Luke 2:10-14 The Best Christmas Carol December 23, 2018pm www.newhopefwbc.com 1285 Ne w Hope R oad Joelton, TN 37080 6 1 5. 7 4 6. 6 4 0 3 READ Luke 2:10-14 If we are not careful, familiarity can rob us of some big blessings in our worship. I doubt that very few of us could name some of the themes that we sang about this morning. We would probably even struggle just trying to list off the songs that were sung. Phrases that were thought on, written down, painstakingly rewritten in order to convey the best truth and most beauty are often times glossed over without a single thought of appreciation. God s people are commanded to sing over 300 times in Scripture. Why? Why sing? Why is this form of artful expression lifted above all the other in Scripture? Why are we not commanded to paint or invent or shape? Well basically because singing can be done by anyone and everyone with the exception to a few impairments. But also, God does not work in the abstract. He is interested in conveying Truth not just mere opinion that seems to rule all other forms of art. And singing is the highest level of verbal communication available to mankind. A dialogue (or conversation) is the most base form. Little thought is put into what is said. You do not plan out or edit an ongoing conversation. Corey M. Minter Page 1 of 8
Written prose would come next. Unrhymed but still mindful and edited sentences combined to express the exact thing which you are trying to say. Poetry is an even more thought out form of communication. It not only deals with what to say but also in saying it descriptively and vividly. Poetry does not just state a fact; it describes it and makes that statement attractive by how it is said. Song is the highest form of verbal communication because it brings together poetic lyrics accompanied by a meticulous melody. Harmonies and rhythms work together in the song to not just state a fact and not even just to make the statement attractive with poetic words but to actually make the listener feel the message of what is being sung. More than just a command to sing, Jesus even gives us an example to follow in that He sang among His disciples after the Passover just before they left for the Garden of Gethsemane, and so we Christians sing. We sing all throughout the year but especially during the Christmas season. These Christmas hymns that we sing are called carols because of the French. To carol, in French, is to say or sing something jubilantly, and so we proclaim Christ s birth jubilantly. One of the things that I love about our hymn book is the international favor of the songs recorded. Just flip through the hymn book some time (Christmas songs are numbers 115-150) and notice all of the authors of the lyrics (on the left) and the names of the composer/tunes (on the right). You will find an eclectic collection of poets, pastors, theologians, composers and symphonists, and you will also find French, Latin, Polish, German, Appalachian (I Wonder as I Wander) and Slave Spiritual roots. Corey M. Minter Page 2 of 8
Christians have been singing of Christ s birth in their own style and their own language all over the world since the 3rd century Oxy-rhyn-chus Hymn and probably even before that. They are sung as chants or a cappella or with instrumentation or one line melodies. Just think, as we are meeting tonight in Tennessee and have sung songs about the birth of Christ, millions of others have met all over the world and sung many of the same songs in different languages. As diverse and disagreeing as this world is, praise God His name is on their lips, some even right now. Some of our most beloved Christmas songs have deep, heartwrenching stories attached to them. Handel s Messiah came in the twilight of his career when most all notable critics claimed that he was washed up, that his inspiration is exhausted and that His great days are over. But finally, inspiration struck, and Handel worked feverishly, finishing an oratorio on Easter morning in 1742. Legend says that as the fifty-seven year old musician played the piano with his palsied fingers, he began to weep. When the piece came to a close with the now famous Hallelujah Chorus, King George II, so moved by the power of its message, stood causing all in attendance to stand. Standing for that piece of music is now universally recognized as tradition. Messiah. Deliverer. Savior of a musician s career, his passion, but more importantly his soul. I heard the Bells on Christmas Day is written by the famous American poet Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. The lyrics are moving, but the path that lead to Longfellow s writing those lines are heartbreaking. His wife died in his arms after a freak fire in their cabin. Longfellow, himself, received horrible Corey M. Minter Page 3 of 8
burns, and he was plunged into a deep depression after becoming widowed. That Christmas and the next he wrote in his journal, How inexpressibly sad are all holidays, and the next, A merry Christmas' say the children, but that is no more for me. The next Christmas of 1863 found him in Washington DC nursing his oldest son Charles back to health after a severe injury at the Battle of New Hope Church in Virginia. That is where he penned the words that spoke of his inner turmoil but also of that final triumph. I heard the bells on Christmas Day Their old, familiar carols play, and wild and sweet The words repeat Of peace on earth, good-will to men! And in despair I bowed my head; There is no peace on earth, I said; For hate is strong, And mocks the song Of peace on earth, good-will to men! 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. Now, not all of our beloved carols have such great stories behind them. Some just come like a flash of inspiration quickly. Joyful Joyful We Adore Thee was penned by a pastor/ ambassador/ Navy chaplain, Henry van Dyke. While speaking at Williams College in Massachusetts, he was struck by the beauty of Berkshire Mountains. Listening to Beethoven s Ode to Joy, he wrote all four stanzas in a single night and gifted it to the college s president at breakfast the next morning. O Little Town of Bethlehem was written by Phillips Brooks, a Bostonian pastor who was able to spend a Christmas Eve at the Church of the Nativity in Corey M. Minter Page 4 of 8
