O Holy Night ~ Carols of Christmas

10 REFLECTIONS FROM

CAROLS of CHRISTMAS 1

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10 10 REFLECTIONS REFLECTIONS FROM FROM

CAROLS of CHRISTMAS

COVER DESIGN

Hailey Smith

INTERIOR DESIGN

Steve Gier

COVER IMAGE

Maggie Ward INTERIOR IMAGES

pp. 12–13, Marylia via Shutterstock.com; pp. 22–23, Apostrophe via Shutterstock.com EDITORIAL TEAM

Paul Brinkerhoff, Tom Felten, Tim Gustafson, Regie Keller, Toria Keyes, Becky Knapp, Monica La Rose, and Peggy Willison ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright 1996, 2004, 2015

by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188.

All rights reserved.

Scripture marked NIV taken from Holy Bible, New International Version® NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

Scripture marked NKJV taken from the New King James Version®.

Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission.

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Introduction | Monica La Rose

Chains Shall He Break

T

he carol “O Holy Night” has long haunted me. I could

say it’s my favorite Christmas carol, and while that would be technically true, it would only scratch the surface. “O Holy Night” isn’t a carol I sing for fun because it sounds pleasant. It’s a song that shakes me every time I hear it. It convicts me—almost frightening me even as it draws me in.

Every time I hear “O Holy Night,” it feels as though silence and repentance are the only appropriate response.

The carol starts out serenely: O holy night, the stars are brightly shining / It is the night of the dear Savior’s birth. This is the quiet, hushed peace envisioned for that holy night that many of our beloved Christmas carols capture.

But soon we transition to the harsher context: a world “in sin and error pining.” And in that world Christ’s birth is more than a beautiful event on a quiet night. It’s the only possible light of hope. It’s the event that changes everything. For when “He appears . . . the soul felt its worth.” I used to mishear this line as “the soul felt His (Christ’s) worth.” When I realized the true lyrics, it staggered me. My faith upbringing had strongly 5

emphasized the sin and evil of humanity but said little about the worth of humanity.

But the carol pointed to the truth: that Christ “did not come to condemn the world” (JOHN 3:17 NIV) but to show every person in the world God’s love for them. Their worth.

When Christ appears, and we see Him as He is, we also see for the first time our worth—as well as a sense of who we were meant to be. Who we could be in Him. And not just us; the whole world and everything in it. At His coming all “the weary world rejoices”; a “new and glorious morn” dawns; the universe itself is forever changed.

In verses two and three of the carol, we’re brought deeper into the gospel story: of a King who “lay thus in lowly manger / In all our trials born to be a friend.” His humility calls for our own: “Behold your King; before Him lowly bend.”

But the song doesn’t stop there, at what could be misunderstood as only a private relationship with Christ.

Christ’s birth is more than a beautiful event on a quiet night. It’s the only possible light of hope.

Instead, it boldly insists that we must not twist this good news into good news only for ourselves. Bowing before our humble King requires more than lip-service. At a time when slavery was still legal, the song dared to say what should have been obvious: that the oppression of anyone loved by God is an offense to the gospel. Knowing our worth in Christ means seeing and 6

knowing the worth of those whose humanity and pain we would often rather ignore. His coming made us sense our worth; how then could we possibly deny the worth, the humanity, of another? How can we turn a deaf ear to their pain?

Christ will break their chains and “all oppression shall cease.” Will we be a part of this work, or dare to resist a holy God of justice?

When heaven touches earth, when the holy truly reaches into our lives, we are shattered. We fall to our knees. Our prejudices, our arrogance, and our cold-heartedness in the face of others’ suffering is exposed for what is. We tremble and repent. Those marginalized, pushed to the side, blamed for their struggles, dehumanized—they are our brothers. They are our sisters. There is no justifying indifference or silence in the face of their pain. When the holy God of the universe reaches down in love and justice, how could we do otherwise than be changed?

How could we do otherwise than devote our lives to pursuing God’s justice?

Fall.

Hear.

See. And be forever changed. This is how we proclaim Christ’s “power and glory evermore.”

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Check out inspiring books for the

Christmas season!

DISCOVERY SERIES Designed to help you deepen your understanding of God's Word and strengthen your faith, these resources can be used in personal study, small groups, and for ministry outreach.

Get Discovery Series in print by scanning the QR code 14

JOURNEY THROUGH SERIES Trying to study the entire Bible can be a challenge. Journey Through Series takes you through one book at a time, with faithful Bible teachers to help you understand and apply God's Word. It includes questions for personal reflection and a journal section for you to write your devotional notes.

Get Journey Through Series in print by scanning the QR code 15

L U K E 2:11 ( NIV )

A Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord.

DAY

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Christmas Questions

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grew up in the home of a hymn-singing grandmother, and I weekly attended Sunday school where we sang songs like “My Faith Looks Up to Thee” and “We’re Marching to Zion.”

Yet, as an adult I’m still discovering the breadth and depth of our Christian playlist—especially the songs we sing at Christmastime.

