1 December 4, 2015 Florida Hospital Seventh-day Adventist Church Matthew 11:28 & Luke 2:15 Christmas Carols: O Come All Ye Faithful, by Andy McDonald For the month of December each Sabbath we will be visiting one of the familiar Christmas Carols. We will discover that more than just a song to sing these carols are filled with scripture, theology, meaning and message that flesh out the story of Christmas, which is the story of Jesus. It is my hope that for all Christmas to come when you again sing these carols the rich truth will strike you over and over and encourage your heart. There are at least two sidesto Christmas. There is the joy and wonder and warmth. There s the nostalgia and traditions that bring a sense of completeness and connection and belonging. There s the thrill of secret planning or making or arranging for just the right gift and the anticipation of the joy when it is open. There s the music and parties and celebrations with friends and family. There are great traditions and of course the story of Christmas. That and much more combine to be the good side of Christmas. And then there s that other side. I asked people this week, what s the worst part about Christmas. And for those with busy lives it is the increased busyness, shopping, cards to get out, food to be made, homes to decorate, etc. etc. all while life doesn t stop and provide any extra time. There s the crowds and craziness of the shopping scene There s that fear that the present we thought was perfect at the moment of acquisition has somehow deteriorated under the tree and that it won t be loved by one receiving it.
There is the pain of memories of those who once celebrated the season with us who are now gone some have died others just moved away. Family dynamics may bring joy to one home and terror to another. Counselors know that the season brings extra trauma as it is the first Christmas without without the job we had last year, post a great career now that retirement has come by choice of forced, without the kids coming home, without the spouse we thought we d spend our whole lives with but they made other choices, without the ability to give gifts to those we love. So when we gather for a service near Christmas and we sing that familiar Christmas Carol originally written in Latin by John Wade in 1751 and translated into English by Frederick Oakeley in 1841 those great words may not, at first singing, be able to be sung or embraced by everyone every season. O come, all ye faithful, joyful and triumphant. Yea for all who can jump in and join in all the good side of Christmas. Yea for all who come to this season feeling or sensing or maybe just desiring to be a faithful, joyful, and triumphant believer. But even as we have already sung and pushed ourselves toward the spirit of Christmas, I believe embedded in the text of this familiar hymn is truth to turn our brains and then our hearts, our thoughts and our emotions toward faith, joy and triumph even when that s not how we arrived at this season. The first verse and the repeated refrain following each verse are invitational. What a simple and great word it is to hear come. Come with us come by after you get off work come have lunch with come join the party come see come. To hear that word is to begin to sense that we are wanted. The word invites fellowship, connection, a sense of being desired. Even when a person hears, come on really? it is someone calling a bluff and seeking to get back together around reality and truth. 2
3 Across the world in school plays and in front of fireplaces at home, and even on grand stages this season we will hear the familiar words, And there were in that same country, shepherd abiding in their fields, keeping watch over their flocks by night. They had no idea what was about to happen. They were about to be surprised by incredible, eternal, prophesied, proclamation. God is about to catch them off guard and reveal to them the mystery of the ages. Now shepherds in those days were a bit despised in their culture. They couldn t observe all the proper ceremonial washings when they were caring or sheep. The orthodox practitioners of the national religion turned up their noses at the shepherds whose job disabled them from fully obeying all the ceremonial laws. Their social/religious place in society adds to the story and shock the shepherds had that angels would show up and talk to them. They are just lying on the hillside doing their job. Suddenly the angel of the Lord appeared among them, and the glory of the Lord surrounded them, and they were terribly frightened. But the angel reassured them. Don t be afraid! I bring you good news of great joy for everyone! The Savior yes, the Messiah, the Lord has been born tonight in Bethlehem, the city of David! And this is how you will recognize him: You will find the baby lying in a manger, wrapped snugly in strips of cloth. Suddenly it wasn t one angel but a whole host of the armies of heaven praising God: Glory to God in the highest and on earth peace good will to all people. You know what it s like when you are in the dark and all of a sudden someone turns on a bright light. It sort of blinds you. And then when they turn it off, the little perception you might have had before in the dark is gone and it seems extra dark until your eyes readjust.