1865. Three years later, in hopes of conjuring up some of that experience for his congregation, he wrote the five verses of O Little Town of Bethlehem. Not having much musical ability, and believing his words more of lyrics than poetry, he tasked Lewis Redner, his church s organist, with composing a tune for it. Well, Redner battled with the project for days without resolution until the night before the Christmas service where the song was expected to be sung. He woke in the middle of the night, jotted down the melody on lined paper and went back to sleep. That is why the tune of hymn #128 is named St. Louis. (Brooks spelled it as the city to not embarrass Lewis Redner). I am sure you have a favorite Christmas carol, but the greatest Christmas song ever sung was not penned at the last minute. It was millennia in the making. And it was not sung in a concert hall but to shepherds on a hillside. Luke 2:10 Then the angel said to them, Do not be afraid, for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy which will be to all people. 11 For there is born to you this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. 12 And this will be the sign to you: You will find a Babe wrapped in swaddling cloths, lying in a manger. 13 And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying: 14 Glory to God in the highest, And on earth peace, goodwill toward men! Corey M. Minter Page 5 of 8
They were scared out of their minds. One moment all they hear are the sheep and howling of wild dogs. All they see are the stars. All they feel is the brisk, hill-country air. The next moment, they see a warrior of light straight from the throne room of the Almighty. They hear his booming voice. They feel God s glory all around them. As if this angel s coming to low-caste shepherds was not proof enough, he assures them in his message that the good news that he is about to proclaim is for everyone. Regardless of your sin, regardless of your standing, your social stigmas. No matter your title or lack thereof. This message is for you, and it is good, and it will bring great joy to those who accept it. 11 For there is born to you this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. For there is born to you. What strange wording. When a child is born, we say that the parents had a baby, that she birthed him, that he provided for him, but here, the angel says, There is born to you. In that one small line, I believe the angel is declaring that there is someone like you born for you. His birth is for your great joy. His life is for your great teaching. His death is for your great redeeming. He is like you born into this world, wrapped in flesh and blood, but He is so much more. 11 For there is born to you this day in the city of David. It happened on a particular day and in a particular place. This day, this town was created for this very moment. This is not Once upon a time... This is not rooted in mythology and folklore, but actual, verifiable, historical times and places. Real people. Corey M. Minter Page 6 of 8
A certain day. A day when Caesar Augustus was the emperor of Rome, Quirinius was governor of Syria, Herod was prefect of Galilee. It was a certain day sunrise and sunset, breakfasts, lunches and dinners. But it was also a day which was planned out before the foundations of the world were laid out. An actual place. The city of David a small town, littered with stories of greatness from years gone by. Ruth met her redeemer here; David was anointed as king here. Other, more painful stories of disappointment and empty promises clog up the city streets. The prophet Micah said this place would be great one day. He said that a child born here was going to be a ruler over Israel, but that was before Rome moved in, and now, this small town is pregnant with angry people, interrupted from their everyday lives to have to travel back to their small hometown and pay a ridiculous tax. This is an actual city. It is found on a map. It has its own postal code 90907, and it has its own history of events. It s as real as Joelton. 11 For there is born to you this day in the city of David A Savior. Call his name Jesus, [Joseph] for he will save his people from their sins. If you have ever sinned even one sin in your life, you need a Savior. We all need a Savior. All sin is against God, and only He can grant you forgiveness. 11 For there is born to you this day in the city of David A Savior Who is Christ. In Greek, Cristos. The Anointed One, which is what Messiah means. The Chosen One. He is the One God the Father chose to be able to save you from your sin. Corey M. Minter Page 7 of 8
11 For there is born to you this day in the city of David A Savior Who is Christ The Lord. The One to Whom we owe everything. It is in Him that we live, move and have our being. All-knowing, All-powerful, Ever-present Sovereign Lord of everything. 12 And this will be the sign to you: You will find a Babe wrapped in swaddling cloths, lying in a manger. The angel does not just tell the shepherds the WHO of the Gospel Jesus, but he also tells them HOW they can meet Him. There is a baby in Bethlehem, lying in an animal feeding trough, wearing rags...that s the Savior! That s the Christ! He is Lord! To spur them into action or maybe because Heaven itself could not hold back the joy of the incarnation: 13 And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God... These are military terms multitude of the heavenly host. These are angels created for one purpose to do the bidding and will of a Holy God. They burn with His Shekinah Glory because they have just come from the foot of His throne, where they have for millennia, ever since their creation sung one song, Holy! Holy! Holy! But they have come to the chorus of that Christmas carol, and they sing the very purpose of Christmas the WHY of the Gospel, 14 Glory to God in the highest, And on earth peace, goodwill toward men! The point of Christmas, the reason that Christ came incarnate to His creation (which is the hallmark of our faith) is so God would get glory and mankind could get peace with God. Corey M. Minter Page 8 of 8