The nineteenth-century composition “Who Is He in Yonder Stall?” is particularly rich. Each verse poses a question about the identity of the One whom shepherds adored after He made His way into the world. The angelic heralds were clear that the One they would find in the stall (LUKE 2:12) was the long-awaited, God-designated ruler. “The Messiah, the Lord—has been born today in Bethlehem, the city of David!” (V. 11).

His birth, however, was but part of a grander story. The verses of the song beautifully include snapshots from the life and ministry of Jesus: His death, resurrection, and coming glory. The chorus is a confession of belief in and worship of the One featured in the story: ’Tis the Lord! O wondrous story! ’Tis the Lord! the King of glory! At His feet we humbly fall, Crown Him, crown Him Lord of all!

ARTHUR JACKSON At what point in your life have you bowed your knee in submission to Jesus, the One sent from the Father to secure our forgiveness through His death? If you haven’t believed and received Him, what keeps you from doing so today?

Heavenly Father, thank You for so loving the world that You sent Your Son to live among us and die for us so we can have a relationship with You. 16

TODAY’S SCRIPTURE

| LUKE 2:8–14

8 That night there were shepherds staying in the fields nearby, guarding their flocks of sheep. 9 Suddenly, an angel of the Lord appeared among them, and the radiance of the Lord’s glory surrounded them. They were terrified, 10 but the angel reassured them. “Don’t be afraid!” he said.

“I bring you good news that will bring great joy to all people.

11 The Savior—yes, the Messiah, the Lord—has been born today in Bethlehem, the city of David! 12 And you will recognize him by this sign: You will find a baby wrapped snugly in strips of cloth, lying in a manger.”

13 Suddenly, the angel was joined by a vast host of others— the armies of heaven—praising God and saying, 14 “Glory to God in highest heaven, and peace on earth to those with whom God is pleased.”

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M AT T H E W 1:23

They will call him Immanuel, which means “God is with us.”

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With Us

O

n a Christmas morning years ago, I stood beside my dad at the foot of the stairs and saw the sadness in his face. The effects of dementia were progressing. He realized he’d never again climb those stairs and enter the room he’d shared with my mom all these years.

Our family entered a season of waiting. Waiting for the disease to remove Daddy’s voice and thinking. Waiting for the moment when his eyes would tell us he didn’t know who we were. Waiting for the endings to come.

That Christmas I found hope in the song “O Come, O Come, Emmanuel.” It’s about waiting. The Israelites had been waiting for the Messiah to come—wondering if He really would. Their waiting, however, wasn’t in vain. Jesus was born into our world to save us from sin—His birth the fulfillment of prophecy hundreds of years before: “The virgin will conceive a child! She will give birth to a son and will call him Immanuel (which means ‘God is with us’),” said the prophet Isaiah (7:14).

Jesus’ birth redeems the endings in our life. His presence strengthens us as we wait for them and journey through them. God was with my dad that day as he looked up the flight of stairs. And one day, He will be with us, forever. He’s the end of all our painful waiting—the end of all our endings. God is with us (MATTHEW 1:23). KAREN HUANG How does the truth of God’s presence with you transform your seasons of waiting? Even while knowing that life is full of endings, why can you still look to the future with hope?

Dear Jesus, thank You for being my Immanuel.

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TODAY’S SCRIPTURE

| MAT THEW 1:20–23

20 As he considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared

to him in a dream. “Joseph, son of David,” the angel said, “do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife. For the child within her was conceived by the Holy Spirit. 21 And she will have a son, and you are to name him Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.”

22 All of this occurred to fulfill the Lord’s message through his prophet: 23 “Look! The virgin will conceive a child!

She will give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel, which means ‘God is with us.’”

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L U K E 4:19

The time of the Lord’s favor has come.

DAY

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The Light of Life

H

ow easily the words to some of our best carols escape our hearing. Take, for instance, the exquisitely gorgeous “Coventry Carol.” The first verse ushers us to a safe place.

Mary croons to her infant: Lullay, thou little tiny child; sleep well, lully, lullay.

Soon, however, the lyrics lead us where we’d rather not go.

Violence intrudes. Herod the king in his raging; Set forth upon this day; By his decree, no life spare thee; All children young to slay.

Herod had learned of the birth of the king of the Jews from the wise men (MATTHEW 2:2). Consulting the religious leaders, he then heard that the prophecies foretold Messiah’s birth in Bethlehem (VV. 4–6). So Herod ordered the slaughter of every baby boy there (V. 16). Matthew records the anguish: “Rachel weeps for her children, refusing to be comforted, for they are dead” (V. 18).

Herod thought he’d won, but he is remembered only as an archvillain. Jesus gets the last word. Decades later, He sat down in a synagogue to read another prophecy: “He has sent me to proclaim that captives will be released, that the blind will see, that the oppressed will be set free, and that the time of the Lord’s favor has come” (LUKE 4:18–19).

Jesus changed the trajectory of our story. Violence will end.

A new day is coming.

TIM GUSTAFSON What aspects of the holidays trouble you? How might the words of Jesus in Luke 4:18–19 encourage you this Christmas season?

Thank You, Father, for sending Your Son to bring peace and healing to our broken world.

