Countdown to Christmas: December 14, 2023

CATCH THE VISION! Those are the words that came to me as I was doing my devotions the other morning. I was spending some time thinking about the power and sovereignty of God. In no way, on no level, by no means, at no time does He require the help of man. But He does desire our labors. The simple fact He created human beings affirms it. We reason. We love. We learn. We are made in His very image --according to the Bible, the only created beings that are. But for what purpose? I mean, look around, this world is pretty chaotic. If He has enlisted our elbow grease, He must be pretty desperate or there must be a greater vision. Well, He's not desperate, I can tell you that.

Years ago, my mother began collecting ceramic Christmas decorations, all sorts of Victorian houses and shops. There were even little scenes: a group of carolers gathered 'round a lamppost, genteel ladies in fur-trimmed coats skimming their way across a frozen pond. Each year, Mom carefully set up her tiny village, a display limited only by her imagination (and her budget). Even as Christmas after Christmas passed, and Mom's village grew in size, even as it became a chore to unpack, arrange, repack, and store her imaginary domain, Mom loved doing it. She'd plan where each building would stand, draped snow and dotted shrubbery throughout the streets. She placed flocked Christmas trees exactly where she'd envisioned. A perfect little world unfolded just as she imagined. But for all her hobbyist acumen, Mom could never establish a real relationship with her citizens. They had no breath, no will, no reason, and no spirit. The only vision was hers, evolving just as she dictated, as she staged it.

But the God of the Bible, true, living, faithful, just, almighty, the God who created earth and all life, who came to this place as one of His very own creation --think about that for a minute! --who died in our stead for the choices we have made and continue to make with the will He so boldly gave us, this God designed humanity for His glory as we engage in relationship with Him. That was and remains His vision. A greater vision. A vision that doesn't always look as we would like it to look or transpire as we would like it to transpire; but if we place our lives --the very lives He gave us --under His authority and His protection, we can trust the vision will come to be in a glorious way. He is not some evil dictator laughing maniacally as he destroys the lives of his subjects in a bid to rule it all. Human history tells us that never works. He is Creator, Life-Giver, the only just and orderly King who came to earth in a tiny town, under lowly circumstances to bring to fruition a plan of redemption for all of creation. And He has invited us in to bring Him glory, to do His will, to invite others in, to make His creation better, to spread His love, and to enjoy the glorious benefits of His kingdom here on earth until we one day experience His full benevolence and glory in heaven. 

Do you see it? Can you catch the vision? 

Midweek: Observing Through Hearing

The following is from Stories Behind the Best-Loved Songs of Christmas by Ace Collins:

Many images accompany Christmas — fun and frolic, snow and decorations, laughter and family gatherings — images so ingrained in most people’s minds that they find it difficult to imagine the holiday any other way. Yet, in truth, Christmas only recently became the festive holiday we now cherish. For almost fifteen hundred years, the observation of the birth of Jesus was not recognized on every street corner but left to divinely called men who led a hard and demanding life, toiling in poverty and serving people who understood little about the most elementary facets of Scripture and the life of the soul. Yet these men stayed the course and left their fingerprints on every church of every denomination in the world today.

Monks were and still are solitary men, dedicating every ounce of their being to the Lord and giving up their own families to serve the family of God. Their voices were often the only ones who told of the birth of Christ and their lives the only example of Christian faith. Even to those who knew them, monks were mysterious figures. Their world was one of sacrifice, their sense of duty second only to their humble spirit. Yet from this spirit and life came one of the most beautiful and soaring carols of Christmas.

Much like the lives of most monks, “Angels We Have Heard on High” is a song steeped in great mystery. Unlike other carols whose writers are unknown but whose origins can be clearly traced to a certain time or certain place, this song seemingly appeared out of the air. Because the first to sing “Angels We Have Heard on High” lived in nineteenth century France, many believe that it must have originated there. In fact, most sources today call it a French carol.

Yet even that assumption is often called into question by songologists. What can be stated with absolute certainty is that this Christmas song must have been penned by a person who had a professional knowledge of the Bible and an incredible gift for taking Scripture and reshaping it into verse. This fact, combined with the use of Latin in the song’s chorus — making it a macaronic carol — seems to indicate that a monk or priest from the Catholic church was more than likely responsible for writing “Angels We Have Heard on High.”

Angels we have heard on high, Sweetly singing o’er the plains, And the mountains, in reply, Echoing their joyous strains.

Chorus: Gloria in excelsis Deo, Gloria in excelsis Deo.

Shepherds, why this jubilee? Why your joyous strains prolong? Say what may the tidings be, Which inspire your heav’nly song?

Chorus

Come to Bethlehem and see Him whose birth the angels sing; Come, adore on bended knee Christ the Lord, the newborn King.

Chorus

See within a manger laid, Jesus, Lord of heav’n and earth! Mary, Joseph, lend your aid, With us sing our Savior’s birth.

Chorus

...The song’s four verses embrace the angels’ visit to the lowly shepherds and the shepherds’ response. For many biblical scholars, the angels coming to men who worked menial jobs in the fields and informing them of the birth of the Son of God symbolizes that Christ came for all people, rich or poor, humble or powerful.

The angels’ words in Luke 2, “Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people,” paired with Jesus’ own parables concerning shepherds and their flocks, symbolizes that it would be the common man and not kings or religious leaders who would first carry the story of Jesus’ life to the masses.

