out on him, our deliberate wrongdoing, and we, on our part don't want him in our lives: we hide from him, suppress the knowledge of him and fail to give him thanks.

Mankind is at war with God!

Peace by his Blood

But God sent his Son into the world to act as a go-between, a priest, a reconciller, a peace-maker. And though we were his enemies, God sent his beloved Son, "through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through his blood, shed on the cross." (Colossians 1:20).

Our sin, which alienated us from God was paid for by the atoning death of Jesus Christ, so that God could turn his face towards us and we could be reconciled with God. What an amazing act of grace and kindess!

Be reconciled to God

So the message of the angels is not about horizontal peace - as important as that might be,  the angels were declaring to the Shepherds that Jesus Christ was going to give to us the precious gift of peace with God.

And so our message to the world this Christmas, the message that should ring out from the church, and from every Christian man, woman and child is "Be reconciled to God!" (2 Corinthians 5:20)

And this peace is a joyful message for the whole of the world:

Joyful, all ye nations, rise,
join the triumph of the skies;
with th'angelic hosts proclaim,
"Christ is born in Bethlehem!"

Here is a simple way we can all share that message this very week. If every Christian in the UK put up an  advertisement on their Facebook page for their church's online carol service - think how many friends could be reached with the Gospel! 

I do that every Saturday, Christmas or not Christmas! Let the world know where they can hear the Gospel the next day - in secret if they do not want anyone to know they are listening.

Let's take up these rare opportunities while we have them.

A SONG FOR THE DAY

Here's an old spiritual song more about the inside heart peace God gives to his people in their hearts than the peace God has made with us through his Son. We need this kind of peace too, that comes from the Holy Spirit who assures us that we are loved by God through all the storms and uncertainties of life.

A PRAYER FOR THE DAY

Our Father in heaven,

We thank you for the peace with experience here in the West, the peace we so often take for granted. We thank you for stable government and the absence of war on our streets.

We pray for world leaders that they may work for peace, and we pray that the decisions they make will enable us  all to live peaceably in all godliness.

We thank you for the peace that comes through your Son, the Lord Jesus and through his death on the cross.

Help us to share the  Gospel with a lost world and to urge them to be "reconciled to God."

We ask this in Jesus' Name,

Amen.

King of the Carols - Hark the Herald Angels Sing - The Unique Glory of God

A Top Ten Carol

In the BBC's poll of the most popular carols, Hark the Herald Angels Sing, comes in the top ten, and with good reason. The words are wonderful, the tune is easy to sing - and joyful too.

 

1  Hark! the herald angels sing,
"Glory to the newborn King:
peace on earth, and mercy mild,
God and sinners reconciled!"
Joyful, all ye nations, rise,
join the triumph of the skies;
with th'angelic hosts proclaim,
"Christ is born in Bethlehem!"

Hark! the herald angels sing,
"Glory to the newborn King"

2 Christ, by highest heaven adored,
Christ, the everlasting Lord,
late in time behold him come,
offspring of the Virgin's womb:
veiled in flesh the Godhead see;
hail th'incarnate Deity,
pleased with us in flesh to dwell,
Jesus, our Immanuel.

3 Hail the heaven-born Prince of Peace!
Hail the Sun of Righteousness!
Light and life to all he brings,
risen with healing in his wings.
Mild he lays his glory by,
born that we no more may die,
born to raise us from the earth,
born to give us second birth.

Our carol focusses in on the part of the nativity story which tells of the angels appearing to the shepherds. 

 

I say angels plural, but the story begins with just one angel.  

A Terrifying Sight

 

We read in Luke chapter 2 that the shepherds were terrified, which gives us an idea of the brightness and the glory of this heaven-come-to-earth scene.

What caused the shepherds to tremble? Not the glory of the single angel, but the glory of the Lord, the divine brightness that shone all around the heavenly messenger, "An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them."

 

Glorious blinding light is an apt image for the sheer wonder, majesty and power of our Creator God, who, says Paul, "dwells in unaproachble light, whom no-one has seen or can see." (1 Timothy 6:16)

 

The Unique Glory of God

 

Let us pause to remember today God is glorious, that only God is glorious, and that he is jealous of his glory too, “I am the LORD; that is my name! I will not give my glory to anyone else, nor share my praise with carved idols." (Isaiah 42:8).

 

Let us remind ourselves that all other glory is reflected glory, derived glory, borrowed glory. 

