Dear Friends,
The sounds of the airwaves are filled with Christmas songs, new and old. Some are fun. Some are touching. And some will require years of therapy to strip their painful tones from civilization’s psyche. Without fail one Christmas song always seems to make an appearance at church children’s programs.
Away in a manger, no crib for a bed,
The little Lord Jesus lay down His sweet head.
The stars in the bright sky looked down where He lay,
The little lord Jesus asleep on the hay.
The cattle are lowing, the baby awakes
But little Lord Jesus, no crying He makes . . .
When I hear these words I long for something more. The image we are given is of a serene picture. Mother and baby quietly resting in a stable while the gentle sounds of livestock rock them to sleep. This picture, while cute, fails to portray magnanimity of this first Christmas. The song I want to hear is a song describing, as his lungs are filling with air, cries coming out, so loud, so full of life, that death itself loses its grip on humanity. I want to hear sound of a baby’s screams so piercing all of hell shudders in terror at their sound. I want to hear the stunned awe of all creation as it beheld its creator born as a baby. The wonder of the one who breathed life into Adam taking his first breath shouting the victory of the Kingdom of God. No, it is not a silent night, but it is the most holy of nights.
Blessings and Merry Christmas!
Pastor Stephen