Fall On Our Knees — It Is Christmas
I love Christmas. But, the older I get the more I wonder if how I celebrate Christmas this month blesses God. I suspect not, or not so much, and here is why:
First, Christmas is so secularized and commercialized in America that even the believing Church has difficulty staying focused on the reasons for joy and hope. In my world Christmas is less a season of spiritual preparation or Advent, leading up to the birth of The King, as it is a festive season focused on decorations, gifts, parties, and family. I don’t have a problem with these things. It is that just that in the midst of them it is easy for the real, powerful, and practical Good News of Jesus for the world to get lost or at least diminished.
Second, we focus so much on the baby Jesus and the whole Christmas narrative (Shepherds, Wise Men, and Angels) that we tend to overlook the massive, seismic, amazing Spiritual shift in the Cosmic battle for Creation that occurred on that day when Jesus was born. I lose sight of why that one day, 2,015 (more or less) years ago, was the single most important day in the history of all Creation. The day Jesus was born into this world is the Spiritual equivalent of an asteroid impact in earth’s atmosphere. Everything shifted; nothing was the same again. So, yes lets celebrate the birth, but lets not forget the impact on the world of that day.
Third, In our crazy, frenetic, and angst-ridden world it is difficult to relate to the simple yearning of the first-century Jewish heart for The Messiah, the anointed King, to come and rescue His people. One of the reasons I like the hymns we sing at Christmas, besides the nostalgia, is that they help me connect with that simpler time (even if most of the hymns are from the 18th and 19th centuries) when the King and His Kingdom were more sharply in focus. Here are some verses from my favorites:
“Joy to the World, the Lord has come. Let Earth receive her King. Let every heart prepare Him room, and Heaven and Nature sing.”
“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 . . . fall on your knees!”
“O Come, O Come, Emmanuel and ransom captive Israel that mourns in lonely exile here, until the Son of God appear. Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel shall come to thee, O Israel.”
I found some notes for this last hymn: “When we sing each verse of this hymn, we acknowledge Christ as the fulfillment of . . . Old Testament prophesies. We sing this hymn in an already-but-not yet-Kingdom of God. Christ’s first coming gives us a reason to rejoice again and again, yet we know that all is not well with the world. So along with our rejoicing, we plead using the words of this hymn that Christ would come again to perfectly fulfill the promise that all darkness will be turned to light.” (quoted text from Hymnary.org. Note that the original translation named this hymn ‘O Come, O Come Immanuel’. In contemporary usage it is titled ‘O Come, O Come Emmanuel’).
Theses hymns beautifully capture the heart of Christmas for me: freedom from captivity, God-with-us, light breaking into the darkness, the incarnation, and the fulfillment of God’s promises to His people — a King, and therefore His Kingdom now, here on earth; the beginning of the promised restoration of God’s creation. As we sing, we respond to these truths with joy (rejoice), hope (God is moving among us), and gratitude.
It is said that there are over 300 prophesies in the Old Testament about the coming of the Savior and Messiah, Jesus. Quite a few are found in the book of Isaiah. Here are 9 Scriptures from Isaiah that herald Jesus’ birth and tell about the impact that birth will have on the world:
“The people walking in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of the shadow of death a light has dawned. You have enlarged the nation and increased their joy; they rejoice before you as people rejoice at the harvest . . . ” (Isaiah 9: 2, 3, NIV).
“For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government shall be upon His shoulders. And He will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace (Isaiah 9: 6, NIV).
“He will reign on David’s throne and over his kingdom . . . ” (Isaiah 9: 7, NIV).
“Be strong, do not fear; your God will come, He will come with vengeance; with Divine retribution He will come to save you. Then will the eyes of the blind be opened, and the ears of the deaf unstopped. Then will the lame leap like a dear, and the mute tongue shout for joy. Water will gush forth in the wilderness and streams in the desert” (Isaiah 35: 3-6, NIV).
“A voice of one calling: “In the desert prepare the way for the Lord; make straight in the wilderness a highway for our God . . . And the glory of the Lord will be revealed, and all mankind together will see it. For the mouth of the Lord has spoken” (Isaiah 40: 3-5, NIV).
“Remember these things, O Jacob, for you are my servant O Israel. I have made you, you are my servant; O Israel I will not forget you. I have swept away your offenses like a cloud, your sins like the morning mist. Return to me, for I have redeemed you. Sing for joy, O heavens, for the Lord has done this, shout aloud, O earth beneath. Burst into song, you mountains, you forests and all your trees, for the Lord has redeemed Jacob, He displays His glory in Israel” (Isaiah 44: 21-23, NIV).
