Dakota Beacon

Jingle Bells, Frosty the Snowman, Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer ring in the ears of shoppers wandering the malls trying to capture the excitement of the season. After building to a crescendo on Christmas Day, after the commotion dies away, what then? There is a bit more to Christmas than the offerings of the commercial world.

The age-old basis for the annual Christmas celebration has only just begun. We’ve occasionally heard the traditional carols throughout the season in malls or through media. Traditional carols, when played at all, are usually the instrumental version expunged of their Christian theme. Too bad.

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

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

Again, in “Hark! the Herald Angels Sing” (Charles Wesley and Felix Mendelsshon):

“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 thorns infest the ground;

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

According to Scripture, God arranged us body, soul and spirit. Our body we understand through the five senses. Contained within the body, our soul or the volitional and intellectual and emotional part of our make-up we understand psychologically. But, contained within the soul, our spirit or the conscience and intuition and communion part or our nature present the real challenge. Like the Holy of Holies, it is almost inaccessib

Unfortunately for us, we’ve inherited from our forebears a defiant nature. 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 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 a means 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 simpler. Traditional carols proclaim the glad tidings, the good news, to all. A return to the daily grind will never be the same.

Dennis M. Patrick can be contacted at P. O. Box 337, Stanley, ND 58784 or (JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address).