CYPRESSWOOD CHURCH OF CHRIST

December 11, 2005

CONTINUE TO PETITION GOD FOR:

Our congregation                                                                 Various friends, relatives and co-workers

Our nation, military and leaders                                         David and James in the military

Our students                                                                         Anita White is having tests run

UPCOMING EVENTS:

Dec. 21 - we will meet at the Oller's for Wednesday night fellowship at 7 PM

Dec. 25 - we will meet to celebrate the life, death and resurrection of Jesus (TBA)

Jan. 1    - New Year's Day

O COME ALL YE FAITHFUL

“His master replied, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant!  You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things.  Come and share your master’s happiness” (Matthew 25:21)!

One of the things in contemporary music that I find interesting is that there has been no song about the birth of Jesus that has caught on.  One minor hit has been “Mary, Did You Know?”  We might even consider “Lord, I Lift Your Name On High” as one because of the phrase, “He came from heaven to earth…”  Then again, the old standards are just so good that it is difficult to break into them.  It also could be that the secular songs have become more popular over the last seventy years that any new religious song would have greater difficulty appealing to a larger audience.  One interesting development is the chorus of “O Come All Ye Faithful,” which is appearing in some songbooks by itself.  Let’s look at this old song with a popular chorus.  There are several more verses than we normally sing as well.

                                “O come, all ye faithful, joyful and triumphant,

                                O come ye, O come ye to Bethlehem;

                                Come and behold him, born the King of angels.”

The idea of the verse comes from the announcement to the shepherds to go to Bethlehem, the announcement being  of “good news of great joy” (Luke 2:10).  Not only is it a joyful moment, it is a triumphant one from God’s perspective.  The completion of God’s plan is coming in the Messiah.  The shepherds go to see the baby the Lord told them about and came away “glorifying and praising God” (vs. 20).  God is King, not just of our world but of all that He has created including angels.  The angels became the heralds of the King that starry night some two thousands years ago.  The King has come.

                                “God of God, light of light,

                                Lo, he abhors not the virgin’s womb

                                Very God, begotten not created.”

Here the author proclaims the divinity of Jesus following John 1.  “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God…The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us…” (John 1:1, 14).  The older word “begotten” signifying One who is special or unique.  The TNIV says “he gave his one and only Son” (John 3:16).  Paul in Colossians 1:15-18 and the Hebrew writer in 1:1-3 express similar ideas.  Light has come into the world of darkness which was caused by sin.  And he came as a human following Paul in Philippians 2:6-8.  This is not only a unique Son but a unique birth as Matthew tells us (see Matthew 1:21-23).

                                “Sing, choirs of angels, sing in exultation,

                                Sing, all ye citizens of heaven above; (or “all ye bright hosts of”)

                                Glory to God in the highest.” (or “all glory in the highest”)

No doubt this comes from the heavenly host singing in the presence of the shepherds.  What a sight and sound that must have been!  I wonder how many others saw the light that night so long ago?  How many also heard the sound?  “Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests” (Luke 2:14).  While we are told that they had a desire to look into these things and did not understand the details, it was still a time of praise for God was doing something unique.  When we look back on those events, it should cause us to think of praise as well.

                                “See how the shepherds summoned to his cradle,

                                Leaving their flocks, draw nigh with lowly fear;

                                We too will thither tend our joyful footsteps.”

Would this be a curiosity or something more?  The shepherds left their economic profession at night, in the field, unprotected, to see what the Lord announced to them.  What about us?  How do we see Jesus?  A curiosity?  A philosopher?  A moral teacher?  Or as C. S. Lewis said that He is either a liar, a lunatic, or Lord?  Rarely does God speak to a large group of people.  The nation of Israel would be one example.  Most of the time, He comes to individuals or small groups of people such as Moses or Peter, James and John on the mountain of Transfiguration.  This announcement came to shepherds, who did not have the greatest reputation, and might have often been connected, rightly or wrongly, with the corruption on the priests and Temple situation during that period of time.  They left and went to see the Messiah unlike the religious leaders of the day who also heard an unusual announcement from some foreigners, yet did not go and seek.  That might say something to us today.  People often respond in the same way today, some come seeking, others see a curiosity, some just are not interested because they are lords.  This verse focuses on the humility of the situation.

                                “Yea, Lord, we greet thee, born this happy morning;

                                Jesus, to thee be all glory given;

                                Word of the Father, now in flesh appearing.”

Once again the writer appeals to the humanity of Jesus.  The Biblical word is Immanuel, God with us (see Matthew 1:21).  As we saw in a previous article, God announced that to the people of Isaiah’s day (see 7:1 through 9:7).  For us it means that God has come into His creation to bring salvation.  It says that God is involved personally in the activities of humankind.  He took a personal interest in us!  And He has not left us alone since then, sending His Holy Spirit to continue to guide us in the ways of Jesus Christ.

                                “O come, let us adore Him, O come, let us adore Him,

                                O come, let us adore Him, Christ the Lord.”

Is it any wonder then that the writer has a chorus of praise?  Is it any wonder that the shepherds left praising God?  And is it any wonder that the birth, life, death and resurrection of Jesus should be the subject of praise?  I can understand why the chorus has become a popular praise song; it says so much.  With the rest of the song, it announces the beginning of God’s salvation process in Jesus Christ. 

Why should we praise God about the birth of Jesus?  It is all a part of the salvation process.  I think we have missed the importance of the birth of Jesus, for without it there would have been no cross.  At this time of year, many hear the songs about the birth of Jesus.  God is being praised.  It offers us the opportunity to think about the full meaning of the message of God coming into the world.  It gives us the opportunity to saying something about Jesus as Lord, a challenge to the lords of today. 

                                                                                                                                George B. Mearns