 

As the moon has no glory of its own but merely reflects the glory of the sun, so the angelic beings have no glory of their own, but reflect the glory of their Maker. 

Two Big Lessons

First, if we have gifts let us never boast about them, but always be careful to redirect glory to where it belongs. "Let the one who boasts boast in the Lord." (1 Corinthians 1:31).

One day King Herod, dressed in his royal robes, gave a speech. He was worshipped by some in the crowd who cried out, "this is the voice of a god not man" (Acts 12:22-23). And because Herod did not right away give the glory to God - he did not say something like, "God gave me those speaking gifts" or "God helped my royal designers come up with such majestic clothes" an angel of the Lord "struck him down, and he was eaten by worms and died."

Let us watch out for the sin of pride, the terrible, satanic sin of pride.

 

And second, let's give glory where it is due, as our carol does:

"Glory to the Newborn king!"

 

The babe in the manger was the incarnate Son of God, the Word, the second Person of the Godhead, the Creator. He, the Lamb of God, is worthy to "receive power and wealth and wisdom and strength and honour and glory and praise!" (Revelation 5:12)

A SONG FOR THE DAY

Here's this lovely carol sung by the Gettys. 

A PRAYER FOR THE DAY

Our glorious Father in heaven,

We give glory to you, and to the Holy Spirit and to the Son.

 

We acknowledge that all we have comes from you, and we praise and thank you for everything. We thank you for the terrifying glory the shepherds saw, which has reminded us today of your power and majesty and awe.

Keep us from every proud thought. Forgive us for every boastful notion. Help us whenever we are tempted to boast to boast in you alone.

And help us to glorify your Son, born in a manger for our salvation.

We ask these things in the humble exalted name of Jesus

Amen.

King of the Carols - O Holy Night - No stranger to our Weakness

 

Contemplation

2. 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 came 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, before him lowly bend! 

A friend of mine shared how his prayer life had dried up. The words he was speaking just-in-his-head were confusing and jumbled. So he tried writing down his prayers, a very Bible-Psalms thing to do. And now he finds prayer intelligible and meaningful. Speaking out our prayers is another way of making them more real. The late evangelist from York, David Watson, used to speak out all of his prayers.

The internal fuzz of thoughts are forced out into a coherent stream of words, either in speech or in writing. It's not that the Lord only hears linear prayers, it's more that we can more own and mean them when they are spoken or written.

Singing the carols gives one kind of joy, pausing to contemplate their words another source of delight. Our carolling author has drawn out three comforting truths from the Bible account of the wise men in the second verse of O Holy Night.

Drawn by star or faith

The wise men were led to Jesus by the light of a supernatural star but we are led to Jesus Christ by faith:

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 came the Wise Men from Orient land.
The King of kings lay thus in lowly manger,

It's a charming parallel! They were drawn by a star, but we are drawn to the Lord Jesus, the divine risen Son of God, through the supernatural gift of faith. Without faith we could not have seen who he was, or have appreciated his glory, or believed on his name. 

We should surely thank God more often for the remarkable divine gift of faith!

No stranger to our Weakness

The sheer vulnerability of the baby in the manger reminds us that the Lord Jesus is no stranger to weakness.

In all our trials born to be our Friend.
He knows our need– to our weakness is no stranger.

Oh how weak we are! Think of our smallness, our fears, our frailty, our many weaknesses, or battles, our stumbles and falls! No, Jesus does not understand falls, for he was sinless, but he understands the hellish fires of temptation, he understands mental anguish and he understands physical pain.

In the hero stories of the world, the victor is often a powerful figure: someone to be admired, but only at a distance! But in our Hero Story we have someone who has walked in our moccasins, for mile after mile after mile. He knows our needs.

So to worship!

So, urges the hymn writer, like the wise men, let us bow low before our king. "On coming to the house, they saw the child with his mother Mary and they bowed down and worshipped him." (Matthew 2:11). Let us bow on bended knee and offer our honour, adoration and worship to Jesus Christ, our heavenly King.

Behold your King, before him lowly bend!
Behold your King, before him lowly bend!

A SONG FOR THE DAY

Here's a Christmas song you may never have heard before, from Amy Grant.  Listen HERE.

 

A PRAYER FOR THE DAY

Our loving faithful Father,

We thank you for the marvel of your ways. We thank you that our Hero, your glorious King, was not born in Jerusalem or Rome, London or New York, but in little Bethlehem and in an unknown manger.

