(Originally published December 2021.)
I always find it difficult during the Christmas season to prioritize the urgent and the important. There’s just too much to do.
- Clean the house…
- Decorate the house (inside and out!)…
- Bake Christmas cookies…
- Buy Christmas gifts…
- Plan Christmas dinner (and a special breakfast)…
- Christmas parties!…
- Don’t forget to invite Uncle Barry…
- Wrap the gifts…
- Do Christmas crafts…
- Drive around and see the lights…
- Don’t forget the stockings!…
- Pray for snow…
- Worship and remember the real meaning of Christmas…
Is it just me or does #13 feel like an afterthought? When something has to get pushed to tomorrow’s list, that’s the one that gets the boot.
That’s why I’m so thankful for the ways my faith is built into my weekly schedule. At church on Sundays and at my small group on Tuesdays I’m forced to slow down for at least an hour and a half and remember the Better Thing that all this madness is distracting me from.
Christmas Hymns To Point The Way
I have a noisy home, as you can imagine, with three boys in a relatively small space. (I don’t mind, as long as the noise is happy, which is a direct quote of what my mom also used to always say.)
But at Christmastime the noise changes, because at Christmas hymns and carols are always playing. Festive songs rise above the sounds of normal life and remind us why this season is different.
This month we decided to lean into the Christmas spirit with our small group. For the entire month we’ve walked through the lyrics of Christmas hymns every Tuesday night, letting them point us to the coming Christ.
The hymns have shown us the longing and lament of advent, the coming of the newborn King, and the undeserving world that hardly noticed.
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Longing and Lament of Advent: O Come, O Come, Emmanuel
“The text for “O Come, O Come, Emmanuel” comes from a 7 verse poem that dates back to the 8th century. It was used in a call and response fashion during the vespers, or evening, service. The original text created the reverse acrostic “ero cras,” which means “I shall be with you tomorrow,” and is particularly appropriate for the advent season.” (From Hymnary.org)
Lyrics
1 O come, O come, Immanuel,
and ransom captive Israel,
that mourns in lonely exile here,
until the Son of God appear.
Refrain:
Rejoice! Rejoice! Immanuel
shall come to thee, O Israel.
2 O come, O come, thou God of law,
in cloud and majesty and awe.
Thy precepts, taught on Sinai’s height,
call us to lives both just and right. [Refrain]
3 O come, thou Rod of Jesse, free
thine own from Satan’s tyranny.
From depths of hell thy people save,
and give them vict’ry o’er the grave. [Refrain]
4 O come, thou Dayspring, come and cheer
our spirits by thine advent here.
Disperse the gloomy clouds of night,
and death’s dark shadow put to flight. [Refrain]
5 O come, thou Key of David, come
and open wide our heav’nly home.
Make safe the way that leads to thee
and close the path to misery. [Refrain]
6 O come, thou Wisdom from on high,
and order all things far and nigh.
To us the path of knowledge show,
and cause us in thy ways to go. [Refrain]
7 O come, Desire of nations, bind
all peoples in one heart and mind.
Bid envy, strife, and quarrels cease,
and fill the world with heaven’s peace. [Refrain]
Bring It Home
I always thought this was just another happy Christmas song. But read the first verse again. What is the tone of this song?
What are you mourning this Christmas season? Talk to God about it.
King of Kings: Hark! The Herald Angels Sing
I know, I know! This wasn’t the song you were expecting. I have to admit that I love this non-traditional “Christmas” song. (It’s called “Christmas” by Blues Traveler.)
This song acknowledges what I think so many of us experience at Christmastime – an aching to recapture some elusive perfect Christmas feeling like we felt as children. (Or is that just me?) The world pulls at us like a holiday tug-of-war (“it’s Hanakkuh…no, Kwanzaa!”). But suddenly above all else, the song of the angels rings out, “Glory to the newborn King!”
Traditional Lyrics
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 angelic host proclaim
Christ is born in Bethlehem
With angelic host proclaim
Christ is born in Bethlehem
Mild He lays His glory by
Born that man no more may die
Born to raise the sons of Earth
Born to give them second birth
Veiled in flesh the Godhead see
Hail the incarnate deity
Pleased as man with men to dwell
Jesus, our Emmanuel
Pleased as man with men to dwell
Jesus, our Emmanuel
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
Christ, the highest heaven adore
Christ, the everlasting Lord
Come, Desire of Nations, come
Fix in us Thy humble home
Come, Desire of Nations, come
Fix in us Thy humble home
Source: Musixmatch
Songwriters: Felix Mendelssohn / Charles Wesley / Traditional
Bring It Home
Pick a favorite line from this song. Write it somewhere where you will see it often today.
Why did you pick that line? How does it give you hope today?
Take a moment to praise God that he rises above the world’s din and gives us something to really be thankful for this Christmas.
For The Undeserving: O Little Town of Bethlehem
“In contrast to some other Christmas hymns that emphasize the glory of God as seen in the grand chorus of angels, Brooks focuses on the quietness of Christ’s birth, and how little the larger world paid attention.” (From Hymnary.org)
Lyrics
1 O little town of Bethlehem,
how still we see thee lie!
Above thy deep and dreamless sleep
the silent stars go by;
yet in thy dark streets shineth
the everlasting light.
The hopes and fears of all the years
are met in thee tonight.
2 For Christ is born of Mary,
and, gathered all above
while mortals sleep, the angels keep
their watch of wond’ring love.
O morning stars, together
proclaim the holy birth,
and praises sing to God the King
and peace to all the earth.
3 How silently, how silently,
the wondrous gift is giv’n!
So God imparts to human hearts
the blessings of his heav’n.
No ear may hear his coming,
but in this world of sin,
where meek souls will receive him, still
the dear Christ enters in.
4 O holy Child of Bethlehem,
descend to us, we pray,
cast out our sin and enter in,
be born in us today.
We hear the Christmas angels
the great glad tidings tell;
O come to us, abide with us,
our Lord Immanuel!
Bring It Home
Jesus slipped quietly into a world that hardly noticed. The first birth announcement was made to lowly shepherds in the commonplace town of Bethlehem. Any other king would have had a palace, but he had a feeding trough alongside the animals. What does this show you about the character of this King?
Take some time to praise Jesus that he is a God who came down because we could never reach up to him.
Great thoughts, Kendra!