Tree Trimming #15: O Come, O Come, Emmanuel

"Do not say, 'Why is it that the former days were better than these?'  For it is not from wisdom that you ask about this.

Ecclesiastes 7:10

Okay, so it is clear that when it comes to me asking about older songs, I'm not wise at all.

Honestly, one of the saddest things about my love of Christmas carols is the discovery of how far (generally speaking) the church has fallen from heavy, scripture-saturated, lyrical content in music.  Most of the Christmas hymns that I like fall in this category.  But I think there's an argument to be made that O Come, O Come, Emmanuel might rank #1 in this category.  I'll offer brief commentary on my favorite verses from the song:

O Come O Come Emmanuel

And ransom captive Israel

That mourns in lonely exile here

Until the Son of God appear

Rejoice!  Rejoice!  Emmanuel

Shall come to thee O Israel.

I think that there's a double-entendre here.  There's a historical re-telling of Israel's bondage in Babylon where it was hard to sing the songs of Zion.  But after returning to the land, the Son of God appeared.  At the same time, there's a very rich sense where "the Israel of God", both Gentile and Jewish sons of Abraham according to faith in Christ are held in exile.  1st Peter 2:11-12 declare believers are merely "pilgrims passing through".  As aliens and strangers to this world system, we too cry out "O Come O Come Emmanuel"!  Advent goes both ways.

O Come Thou Rod of Jesse Free

Thine own from Satan's tyranny

From depths of hell thy people save

And give them victory o'er the grave!

Rejoice!  Rejoice!  Emmanuel

Shall Come to thee O Israel

Isaiah 11:1-2 tells us the shocking news that though Jesse's tree became a mere stump, a rod or shoot would come jutting out of it.  Beyond that, a branch from it's roots would come forth and bear fruit.  Jesus is that shoot since the Davidic line of kings was virtually destroyed by Babylonians, and then trampled upon further by Greeks and Romans.  And yet, from a descendant of Jesse (the father of King David) Jesus stands out as a very different kind of king.  His ultimate victory isn't over Philistines or Amorites, but over hell and death itself.

O Come Adonai, Lord of Might

Who to Thy tribes on Sinai's height

Didst give to thy people the law

In cloud and majesty, and awe

Rejoice!  Rejoice!  Emmanuel

Shall Come to thee O Israel.

It is hard to say for sure, but I wonder if the author of this carol is saying that the giver of the law itself is the pre-incarnate Christ?  I wonder.  The imagery of this stanza brings to mind Hebrews 12:18-24 where the contrast is made between the "shock and awe" of Mt. Sinai and the joyous celebration in Mt. Zion.  For indeed the law was given with numerous warnings and in such a way that the people would have fled if not for terror that God would overtake and deal with them even  more severely.

But the coming of Emmanuel is enhanced because of how the law shakes us at our core.  We are aware of our horrible standing before the tribunal of God's holiness.  As Sinai shook under the presence of God, so our souls are naked and ashamed due to the awful weight of sin's folly.  Therefore, when the Spirit makes the sweetness of God's grace towards us in Christ evident to us, we rejoice at the coming of Emmanuel.  God with us is not a terror, but makes us merry.  We are clothed in Christ's garments and not our feeble fig leaves.  He brings security in peace and not enmity.  We are invited to the most lavish meal where Christ drinks from the fruit of the vine anew in His Father's kingdom.  And His banner over us is love.

Even if the former days are better than these days, it is for certain that the future days are better than them all.  O Come O Come Emmanuel!

Tree Trimmings #13: Silent Night

While searching for the full set of lyrics to Silent Night, I was surprised by two things: 1) I knew all three verses!  That doesn't always happen as I was expecting to find an additional 1-2 sections of the song that I had never heard sung before.  2)  I came across a book with an amazing title:  Silent Night--The Remarkable 1914 Truce.  It was a story I vaguely remembered hearing.

On Christmas Eve in 1914, in the midst of what was later to be called World War I (WWI), soldiers from opposing sides agreed on a truce.  According to an article from The New York Times, approximately 100,000 soldiers (mainly Germans and British) participated first cautiously then happily in the cease-fire.

The Christmas Truce sounded a lot like what many of us would recognize as part of celebrating the day:  plenty of drinking, watching and playing sports like "football" (aka "soccer" to most Americans), singing Christmas carols, decorating Christmas trees, listening to Christmas sermons, etc.  While the vast majority of troops enjoyed an end to hostilities, a certain German corporal who's first name was Adolf and last name was Hitler scolded his counterparts for failing to honor their obligations as soldiers to engage in war.

All in all, it was the first time in months that the noise of war was muffled.  For once, they enjoyed a Silent Night.

But it was short-lived.  By December 26th, hostilities were renewed and men who sang together, shared meals around the same table and even professed to worship the same God renewed the antagonism and the call to arms was answered.  This wasn't a bittersweet moment, but a hope that died as the flower of tragedy bloomed.