We thank you that his utter vulnerability as an infant child reminds us that he has known weakness, as we ourselves do.

Thank you for your wise Hero ways. And thank you for the divine gift of faith. 

Teach us to bow low and worship the King, as did those wise men of old.

We worship you and the whole Triune God in Jesus' Name,

Amen

King of the Carols - O Holy Night - A Thrill of Hope

 

A Weary World

 O holy night! the stars are brightly shining;
It is the night of the dear Savior's birth.
Long lay the world in sin and error pining,
Till he appeared 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 angel voices!
O night divine, O night when Christ was born!
O night, O holy night, O night divine!

A few days ago, 90 year old Margaret Keenan unwittingly - and perhaps unwillingly - became an overnight celebrity by being the first person in the UK to receive the Pfizer Covid vaccine. 

Someone said, "It has given us hope." Another, “It has given a lot of people around the country hope,” and someone else “I just think it’s a really good day for Great Britain.”

There can be no doubt that the last eight months have been wearying for many of us, in one way or another. Wired to thrive on future hope, we naturally drift into despair when there is nothing positive ahead of us. If the future is merely the same as the present, we find life tiring.

So the first Covid vaccine was regarded by many as a ray of hope, since potentially it could put an end to the dark reign of Covid.

Our carolling author says the same thing about the birth of Jesus:

A thrill of hope-the weary world rejoices,
For yonder breaks a new and glorious morn!

The incarnation brought hope, the breaking of a new and glorious dawn, he urges us to remember and sing.

How does the birth of Jesus breathe Hope?

Four Rays of Hope

First of all, the birth of Jesus reminds us that God had not forgotten mankind but still loves men and women. Four hundred years had passed without prophets or news from heaven, but then all of a sudden, God comes down to earth to reveal the heart of God - God wants to dwell with us, so he sent Immanuel, "God-with-us" to earth.

Does God care for me, for this Covid-ravaged world? The birth of Jesus says "Yes!"

Secondly, the birth of Jesus reminds us that God cares for the weak. Absolutely everything about the birth of Jesus spoke to the poor. He was born not in Rome or Jerusalem but in a backwater town called Bethlehem. He was born, not to a prince and princess but to an obscure Mary and a local carpenter. He was born not amidst the finest medical care, but in a stable. He was born not to the fanfare of trumpets but to the sound of silence. And so the list goes on...

Does God care about nobody me or nobody you? He does. For his Son entered our nobody worlds to prove it.

Thirdly, the birth of Jesus would prove to be a great comfort in the face of suffering. For the babe of Bethlehem would grow into the Man of Sorrows able fully to sympathise with us. Does God in heaven understand me? He does now!

Fourthly, the birth of Jesus gives us hope of sins forgiven, because his name, Jesus, was given to him to signify that he would save his people form their sins (Matthew 1:21). We all sin against God and against our fellow man. We can say things that cannot be taken back and can do things that have lasting impact on ourselves and those around us. Can those things be forgiven, we wonder? Or must we carry their weight of guilt, remorse and regret for ever? The birth of Jesus gives us the hope of sins forgiven through the once-for-all sacrifice of Jesus on the cross.

Fall on your Knees!

No human being could bring such vast and universal hope to the world, and to me and to you. And so our carol writer urges us to fall on our knees in worship. 

What a fitting way to celebrate Christmas this year - to worship the Lord Jesus by lip and by life.

A SONG FOR THE DAY

A lovely modern song about Jesus, our Living Hope

How great the chasm that lay between us
How high the mountain I could not climb
In desperation, I turned to heaven
And spoke Your name into the night
Then through the darkness, Your loving-kindness
Tore through the shadows of my soul
The work is finished, the end is written
Jesus Christ, my living hope

Who could imagine so great a mercy?
What heart could fathom such boundless grace?
The God of ages stepped down from glory
To wear my sin and bear my shame
The cross has spoken, I am forgiven
The King of kings calls me His own
Beautiful Saviour, I’m Yours forever
Jesus Christ, my living hope

Hallelujah, praise the One who set me free
Hallelujah, death has lost its grip on me
You have broken every chain
There’s salvation in Your name
Jesus Christ, my living hope

Then came the morning that sealed the promise
Your buried body began to breathe
Out of the silence, the Roaring Lion
Declared the grave has no claim on me
Then came the morning that sealed the promise
Your buried body began to breathe
Out of the silence, the Roaring Lion
Declared the grave has no claim on me
Jesus, Yours is the victory!

