I love this time of year. The anticipation is building toward the celebration of God becoming flesh. People are preparing celebrations, complete with special treats and gifts for one another. Houses are lit up in anticipation. The cold weather is just beginning and isn’t yet burdensome. Movies and songs are shared to commemorate the coming day. People strapped for grocery money are finding something to drop in the kettle on the way out the door.
Everything seems to be within the realm of possibility. Any snow on the ground hasn’t yet turned dingy gray. People are in a rush to gather gifts, but there seems to be a sense of decency about it. At least where I’m at. People may not know each other, but a certain amount of neighborly care is offered. Someone offers to bring an empty shopping cart back to the store so the other shopper doesn’t have to. Another person holds the door at a restaurant for a complete stranger rather than rush in for their appetizer.
It’s almost like Christmas is an event that adds a bit of optimism into the psyche of Americans. Which could explain the war on Christmas, now that I think about it. They want you to forget about the magic of the day. Not magic in the sense of trickery or of the use of sorcery or wicked entities. Magic in the sense of wonder. A childlike belief that God can, and will, make everything right. “Everything Wrong” has been the mantra of the world since 2020. Hope has been subdued for too long while love and peace have been denied us, though the gospel of love, peace and hope has remained. And even though much of our culture rejects the gospel, America’s founding was based on Christianity, so the suppression one must make to be black pilled is greater than in many other nations.
John 1:5 The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.
You’ve heard the saying that It is better to light a candle than curse the darkness. In an either/or world, I prefer to be a both/and person, but the sentiment holds. If our world is broken enough for God to send His son, and at the same time if God loves us enough that He would send His son, His only son, then we can curse the darkness around and within us because it contrasts against the glory of Jesus. And while we do so, we can be light and salt to those around us, taking opportunities to express the joy of Jesus coming to save us from our sins.
You’ve heard “Oh Holy Night” before. On the radio, in a shopping center, somewhere. My church sang it last week and it was glorious! The music, the lyrics, all of it. To the best of my knowledge, there are three verses, but the second verse is usually not sung. It’s OK, but nowhere near as good as the other two, so I have no qualm. Here is the first verse:
O holy night! the stars are brightly shining;
It is the night of the dear Savior’s birth.
Long lay the world in sin and error pining,
Till He appeared and the soul felt its worth.
A thrill of hope- the weary world rejoices,
For yonder breaks a new and glorious morn!
Fall on your knees! O hear the angel voices!
O night divine, O night when Christ was born!
O night, O holy night, O night divine!
The world had been in a state of error, pining for relief from the greatest problems of the day! In the first century, most Israelis believed that Rome was their biggest obstacle, though some thought that their neighbors really ought to shape up if Messiah was going to come. When Jesus appeared, the lowly and humble worshiped. The Magi from the East set upon a journey to see the king. Those who really should have known better, were indifferent at best, murderous at worst. It was the weary who rejoiced, not the comfortable. Everything was made new, and that didn’t appeal to those in love with this world.
This third verse is one that seems to be controversial. I say this because recordings of this song always include the second half of the verse, but many exclude the beginning of it. I don’t know why, as the first phrase does rhyme with the second. Allowing for an instrumental section before the singer resumes isn’t doing any favors for the audience. What’s up with the omission?
Truly He taught us to love one another;
His law is love and His gospel is peace.
Chains shall He break, for the slave is our brother,
And in His name all oppression shall cease.
Sweet hymns of joy in grateful chorus raise we;
Let all within us praise His holy name.
Christ is the Lord! O praise His name forever!
His pow’r and glory evermore proclaim!
His pow’r and glory evermore proclaim!
Jesus did teach us to love one another, that is not up for debate. His law is love and His gospel is peace. Nobody bats an eye, right? But here’s the thing. Jesus didn’t teach us to breathe air or to eat food. The things Jesus taught were the sort of things we naturally don’t want to do, not because they aren’t logical or to the betterment of all, but because we are sinners stained by proclivities. I am not a sinner because I sin. I sin because I am a sinner, and this is NOT splitting hairs! Jesus said we must love one another, not because it is easy but because it is hard!
Galatians 6:2 Bear one another's burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ.
Why is it hard? Because love is the culmination of the law of God as given to Moses and the law is the revelation of God’s character in contrast to ours. Once upon a time we were living in sync with God as Adam walked with God in the cool of the day. No more! We now live in enmity with God, doing what is right in our own eyes because we do not recognize Him as king. And what does this have to do with loving one another? Just read the High Priestly Prayer from John 17 the next time there’s some controversy within Christian circles. You will see a contrast in Jesus’ words and the actions of men. It may be pride or covetousness that triggers such arguments. Maybe it’s something else. Whatever it is, it does not stem from the will of God for the people He has chosen to advance His kingdom.
