O Holy Night

Christmas is almost here.  The days are long but the light is short.  School is almost out.  Presents are partially wrapped, tucked away in boxes in the basement.  Plans to see friends and family are made.  Our sparkle box is filling up with presents for Jesus, acts of kindness and generosity given in his name these past few weeks.  And the songs are everywhere:  on the radio, in the stores, playing on Pandora in the evenings at home.  I was thinking about making a special station just to hear all the different versions of my favorite Christmas song, O Holy Night.  Josh Groban does a beautiful rendition.  Straight No Chaser has a fun one.  Mariah Carey belts it out in true diva fashion.  Children's choirs usually nail it, with their clear, high voices all together, singing those words I hold so dear. 

"O holy night, the stars are brightly shining.  It is the night of our dear savior's birth."

Do you remember that Hallmark commercial from years ago?  When the little boy is anxiously awaiting the arrival of his big brother for the holidays, because they always sing the duet?  But his brother still hasn't come, and he fears he will have to sing all by himself this year.  His voice begins, small and timid.  Suddenly, it is joined by a strong, powerful one...his brother has come home, and just in time!  That's the first time I remember hearing the song, and it enchanted me.  The slow, quiet build.  The hushed reverence for this sacred day.

"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!"

A thrill of hope!  The music crescendos.  The weary world rejoices!  Oh, does the world feel weary this year.  The children.  The medical problems.  The loved ones lost.  The people in the world RIGHT NOW who don't mark this day with celebration, because they are so hopelessly without...without food and water, without a friend to care whether they live or die, without a soul that feels its worth.  I want to save them.  All of them.  I want them to know their worth.  That they matter to me.  But I am just one person.  What can I possibly do?

"Fall on your knees.  O hear the angels' voices."

There it is, right there in my favorite song.  Fall on your knees.  You can't do this alone.  You are not the answer to the weary world's troubles.  Fall on your knees.  This phrase never stood out to me before, but it does right now.  Its not giving up.  Its not admitting defeat.  Fall on your knees, hear the angels' voices.  What are they singing?  Do the angels know something I don't?

"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."

Chains shall He break.  Not me.  I can't free a slave, because by myself, I'm enslaved too.  I'm held captive by anger and greed, by selfishness and hurt.  But in His name, all oppression shall cease.  So that's the name I'm using.  In Jesus' name, we can heal this weary world.  We can start today to LOVE ONE ANOTHER.  Stop being a slave to my own agenda.  Stop insisting that everyone see things exactly as I do. 

"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!"

At this point, Josh Groban bursts forth with a series of "Noel"s that make me feel as though we have crested the largest wave in the ocean, and it is carrying us back to shore.  The power of the music has taken over and we ride it on home, in seemingly effortless exultations.  Christ is the Lord, and it makes this night divine.  Holy, even.  But it can't be contained in one calendar day.  Fall on your knees, and it becomes a part of life.  Every day.  The law of love, the gospel of peace.  It doesn't stop on December 26th.  Not if we bring it in, carry it in our hearts.  It changes us, and then it changes the world.  And the weary world rejoices.