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TODAY’S SCRIPTURE

| MAT THEW 2:13–18

13 After the wise men were gone, an angel of the Lord

appeared to Joseph in a dream. “Get up! Flee to Egypt with the child and his mother,” the angel said. “Stay there until I tell you to return, because Herod is going to search for the child to kill him.”

14 That night Joseph left for Egypt with the child and Mary, his mother, 15 and they stayed there until Herod’s death. This fulfilled what the Lord had spoken through the prophet: “I called my Son out of Egypt.”

16 Herod was furious when he realized that the wise men had outwitted him. He sent soldiers to kill all the boys in and around Bethlehem who were two years old and under, based on the wise men’s report of the star’s first appearance. 17 Herod’s brutal action fulfilled what God had spoken through the prophet Jeremiah: 18 “A cry was heard in Ramah— weeping and great mourning.

Rachel weeps for her children, refusing to be comforted, for they are dead.”

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R E V E L AT I O N 21:5

Look, I am making everything new!

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The Seventh Stanza

I

n 1861, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow’s wife died tragically in a fire. That first Christmas without her, he wrote in his diary, “How inexpressibly sad are the holidays.” The next year was no better, as he recorded, “‘A merry Christmas,’ say the children, but that is no more for me.”

The Civil War dragged on. Longfellow’s son was badly wounded.

As church bells announced the arrival of another painful Christmas, Longfellow picked up his pen to write “I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day.” The poem begins pleasantly, lyrically, but soon takes a dark turn. The violence of the pivotal fourth verse seems ill-suited for a Christmas carol. “Accursed” cannons “thundered,” mocking the message of peace. By the fifth and sixth verses, Longfellow’s desolation is nearly complete. “It was as if an earthquake rent the hearthstones of a continent,” he wrote. The poet nearly gave up. “And in despair I bowed my head; ‘There is no peace on earth,’ I said.”

But from the depths of that bleak Christmas, Longfellow heard the irrepressible sound of hope. And he wrote this seventh stanza.

Then pealed the bells more loud and deep: “God is not dead, nor doth He sleep; The Wrong shall fail, The Right prevail, With peace on earth, good-will to men.”

The war raged on, but it couldn’t stop Christmas. The Messiah is born! He promises, “I am making everything new!” (REVELATION 21:5).

Change is in the air.

TIM GUSTAFSON When have you faced despair? How does the promise of Revelation 21 give you hope?

Dear God, we long for the day when You will make all things new.

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TODAY’S SCRIPTURE

| RE VEL ATION 21:1–5

1 Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the old heaven and the old earth had disappeared. And the sea was also gone. 2 And I saw the holy city, the new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven like a bride beautifully dressed for her husband.

3 I heard a loud shout from the throne, saying, “Look, God’s home is now among his people! He will live with them, and they will be his people. God himself will be with them. 4 He will wipe every tear from their eyes, and there will be no more death or sorrow or crying or pain. All these things are gone forever.”

5 And the one sitting on the throne said, “Look, I am making everything new!” And then he said to me, “Write this down, for what I tell you is trustworthy and true.”

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A Final Thought | Tim Gustafson

Awakening at Christmas

O

ne August day in my early teens, I turned my bicycle up a north-country road and set out. A perfect summer breeze wafted past me. Green leaves rustled and whispered of autumn’s approach. Close by, Lake Michigan insistently nudged endless sandy beaches.

Suddenly, a wonderful, elusive feeling descended over me. I can best describe it as a longing. Gazing at the inviting road stretching before me, I wanted to keep traveling forever, pedaling into regions I’d never known. This was not a desire to run away. No, it was a yearning to run to something—a sensation of a freedom so expansive it could never quite be grasped. In that moment, I sensed something much larger than myself—something wonderful waiting out there. What was it?

These days, I get a fleeting trace of that sensation every November 1. That’s when a radio station in my hometown begins playing Christmas music. In an exhilarating moment, I’m transported to the vicinity of that nostalgic place—the place I yearn to return to even though I’ve never really been there.

But soon, I’ve had quite enough of Christmas music. Too many of the songs ring hollow. They don’t say anything. At Christmas, give me the traditional carols. Give me substance.

Give me something bigger than myself.

And so I quickly abandon the radio station for a website featuring old English carols. Their musical magnificence 32

Reach NEWER. Engage DEEPER. Impact GREATER.

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HE APPEARED, AND THE SOUL FELT ITS WORTH Christ’s birth is more than a beautiful event on a quiet night. It’s the event that changes everything. For when “He appeared . . . the soul felt its worth.”

—Monica LaRose

Now more than ever we crave a silent and holy night.

We yearn to hear the angels on high. How we wish we had peace on earth. Our best Christmas carols tap into our awareness that we need rescue. They inspire us to celebrate Jesus who came to be that perfect rescue. Join Monica LaRose and more Our Daily Bread writers to reflect on the language and the historical context of these treasured songs—and to offer prayers of thanksgiving! May they help you enjoy Christmas music more deeply and lead you to “Fall on your knees” and “Hear the angel voices”!

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