Now I don't want to be labeled a pacifist, but it seems to me that people who could celebrate Christmas with "the enemy" and then return to being enemies within a 24-hour period don't really understand the holy day.  Christmas is more than an interruption.  It's the celebration of God's decision to halt hostilities and make for peace with His enemies; eternal peace through the death of His Son and ultimate restoration through the resurrection of Christ.   Romans 5:1 declares,

"Therefore since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ."  

As much as one might criticize those soldiers, the challenge for us all is the same.  Will Christmas merely be an interruption in our self-centered lives where we give gifts as if to exonerate ourselves from the shame of our self-absorption all year long?  Will Christmas merely be a cease-fire between ourselves and God as we put on a good face for Mom by coming to church for the sake of the day but not for the sake of the Savior celebrated on that day?  Prayerfully Christmas will not be a day to enjoy pretend peace with God.  Especially when He has gone so far out of His way to offer permanent peace.  

Tree Trimmings #10: Midnight Clear

That glorious song of old...

Some people have problems with Christmas carols because there are too many verses.  My problem with Christmas carols is not knowing ALL the verses.  And as a result of not knowing all that was being said in "It Came Upon the Midnight Clear", I slept on it. Then I discovered this verse,

And ye, beneath life's crushing load,

whose forms are bending low,

who toil along the climbing way,

with painful steps and slow

look now! for glad and golden hours

come swiftly on the wing.

O rest beside the weary road

and hear the angels sing!

Minister Edmund Hamilton wrote this song in 1849 with slavery in the backdrop.  Sketching with his stanzas, even 165 years later we can easily envision the "forms bending low... with painful steps and slow".  He called slaves to receive encouragement from heaven that better days would come quickly.  At the same time, he called for justice with and peace with these lines,

Yet with the woes of sin and strife

the world has suffered long

beneath the angel strain have rolled

two-thousand years of wrong

And man at war with man hears not

the love song which they bring

O hush the noise ye men of strife

and hear the angels sing.

Minister Hamilton understood that he had to reject the false tyranny of "either, or" and with wisdom he embraced the "both, and" in this case.  It would not have been enough to merely recite platitudes of comfort to slaves without a call to repentance for all who have participated in "2000 years of wrong".  He was a man for his times and we are in need of his faithful echo today.  May God give us grace to lay down our burdensome sins and trust the One Who says His yoke is easy and His burden is light (Matthew 11:28-30). 

This Christmas season the great challenge for so many of us will be to quiet ourselves enough to hear from heaven.  Shopping, holiday travel plans, family gatherings, and church activities--yes, even church activities--can interrupt us from focusing on God's message to us.  Which sounds from Babel's tower are muffling the Messiah's music?  May God make us wise and willing to count "our richest gain a loss" if we don't seek FIRST His kingdom and righteousness this Christmas. 

Tree Trimmings #9: O Little Town of Bethlehem (Revised)

How still we see thee lie!

I have loved Christmas carols for as long as I can remember.  I knew I loved Christmas carols when I realized that I enjoyed singing along with my father to Luciano Pavarotti's rendition of "O Holy Night".  Dad was a huge Pavarotti fan, which, to a kid with hip-hop sensibilities, was utterly embarrassing and quite confusing.  But somehow, I could overlook the operatic style when it came to Christmas music. 

Anybody else wanna admit growing up in a house with this album on vinyl?

At some point, Dad got a Nat King Cole album with Christmas songs that were all in English.  Okay, besides the little Latin in "Adeste Fideles", it was mostly English.  That was pretty huge.  I had heard Bing Crosby, the Vienna Boys Choir, congregational singing in the Mass, and of course, Pavarotti.  But I had never heard anything like jazzy, soulful voice of Nat King Cole before.  It was on that album, to my recollection, that I first heard "O Little Town of Bethlehem".

The other King at Christmas time.

As a child, I enjoyed the melodies and knew that the songs were good in that they were about Jesus.  How much of my enjoyment of the music was tied up to the nearness of gift-getting?  I don't know.  But I know this: I had no idea what theological treasures these scripture saturated songs were. 

For Christ is born of Mary

And gathered all above

While mortals sleep the angels keep

their watch of wondering love

Those last two lines alone say so much to me now.  We can picture Mary who, having travailed in labor to "deliver the child who would soon deliver her", exhausted and falling asleep.  Naturally, Joseph is bravely trying to stay awake but he succumbs to the night too.  At some late hour all Bethlehem slept.  Not just physically but in terms of awareness. 

Who was awake to say that they were fully understanding what on Earth God was doing... on Earth?  Truthfully all mankind slept as the proverbial  "Thief in the Night" (1st Thessalonians 5:2) came as an infant to bind the strong man and plunder his house (Matthew 12:28-29).  Though in deep slumber, not a man in 10 million could have dreamed what God had already done in Christ nor what He was about to do on their behalf.

