Dakota Beacon

Jingle Bells, Frosty the Snowman, Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer greet shoppers. Excitement of the season builds to a crescendo. After Christmas the commotion subsides. Then what? There must be more to Christmas than the superficial.

This story, spoken before, must be told again.

The true and ancient roots of the Christmas celebration lie embodied in the music of the Nativity. Regrettably, less often we hear strains of the traditional carols in public places. Traditional carols, if played at all, are usually the instrumental versions devoid of the words and the profound message of Christmas. The purging of the Christian message in our culture continues.

Some carols dating back several hundred years present Christ’s message unchanged. They sing of God arriving in human form. The 18th century Latin hymn “O Come All Ye Faithful” is a wonderful example.

“...Word of the Father, now in flesh appearing; O come, let us adore Him,..Christ the Lord.”

The same is true in “Hark! The Herald Angels Sing” (Charles Wesley and Felix Mendelssohn):

“Christ, by highest heaven adored; Christ, the ever lasting Lord!

Late in time behold Him come, Offspring of the Virgin’s womb.

Veiled in flesh the Godhead see; Hail the incarnate Deity,

Pleased as man with men to dwell, Jesus, our Emmanuel.”

Isaac Watts wrote “Joy to the World” based on Psalm 98 describing the purpose for Jesus’ arrival in Bethlehem:

“No more let sins and sorrow grow, nor do thorns infest the ground;

He comes to make His blessings flow, far as the curse is found.”

According to Scripture, God created us as body, soul, and spirit. The body we understand through the five senses. The body contains the soul or the volitional, intellectual, and emotional part of our make-up. This we can understand psychologically. But, contained within the soul is the spirit with the attributes of conscience, intuition and the faculty of communion with God as part of our nature. These attributes present a real challenge to our understanding. Like the Holy of Holies within the ancient Jewish temple, it is almost incomprehensible.

Unfortunately for us, we’ve inherited from Creation’s Fall a defiant, rebellious temperament. By nature, in body, soul, and spirit, we are rebels. Without the spirit reborn, the body and soul can never be reconciled with God. Only the grace and love of God reaching down to a broken and fallen world can restore us. It is His initiative, not ours.

That was the purpose of Jesus’ arrival -- to proclaim the availability of reconciliation. “O Little Town of Bethlehem” by Phillips Brooks captures the essence of the message in the last verse.

“O Holy Child of Bethlehem, Descend to us, we pray;

”Cast out our sin and enter in -- Be born in us today.

The incarnation of Jesus Christ as the path to redemption is again made clear in “Silent Night, Holy Night” by Joseph Mohr:

“Silent night, holy night, Son of God, love’s pure light

Radiant beams from Thy holy face, with the dawn of redeeming grace,

Jesus, Lord at Thy birth, Jesus, Lord at Thy birth.”

George Frideric Handel’s “Messiah” crowns the message. The entire oratorio is based on Biblical texts and is divided into three parts: the Prophecies and Nativity; the Passion and the Resurrection; and mankind’s hope of his own resurrection. Accompanying the “Hallelujah Chorus” are these words:

“The Kingdom of this world is become the Kingdom of our Lord, and of His Christ;

And He shall reign for ever and ever. Amen!”

God could not have made it any plainer or any simpler. Traditional carols proclaim the glad tidings and Good News to everyone. A return to the daily grind can never be the same.

Dennis M. Patrick can be contacted at (JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address).