Carols

From Bethlehem to Calvary

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And she will bring forth a Son, and you shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins.” Matthew 1:21 NKJV

I love singing Silent Night! To me it is both one of the sweetest and most worshipful of all the carols. Looking back over the years, I cannot count the times when I have sung this on Christmas Eve, often while holding a candle or during communion. But as sweet and awesome is the experience of that celebration of the birth of Jesus, we must never allow ourselves to forget that Jesus came with a purpose. He came to save us from our sins. It is built right into HIs name: Jesus, which means “Jehovah saves” And how did he save us? It was on a darkened cold hilltop, nailed to the beams of a cross. How amazing it is that Jesus began life gently laid in a crude wooden manger, closing His eyes to sleep and ended it nailed to a crude wooden cross when He closed His eyes in death. And all through that journey from Bethlehem to Calvary, every time Jesus heard His name spoken, He was reminded of why He came and where His journey would lead. And He did it all for you and me! What an amazing love. What a wonderful Savior. What a reason we have to bow in worship at the manger and kneel in repentance at the cross.

Angels on High

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Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men. Luke 2:14 KJV For some of us, Christmas wouldn’t be complete without a Sunday school pageant featuring a seven year-old Mary carrying a baby-doll Jesus. It is wonderful seeing how children connect with Jesus, because He came as a real baby. But the angel who came announcing the birth of that baby, was soon surrounded by a whole choir of angels singing, “Glory to God in the Highest!” They remind us that Christmas is not just about Mary and Joseph and the wise men with their gifts. Christmas is about God revealing Himself in a manger. Just as the smallest candle can light the darkest room, so God’s glory shone the brightest when He came as an innocent, helpless child. Angels carried the message; a star led the wise men and shepherds ran to worship as God’s glory touched earth on that night in Bethlehem. The words of the choir of, – Angels We Have Heard on High – “Glo-ooooo-ooooo-oooooria! In excelsis Deo,” are Latin for “Glory to God in the highest. “When the message of God’s glory rings out from our hearts, though our situation may not change, we are filled with joy. If we will invite Him in, Jesus has come to be born in the very darkest places of our lives. He has come to shine God’s glory around us and to bring His good will to men.

Angels We Have Heard on High from the French “Les Anges dans nos campagnes” Music by Wilfrid Moreau. Translated in 1842 by James Chadwick

Caligiuri, Peter. A Christmas Treasury: Large Print Edition (pp. 7-9). Kindle Edition.

Let All Mortal Flesh Keep Silence

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I love both singing the hymns as well as the stories behind them, and had always believed ,” Be Thou My Vision” an 8th century hymn attributed to Saint Patrick to be the oldest. So this even more ancient song, released by Keith and Kristyn Getty with J.J. Heller took me quite by surprise. Dating from the 5th century this is stunning both in its words as well as the old French melody that is paired with them. Though they share this as part of a Christmas collection, I am not sure that was the original intent of the author. I am simply in awe to think that these poignant lyrics have come down to us from 16 centuries past. I pray you will be blessed to take a few quiet moments to listen, this Sunday.