“Surely He took our infirmities and carried our sorrows, yet we considered Him stricken by God, smitten by Him, and afflicted. But He was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon Him, and by His wounds we are healed (and made whole)” (Isaiah 53: 4, 5, NIV).
“After the suffering of His soul, He will see the light of life and be satisfied; by His knowledge my righteous servant will justify many, and He will bear their iniquities . . . for He bore the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors” (Isaiah 53: 11, 12, NIV).
“The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is on me, because the Lord has anointed my to preach the good news to the poor. He has sent me to bind up (heal) the broken-hearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives, and release from darkness for the prisoners . . . (Isaiah 61: 1, NIV).
In these verses we see God’s plan of restoration prophesied and then manifested in the birth, life, death, and resurrection of Jesus. As promised, Light broke into the darkness, Creation is healed, made whole (but not perfectly), and set free from the grip of Satan. Jesus and His Kingdom (the Kingdom of God) break into our sordid, sin-stained (but beautiful) world. The glory of the Lord is revealed, God incarnate; Immanuel, God with us in the messiness of our lives, personal, and present. The blind see, the deaf hear, infirmities and disease healed. He has redeemed us in Christ, our sins have been swept away by the blood of our Savior. God, in Christ, has “rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the Kingdom of the Son He loves, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins” (Colossians 1: 13, 14. NIV).
In that one instant, when the sleepy town of Bethlehem heard the first cry of the helpless Child, the supernatural power of God broke into the natural world in a brilliant flash of Light. That pin point of Light has grown stronger ever since, year-by-year, sweeping over the earth, driving out the darkness and defeating the power of the enemy wherever the light is allowed in. God is recreating His Creation; it began that night with the work of a faithful God — we call Him Emmanuel. What can we say? How can we acknowledge His gift to us? There is only one possible response: to fall on our knees, weeping, thanking Him, and rejoicing that God would send His only son to demonstrate His faithfulness and all-surpassing love for us, His adopted children and co-heirs with Christ (Romans 8: 17). In light of this truth I will choose, once again, to repent of my pride and distractedness in a world that holds all kinds of attractions for me. I will ask Him to prepare my heart for this next year, so that I can more faithfully follow His light wherever it leads me.
So, given the Good News, which all mankind desperately needs, why is our culture systematically removing Jesus from Christmas? At the heart of Christmas is the greatest gift God has given: Himself. He comes in the form of a baby. This baby grows up to be our King to rule over our lives with goodness and mercy. We serve this King as we enter His Kingdom, giving our lives purpose and forming the foundation for our faith. But many in the West don’t need another King — they already have a king. His name is ‘Self’. If Christmas is most fundamentally about The King, but I already have a king, I can treat Christmas as another holiday, although a special one, and disregard Jesus all together. Because to consider Jesus for who He is has a strange and powerful effect on people — even unbelievers. It places them under conviction — “something is not right with my life, something is missing.” Rather than deal with this disturbing thought, the culture enters ‘the broad gate’. They will turn to their king — self — for their value, comfort, and acceptance and continue to walk down the path of denial and darkness. “Who are you to tell Me that I need anything in My life”, culture tells Christians. “Celebrate Christmas in your home however you want, just don’t impose your views on me and my family” — these are the words of a slowly dying society or at least that segment of society.
This unbelieving culture is under judgement. “Woe to those who call evil good and good evil; who put darkness for light and light for darkness” (Isaiah 5: 20, NIV). We are, once again, reminded that we live in the already-but-not-yet Kingdom of God. As we celebrate God and His Son this Christmas, let us remember that we were once under judgement ourselves — and by the grace of God we were set free and our blind eyes opened. God’s love embraces all people and nations. Ask God to show you how you can release freedom this season into the life of one who is still walking in darkness and slavery. Apart from our faith, it is the greatest gift we can give back to Him.
As we approach The Day, here is an Affirmation of Faith that I have found centers my heart on the true meaning of Christmas. This Affirmation was used in the worship service I attended last Sunday. I think it was penned by the Pastor of that church, Bill Campbell, but I am not sure. Anyway, someone else wrote it, not me:
“God has come to us through the fragile promise of a swaddling infant who emerged as a herald of hope;
Who overcame doubt and despair with joyous promise;
Who leads all who believe into the land of promise;
Who has turned our mourning into gladness and our ashes into joy.
Thanks, praise, and glory be to God the Father through our Lord, Jesus Christ.”
Hallelujah!!!
Grace and Peace this Christmas season
John