As soon as one of the shepherds had sort of recovered from this amazing experience he said, Come on, let s go into Bethlehem and see this wonderful thing that has happened, which the Lord told us about! \ They wouldn t have written like Wade did, O come all ye faithful joyful and triumphant. They didn t see themselves as faithful or triumphant, but they were filled with joy at this revelation and as they went to see Jesus it was in that very going that they proved themselves faithful, and knowing that this was baby is the savior, the messiah, the Lord they become, in their worship of him, triumphant. When the one shepherd said come on let s go the Bible says they ran to the village and found Mary and Joseph and there was the baby lying in the manger. They were telling their story to anyone who would listen. And they went back to their fields and flocks, glorifying and praising God for what the angels had told them and because they had seen the child! And not just a child but the one born king of angels. Today we think of this great carol as having 3 verses but Wade wrote 4 and later writers added 3 more and eventually a 4th so it is possible today to find an 8 verse version. What we think of as the middle or second verse was actually the third verse originally. It captured the angels singing to the shepherds and it invites a continual chorus. Sing choirs of angels, sing in exultation, o sing, all ye citizens of heaven above! Glory to God, all glory in the highest! O come, let us adore Him Christ the Lord. But the context of singing and glorifying is found in the true second verse which I had never sung before this week. The wording is a little awkward to sing, but oh the glory of the words. God of God, light of light, Lo, he abhors not the Virgin's womb; 4
5 Very God, begotten, not created: O come, let us adore Him, (3 ) Christ the Lord. It was a big debate in 325 AD when Constantine, the Roman Emperor, summoned 300 leaders of the Christian Church to meet in Nicea, city in what is to day modern Turkey. This famous meeting was called the Council of Nicea and the whole assembly was gathered to wrestle with the question, Who is Jesus Christ? There were some delegates led by a man named Arius who insisted that Jesus was just a man -- not God in human flesh. They were willing to agree that Jesus was the best man who had ever lived. They agreed that Jesus was sent in a very special way from God. They even agreed that Jesus is the son of God in the sense that God was so pleased with Jesus performance that He made him His son by adoption. But they insisted that Jesus is not the same thing as God that He was of another substance than God. Fortunately there were others who insisted that Jesus in is fact God in human flesh, the same substance with God Himself. These were the ones who were willing to stand firm for the truth as it had clearly been revealed in the Word. This great carol echoes the reality that Jesus isn t just a great man Jesus, that baby in the manger in Bethlehem is God in the flesh. It echoes John 1 where the apostle writes, In the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. In him was life, and that life was the light of everyone. Paul says much the same in Colossians 1: 15 He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. For by him all things
6 were created; things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things were created by him and for him. He is before all things and in him all things hold together. For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him, and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, or by making peace through his blood, shed on the cross. Paul calls it the plan laid before the foundation of the earth. Somewhere in eternity the Trinity sat down and made a plan that would open their circle wider with the creation of humans and then after sin marred their plan, they will not be defeated, and one of them comes to earth to once again include us in their great dance of love. Galatians 4:4 But when the time had fully come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under the law, to redeem those under law that we might receive the full rights of sons. no longer a slave you are sons and daughters and heirs of God s kingdom. When we grasp the great truth of this second verse, we understand this is no Christmas fairy tale. This baby in a manger in a barn in Bethlehem, this one about whom angels sing, this is God of God, light of light, Very God, begotten, not created. And so we join our voices and sing with the choirs of angels and allthe citizens of heaven Yea, Lord, we greet thee, born this happy morning; Jesus, to thee be glory given! Word of the Father, now in flesh appearing! O come, let us adore Him, O come, let us adore Him, O come, let us adore Him, Christ the Lord. And we want to come and adore him.