But while the shepherds’ story of why they came to see the babe in the manger is easily identified in all the stanzas, for many who sing this old song, the chorus is an enigma.

“Gloria in excelsis Deo” means, in English, “Glory to God in the highest,” a phrase that played an important part of worship at church masses dating back to 130 A.D. During that period, Pope Telesphorus issued a decree that on the day of the Lord’s birth all churches should have special evening services. He also ordered that, at these masses, after the reading of certain Scripture or the conclusion of specific prayers, the congregation should always sing the words “Gloria in excelsis Deo.” Historical church documents reveal that monks carried this executive order throughout the land and that by the third century it was a practice used by most churches at Christmas services. 

...Another facet of this carol that would seem to tie at least its chorus to the very early Catholic church is the range of notes found in the chorus. While most modern carols move up and down and cover at least an octave and a half, thus testing the upper or lower limits of the average singer, the phrase “Gloria in excelsis Deo” barely moves at all. In addition, the melody used by the song never strays more than one octave and the verse moves through only six notes. This simplicity seems to tie the melody to early chants used by monks and taught to their congregations.

Webster defines a chant as “singing or speaking in a monotone to a hymn-like repetitive melody.” Using this approach, important elements of worship were passed on from person to person and generation to generation in the oral tradition. In a day when few read words — much less music — chants helped keep the gospel alive among the common people.

Of all the carols born in the chanting tradition, “Angels We Have Heard on High,” was one of the easiest and least challenging, despite the fact that the word “gloria” covers three measures and hits almost twenty different notes. Unlike others, which failed to inspire as they taught, this song lifted hearts while telling the story. It embraced the spirit that a called man of God would have felt as he gave up everything to serve his Lord.

... “Angels We Have Heard on High” speaks of the incredible, special relationship between Heaven and earth, God and man, like few songs ever have. It embraces one of the most important elements of faith just as the shepherds embraced the Good News they were given two thousand years ago.

The mystery of who wrote this song points back to the lives of all those who are called to spread the gospel, to keep the story alive, to provide a means for people everywhere to hear and know the message that came to earth on that first Christmas. One of those nameless servants wrote this song to share the story with others. Though he has long been forgotten, what he believed is alive in not only his song but in hundreds of millions of souls around the world. His prayer has been answered: the angels are still heard, the Savior still welcomed, and the soul still stirred.

~ from Stories Behind the Best-Loved Songs of Christmas, by Ace Collins

Countdown to Christmas: December 11, 2023

The CELEBRATION continues!! Except, right now, I'm thinking about blurred out faces and adulterated words like "family" and "love." Seems a little cynical, I know, and very angry --something I was once very good at. This is the season of giving and joy, time to put away all that stuff and be at peace! you say. And I will concur. However, this is also the season in which those who have lost loved ones struggle to find their "new normal," ways to celebrate which not only remember those who are not with us but also move on from that point. Let's face it, it wouldn't be such a struggle if family wasn't such a big deal. It wouldn't be such a struggle if love and being together wasn't such an important component of our celebrations. It wouldn't be such a struggle if those photos we use to capture the wonder and excitement of our merrymaking didn't also so accurately capture our empty spaces or broken hearts. How important it is to spend time with those we love and how strange is it that our holiday celebrations can look very different from year to year. We discover new things to do or find we don't have the means --or maybe even the desire --to celebrate in the ways of the past. But when those who once celebrated with us are no longer present, or those who used words like "love" or "forever" or "family" are no longer returning our calls, that can be a whole different kind of pain. 

This year, we are celebrating with a new family member, someone not related by birth or marriage, not a friend we've known for years; but a young man longing for a forever home. And while that may seem noble or exciting, I can't help but think of every home, every place in which he has spent (celebrated?) Christmas Day. Family photos which cannot be posted publicly. Awkward introductions and unfamiliar faces. Prying questions or no questions at all. Christmas gifts which fulfill every child's desire but never seem to meet that need. Rejection, drama, acceptance that ices over at the mention of his "real mom," unconditional love that lasts until it doesn't. This new family, the grown-ups, the ones who chose this, the ones with all the control are eager to celebrate abundance, but are we able to understand how he is reeling with loss? Can we appreciate the pain this season might bring, the pain of other homes he believed would be forever, the pain of being the only person whose history has not yet been woven into the fabric of Christmases past? 

By God's grace, this Christmas we will celebrate without my mother. I say "by God's grace" because I know where she is, and she is better than you or I. I also say "by God's grace" because, cognitive decline robbed my mom of Christmas and us of my mom long ago. It was, for us, a blessing in that we have grown accustomed to her not being present. And I say "by God's grace" because I believe losing Mom just days before this young man came to us was Providential. I have been walking in gain and loss simultaneously ever since. As I appreciate the room and the time we have to care for him, I mourn the loss that gave us these things. As I walk in that dichotomy day after day, I can understand how he does as well. His journey, his story and all his pain have brought him to us; ours has brought us to him. As we figure out ways to celebrate together, as we determine what we want and do not want, we are all attempting to be mindful of the awkward beauty and the painful joy of our situation. 

And now that I think about it, I'm not sure there is any better picture of the poverty and glory of a God-child leaving the splendor of heaven to die for those who continue to despise Him today. But for those who know Him, the CELEBRATION continues!