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MEDITATIONS ON THE HYMNS
Joy to the World
Today we will be considering the familiar songs of Christmas and the joy and the comfort and the mysteries they bring about. Each hymn we sing, I will give a brief homily on before we sing.
We have already sung, “O come all ye faithful, joyful and triumphant,” and we will built on this theme of joy in triumph in our next hymn, “Joy to the world.”
Our Lord Jesus is present to remind you this Christmas Day of the joy the He comes to give you. Joy is different than happiness. Happiness is a mood. It can go up and it can go down.
But joy lasts.
Jesus says no one and nothing can take away the joy He gives us.
St. Paul calls us to rejoice in the Lord always, again will I say rejoice.
What is this joy? It is the preaching of this wonderful truth. The Lord is come!
You have joy today because Jesus is present to give you that joy. Let earth receive its King.
You have this joy because you are baptized into Christ, and in Him you are joyful and triumphant. Jesus will win, life will sin, grace and mercy will win, joy will sin and you are in Christ joyful and triumphant. The victory is not yet fully here but there there will be a time when no more sin or sorrow will grow nor thorns infest the ground.
He comes now to preach to you the promise and comfort of that blessing for you today and to remind you no matter how out of control your life seems, He rules the world – and He does it with His truth and He does it with His grace and He does it for you so wonder, wonder, wonder at His love for you and whole world today.
O Little Town of Bethlehem
Our next hymn asks us to consider the little town of Bethlehem. And in that, our Lord has us considering the Christian theme of humility. Our Lord raises the fallen. He preaches good news to the poor. He is the physician of the sick. He is the comfort of the sorrowing. He is the one who gathers those cast out. He raises the dead.
As we gather as Christians we have two things we should often consider. 1.) We are quite little and He quite big. This should humble us. But 2.) As He humbles us to realize our insignificance and our failures and our lack of control, as we take the seat the lowest seat possible, He invites us up and says, “Friend, come up higher.” He honors. He raises us up. He exalts us!
The little town of Bethlehem is the place where the Son of God is born and we little Christians are born again that we should be called children of God, friends of the King, brothers and sisters in Christ.
He does this on that night of Christmas, not so much with the grand signs, but silently, silently, the wondrous gift is given. Receive this Word and promise of your honorable status in Christ. It’s not a big sign. But that how our Lord chooses so often to come. Not in an earthquake or a loud fire, but a still small voice that calls us His.
The little town of Bethlehem is Christ’s little town of Bethlehem and we little people are Christ’s people. The Holy Child of Bethlehem descends on us to humble us and raise us up to hear that He is with us – our Lord Immanuel.
Hark! The Herald Angels Sing!
Our next hymn is by far my favorite popular Christian hymn and I believe it is by far the most densely theological of the popular hymns. There is so much teaching and comfort and beauty in it.
As we sing it, we sing ourselves awake!
Hark!
Wake up! Listen! Pay attention.
The angels are singing!
Shake off your sloth and laziness and sleepiness. Watch and pray that you not fall into temptation. The Spirit is willing the flesh is weak.
Hark! Wake up!
God gives you His angels. They proclaim to you that there is a powerful King who is from eternity, Son of God begotten of the Father from eternity,
And yet on this morning, He’s also a newborn – born of the virgin Mary.
He in Christ, you can see God without being destroyed for the Son of Man came into the world not to condemn that world but the world might be saved through Him.
The Word became flesh to dwell among us,
God and man dwelling together only because of Jesus’ death that reconciles God with sinners.
He was born that we may no more die.
He was born to raise each of child of earth.
He was born to give us second birth.
So wake up and listen and pay attention.
Glory belongs to this newborn king, the angels sing, and we get to sing that with them.
Away in a Manger & Angels We Have Heard on High
Our final two hymns I put together so that we might see the contrast and contradictions of Christmas.
On one hand, we have a big Lord who is also called a little Lord Jesus.
We have the glory of the angels singing to one lying in a manger with no crib for a bed, for there was no room for them in the inn.
We have the echoing joyous strains of all creation, angels, plains, mountains singing “Gloria in excelsis Deo,” Glory be to God on high to a Lord who made Himself low so that He might dwell with His creation, cattle included, but especially that He might dwell with us, be near us, and bless all the dear children in His tender care to fit us for heaven to live with Him there.
Whether the Lord Jesus no crying He makes that night, I don’t know. It’s poetic and beautiful. What we do know is that grown up Jesus does cry at the death of His friend Lazarus.
But He goes to awaken Him.
The Little Lord Jesus who slept our sleep of death and received God’s wrath we deserve now calls our death but a sleep, in which He will awaken us and promises He is at peace with us.
He is here. He stays with us and the cradles of our children and grandchildren. He stays with us and protects us while we are sleeping in our beds. He stays with us and protects us when we are on our death beds – for though we walk through the valley of the shadow of death, we will fear no evil, the little Lord Jesus is with us.
Why shepherds have a jubilee that inspire a heavenly?
Because they have a good shepherd. The Lord is our Shepherd.
And He who was born in Bethlehem, which means house of bread, and laid in a manger, where animals eat, now feeds with words of eternal life and the bread of heaven.
Be near us, Lord Jesus, we ask You to say. Close by me forever and love me I pray. We pray in His promise that He does just that.
PRAYERS
Prayer of the Church Christmas Day 25 December 2018
For to us a child is born, to us a son is given;
and the government shall be upon his shoulder,
and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counselor,
Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
Receiving this child born for us as ones born again in Him, and receiving the Son given for us unto death that we may live eternally as children of God, let us pray for the whole people of God in Christ Jesus and for all people according to their needs,
O wonderful, we wonder as the mystery of the Word became flesh, the light and life that He brings, grant all people wonder at the mysteries of Your Light on earth so that all may come to the fullness of His joys in heaven, lord in your mercy….
O Counselor, You who come to stand beside us to defend us, comfort us, and be near us, grant Your people grace to put away fleshly lusts, that they may be ready for Your visitation;
O Mighty God, You who are Lord of Lords and King of Kings, preserve our land in justice and truth, and make us faithful citizens, honoring those in authority over us. Wherever rulers spurn Your calling to serve justly, are hostile to Your truth and persecute Your people, turn them from their evil and protect Your Church…
Everlasting Father, You sent Your Son for us and He was obedient unto to all things, even death on a cross. Bind our families together in the strong bond of love and sacrifice of the Holy Trinity. Bind the hearts of the children to their parents and parents to their children. Help us all daily grow in wisdom and knowledge, in the favor of God and with man…
Alpha and Omega, from whom there was no beginning and will be no end, keep us from greed, anxiety, and worry. Keep us from false confidence in the earthly blessings You bestow, and fill our hearts with generous love, that all may begin see Christ’s love in ours.
O Prince of Peace, Who after Your death and resurrection from the dead proclaimed “Peace to you,” whose night of birth was proclaimed “Glory to God in the highest and on earth peace,” give us that peace that passes understanding, and help to us to use all well being that we have in our body and soul to the glory of Your name
O Immanuel, God with us, be with us and those that we know name…
Son of God and Son of David, as the Lord God gave You the throne of Your Father David, and You reign of the house of Jacob forever, and of whose Kingdom there will be no end, comfort all who mourn with the truth of the resurrection of the body and the life everlasting. L
Into Your hands, O Lord, we commend ourselves and all for whom we pray, trusting in Your mercy, through Jesus Christ, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.