7 I don t believe the shepherds were ever the same again after visiting that manger in the barn in Bethlehem. Whether we arrive at Christmas this year full of joyful triumph or in pain from loss or lack there is healing and wholeness when we come and behold him born the King of angels. The Brooklyn Tabernacle Choir recorded a simple song called Only a Look, the words go like this: Only a look at Jesus, also bowed down with care He has promised to defend you He will all your burdens share. Only a look, Only a look Can turn you away from sin. Oh, one look will bring you salvation Eternal life to win. Only a look at Jesus, He ll be a constant friend He will bring you peace and comfort And go with you to the end. Hannah and Alastair Gallagher wanted to make a difference. They decided to put off and maybe end up foregoing having biological children and they believed they were equipped and qualified not just to adopt a child but siblings or a child wtih special needs. In February of 2013 they were matched with Lucy who has some special needs and her brother James from the foster care system. There was a season of getting used to one another, and for the kids to believe it was permanent. But as Christmas neared there was a new joy for all four of them as they decorated the tree, read their Advent Calendar, planned to be a the church s Christmas service and to grasp the reality that Christmas is an adoption story. All of us are like orphans with special needs who need adoption and Jesus comes to make us his brothers and sisters.
Let this familiar Christmas Carol remind us of who we are. We aren t alone, or lost, or helpless or hopeless, we are children of God brothers and sisters of Jesus Christ not because of something we did so wise or wonderful, but because of the action of the one who is God of God, Light of Light, very begotten not created. Christian faith is not something we do that gets us connected to God or gets us into the circle of life shared by the Father, Son and Spirit. Jesus Christ has done that. Faith is not something that we do that moves us from the unforgiven column to the forgiven column. That was done in Jesus. Faith is not something we do that gets us reconciled, justified, included, adopted, redeemed, saved. Jesus Christ has already done all of that. The fundamental character of Christian faith is that of discovery. Faith, as Luther said somewhere, is like the eye. It does not create what it sees; it sees what is there. (Kruger, Baxter, The Great Dance) Maybe you ve come to Christmas this year from the bad side. Or maybe it s from the very good side, but you ve never realized how much there is to come and adore. All you have to do to step into the wonderful reality that Jesus has created by his incarnation, life, death and resurrection is to express your eye of faith and see what is there. Just tell Jesus I accept you and your gift, thanks. And what he has done for everyone becomes affective for you. And really one of the best responses, O come, ( you are invited in, your are included, you are wanted,) O come, let us adore Him O come, let us adore Him, O come, let us adore Him, Christ, the Lord. 8
What s the best part of Christmas for you? What s the worst part of Christmas or what spoils Christmas for you? How do you think you would have reacted if you had been one of the shepherds the angels visited? One of the shepherds said Come, let s go see. How do you feel when someone says come to you? How would the angel announcement make it easier to believe this baby was no ordinary baby? How hard or easy is it for you to believe that Jesus is God of God, light of light, Very God, begotten not created? What do you think about the idea of being adopted into God s family? How do you look at Jesus today? Why do you think we humans so much want to achieve our standing with God rather than accept that we are accepted in Jesus? How will you live a life of adoration of Christ this week? What s the best part of Christmas for you? What s the worst part of Christmas or what spoils Christmas for you? How do you think you would have reacted if you had been one of the shepherds the angels visited? One of the shepherds said Come, let s go see. How do you feel when someone says come to you? How would the angel announcement make it easier to believe this baby was no ordinary baby? How hard or easy is it for you to believe that Jesus is God of God, light of light, Very God, begotten not created? What do you think about the idea of being adopted into God s family? How do you look at Jesus today? Why do you think we humans so much want to achieve our standing with God rather than accept that we are accepted in Jesus? How will you live a life of adoration of Christ this week? Service archives are available at www.hospitalchurch.org Service archives are available at www.hospitalchurch.org