 Phil Wickham / Brian Johnson

You can sing along HERE.

A PRAYER FOR THE DAY

Our loving Father in heaven,

In these strange and weary days, teach us to look above and to look ahead.  We thank you for a season of the year when we can choose to remember the coming of God into the world to give us hope in this life and hope for the world to come.

Save us from expecting too much from this passing world. Help us to love and serve you today, but to remember always that our citizenship is in heaven and teach us to eagerly await a Saviour from there.

We worship the Lord Jesus Christ in whose name we pray these things,

Amen. 

 

King of the Carols - O Holy Night - The One who Satisfies Souls

 

 

A Childhood Memory Carol

When I was a lad growing up in Karachi, Pakistan, I heard this carol every Christmas. How it was allowed in a Muslim country, I will never know, but the Karachi American School put on a pageant which stretched across an enormous park and included wise men on camels and a star slid across the sky along an invisible metal wire. 

This carol has been more popular in the USA but in recent years it has migrated across the pond and is becoming well known here. The tune is hauntingly  beautiful and the words are wonderful too.

Let's take a look at the first half of verse 1.

O holy night! the stars are brightly shining;
It is the night of the dear Savior's birth.
Long lay the world in sin and error pining,
Till he appeared 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 angel voices!
O night divine, O night when Christ was born!
O night, O holy night, O night divine!

2 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 came 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, before him lowly bend!

3 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 pow'r and glory evermore proclaim!
His pow'r and glory evermore proclaim!
 

The Time had Come

 

 Long lay the world in sin and error pining,
Till he appeared and the soul felt its worth.

 

The first verse of this carol reminds us that the birth of the Lord Jesus marked a turning point in the history of the world. I know of historians who refuse to use the politcally correct BCE (Before Common Era) and CE (Common Era) and continue to use BC (Before Christ) and AD (Anno Domini), the year of the Lord. The facts of the matter are that the world dates human historical time by the birth of Jesus, BC before he came, AD afterwards.

 

Up until the birth of Jesus the Gentile world (most of the world) lived in "sin and error pining." Even the Israelites were in the dark, for though they had far more light than the rest of the world they made little use of it and sometimes lived more godless lives that the pagan world. (It's one reason we find the prophets of the Old Testament so hard to read - sinning against the light is far more culpable than sinning without any knowledge of the truth). 

 

So our authors (Placide Cappeau and Adolphe Adam)  are right when they say that the world lay in darkness. One faithful believer like Abraham here, a small remnant there, but by and large most of Old Testament Israel walked in darkness. It is a most solemn lesson.

 

And into this dark world Jesus, the light of the world came, as Paul puts it "when the time had fully come" (Galatians 4:4)

The Soul Felt its Worth?

We cannot know exactly what our authors meant when they wrote "and the soul felt its worth." It could be that some of the meaning was lost when the carol was translate from French into English. 

But we know the spiritual truth they were directing us to. Our souls are empty until they are fed with the bread of life. Our hearts are thirsty until they are quenched by the Spirit of Christ. Our consciences are defiled until washed by the blood of Jesus. All our future dreams are uncertain without the hope of life beyond the grave.

Our souls long for God and they long for eternity. They were made for more than anything this world can offer us. "I still haven't  found what I'm looking for" is not just the sigh of Bono, it's the cry of every human heart. But when our hearts have been fed by the true Manna from heaven then, at last, our souls feel their worth, we come home, we realise what life is for and what life is about.

 

May we be courageous enough to tell others of this good news during December. This year, unlike any other recent year, they can listen to the Gospel in the comfort of their own homes without anyone else knowing. May they hear about the Lord Jesus and respond to him in living faith.

A SONG FOR THE DAY

Sing along with "O Holy Night" HERE.

 

A PRAYER FOR THE DAY

Our gracious Father in heaven,

We thank you for this day and for every gift that we receive from your bountiful hand. We thank you that even in the sadness of this strange era, you are still with us, and we can count many blessings. 

Thank you that the Holy Spirit lives within our hearts as our comforter and the one who makes the presence of Jesus real.

We thank you that our souls have found what they were looking for in Him the bread of life. 

Help us this year to share the Good News with those who are still in darkness.

We ask these things in Jesus' Name

Amen