The angels, on the other hand, kept their watch of wondering love.  Of all the expressions that could have been used to describe the way in which angels gazed from glory, the author, Phillips Brooks, used "wondering love".   It's hard for me to see the term and not think of the following passage:

"As to this salvation, the prophets who prophesied of the grace that would come to you made careful searches and inquiries, seeking to know what person or time the Spirit of Christ within them was indicating as he predicted the sufferings of Christ and the glories that would follow... things into which even angels long to look."

1st Peter 1:10-12

Truly familiarity breeds contempt.  We are kidding ourselves if we think that we have exhausted or mastered the mysteries of the season.  There's no way we should ever be complacent in our thoughts concerning the incredible cost and condescension involved in the Incarnation of Christ.

And while I think it's worth the intellectual rigor, the goal of the Christian is not merely a cold and systematic comprehension of the Trinitarian exploit to tabernacle among men.  Our ultimate aim should be to arrive at the disposition of the angelic host: beholding Jesus with reverent awe and "wondering love". 

Tree Trimming #3: Hark! The Herald Angels SING

So, I'm not expert on tree-trimming and ornaments.  I'm not even a regular at decorating trees at Christmas time.  Nana and I have been married since 2008 and this is our first tree together.  I admit, I am partially motivated by our eldest daughter, Jael, and her growing awareness of the Christmas season.  I fondly recall being enthralled by the glow of our Christmas tree growing up.  And while I want to help create beautiful memories for her sake as well as Noel, our second daughter, I'm not satisfied to merely create aesthetics.  I'm out for content as well.

That's why I was so excited when my wife told me about Adornaments and Adore-Hymns which she heard about via Family Life.  I was happy to discover EverThineHome and they will be featured prominently in this little series I'm attempting to write up for Advent/Christmas.  The first up is one of my favorite Christmas Carols: Hark! The Herald Angels Sing.

Luke 2:8-12 gives us the Father's public service announcement, "It's a Boy, He's My Son, and He's your Savior".  When the PSA is supplemented by a few key tidbits to help identify the best Stranger ever to visit the planet,  Dr. Luke goes on to explain how,

"And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying: 'Glory to God in the highest and on earth peace, good will toward men.'"

Luke 2:12-13

I'm interested in the word "host" here because it reminds me of how older English translations of scripture have supplied us with, "The Lord God of Hosts", as a title for God.  This interests me because the word "host/hosts" was closely associated with the word "horde/hordes" or even "army/armies".  If this reading is correct, it gives me a very powerful image worth exploring on this day in particular.

What can we say about the Lord God Omnipotent Who sends His Only Begotten to earth--a world in 100% rebellion against Him--as a helpless baby?  He sends these angels almost as an imperial escort--a fantastic display of His strength and glory--but they only appear to shepherds on the fringes of society in a forgotten outpost in the backwoods of Judea.

Consider the power of a single angel who alone brought judgement upon the enemies of God's people in 2nd Kings 19:35.  Well, we have a whole army of such celestial beings.  What should they say to vile sinners?  What should they do to humans who have boldly shaken their fists collectively against their Maker?  No acts of retribution, no show of force, no quelling of rebellion, no police action.  Instead of these, singing.

Singing?!?  Yes, singing,

"Peace on Earth and mercy mild, God and sinners reconciled!"

I have been greatly troubled this evening and transfixed at my twitter feed regarding this whole Eric Garner case.  The protesters have moved me to tears, the apparent divide in some sectors of the church has left me dumbfounded, and watching the video footage all over again... Lord have mercy.  I've started and stopped this post more times than I can count.

I am grateful to God for the assurance which comes from the biblical portrait of how the same almighty arm with which He executes justice and power is also celebrated for mercy and restraint.  It couldn't be more different than the over-exertion of force and it's abusive mis-use which so many, including me, are lamenting today.  I'm amazed at how God, when He could have pronounced war, declared peace.  The Lord, before doing unto us what we deserved, prepared to do unto Himself what He could/should have done unto us.  That's why I long to see the government on HIS shoulders.  The peaceful use of power is for His glory and for our good.  

God's way of thinking and our ways are as far apart as the deepest valley and the highest heaven (Isaiah 55:8-9).  His ways are beyond searching out (Romans 11:33-34).  We don't know all the answers to each problem we seek answers for.  But by prayer we trust that in providence,  God-honoring justice will be served on earth as it is in heaven.  But one thing I am convinced of: the peace that men are seeking tonight in NYC and in Ferguson is ultimately rooted in the One born in Bethlehem of Whom the herald angels sang, "Glory to the Newborn King!"  And that King is the Prince of Peace, Jesus of Nazareth.