And the Law is the character of God revealed. If you are conforming to His will, these are things that will characterize you. And when Jesus was asked to summarize the Law, he immediately went to the heart of it. I’ve always been partial to the account given in Mark 12:28-34. When asked what is the most important Law He said that the Lord is One and you shall love the Lord with all your Heart, Soul, Mind and Strength. And He didn’t stop there but added that you will love your neighbor as yourself.
Love is not the gospel. Love is law.
This is something that I learned a number of years ago. Many will say they don’t need to know Jesus on any intimate level, they just want to love Him and that should be enough. I’ve always thought that was a vacuous statement. It’s like saying I love my wife dearly, but would prefer to not know a single thing about the love of my life. It’s a selfish love that enables you to love a construct rather than a person. “Christianity isn’t a religion, it’s a relationship,” they will insist. But Jesus said that if you love Him you will keep His commandments.
Everyone wants to love Jesus on their own terms, but love is law! And God gave us the law! For us to try and change that law is to assume the role of God, succumbing to the original temptation that “you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” And if you look at the word “know” in the book of Genesis, you will quickly see that a man would know his wife and she would bear him a child. Knowing is procreative. Eve wanted to create standards of good and evil apart from God!
The command to love is the culmination of the law of God, and the law offered no peace to people unable to keep that same law. It isn’t that the law is bad, but that the people were not compatible with it in their fallen condition. Humanity was created “very good” and God has every right to hold us to a very good standard, even to the standard of His Son. For Him to hold us to a sliding scale where we must be better than some evil man from history would be to cheapen the holiness of God and place ourselves into the judgement seat where Eve wanted to sit. The law offers expectation and condemnation, not peace.
Enter the gospel. His law is love and His gospel is peace! Love is not the hope that we hold. That hope is found when we recognize that our place in front of a holy God is no better than that of a poor shepherd. We are all on the outside looking in until God intervenes. A new heart is granted and we suddenly desire more. We have tasted and seen that the Lord is good and we cannot help but desire even more. We all know that we have failed to love our neighbors as ourselves. And when you see Jesus explaining that your neighbor must include your rivals, we all fall short of the law of love.
It is that despair that caused me to throw myself upon the grace and peace of the gospel. I cannot be loving enough, good enough, wise enough, joyful enough, patient enough… I cannot be enough. I fall short of the glory of God and deserve only outer darkness and condemnation. That realization is crucial for one to abandon all hope within yourself. There must be one who has the credentials on my behalf! That is the only source of peace. And as much as the law is love, the gospel is peace. Peace with God, which results in eventual peace with others who are being conformed to the image of God.
We can sing about broken chains and slaves being our brother all we like, but without the pretext of Jesus teaching us to love and dying for our failures to love, broken chains and brotherly slaves are just concepts, not realities. But in Christ, all things are made new. All things are possible! All oppression shall cease as every enemy is placed under the feet of Jesus. (Psalm 110) This doesn’t happen all at once, but rather like a mustard seed that sprouts and grows into a larger plant.
So yes, sing this hymn! It is more than a carol, it is a hymn, it is a shared statement of faith. It teaches us that Jesus demanded that we love one another as the fulfillment of the law. It also reminds us that Jesus fulfilled the law on our behalf and created the only peace available between man and God. Christmas is a time when we celebrate Emmanuel, God with Us. Enjoy the cookies and merriment, savor the examples you see of people showing a bit more deference to one another. Love your God and your neighbor with your entire being, and pray that God would enhance your love for Him and others!
And if you have found peace with God, seek to extend that peace with you and your foes. As we pray in the Lord’s Prayer, forgive us as we have forgiven others. This is not just possible, it is reality. And that is because Jesus entered the scene in Bethlehem on a holy night. Shepherds came and worshiped while religious leaders couldn’t be bothered until Herod inquired about information needed to isolate and eliminate this rival. This was not just an event that changed everything. It was the event that ensured that nothing would ever be the same again.
Do not withhold the blessing “Merry Christmas” from anyone. Any alternative statement, such as “Happy Holidays” is an offering of something less than the best that you have to offer. It is watered down and yet holds no water. You offer a Merry Christmas to the most hardened pagan because you desire the best blessing from God to mankind. Because His law is love and His gospel is peace. Peace is what you offer. Peace between men. Peace with God. Nothing less.
Merry Christmas!
