"The Melody of Christmas"
Christmas Eve
This hymn we began our service with, "Let All Mortal Flesh Keep Silence," seems at first to be rather unsatisfactory, rather contradictory to the mood of our season - rather heavy and somber for such a joyous celebration. I remember in the old red hymnal that it even had an alternate arrangement written in a minor key. Quite often we would sing several verses of this arrangement, then a couple in the minor key, and return at the end to this arrangement again. It reminds me, though, of the pomp and splendor of a coronation - in this case, the coronation of Jesus, the King. It has a dignified and exalted feel to it. For that reason, it is a good hymn to balance against the popular Christmas carols which remind us of Jesus' humanity. It is part of the paradox of Christ's nature as man and God that we should feel very intensely in this season. The regal, exalted God, sitting at his throne on high - the very mention of his name causes his creation to bow in adoration and hushed praise. And on the other hand, the helpless baby, lying in a smelly barn, surrounded by sweaty animals, visited by such noted dignitaries as local shepherds, not considered worthy enough to be given a bed to lie in.
Helmut Thieliecke, the German pastor and theologian, captures the mood of the day quite well. He says:
The Christmas story, pointing to Jesus' origin in its reserved and modest way, is arranged somewhat like a musical score: its upper and lower lines must be read simultaneously. On the lower cleft are concrete earthly events. there is an over-packed little town to which people stream for the taking of a census. there is a shortage of accommodations with all of its miserable side-effects - exorbitant prices and hearts hardened against the financially weak. There is an expectant mother who will have to go through her difficult hour in a stable and then shortly thereafter flee with her newborn infant because she and the child are threatened with become sacrifices to overall political expediency …. (But) above it, in th eupper register, sing the angels; above it heaven is open. Whoever fails to read this upper cleft has not understood the whole score, for both lines harmonize; God comes into our life completely human and near us; nothing human is foreign to him, but nonetheless he breaks in on our life from a totally different realm. Thus there is harmony between the upper and lower lines, and we have a two-part score, with the story of the birth in a manger and the hallelujahs of the angels overhead."
We have been waiting here impatiently - waiting for something to happen, but not yet quite sure what. The paradoxes of God's promises make it heard to understand just what he is trying to get at, what he is trying to say to us. We have been aware of a mood of expectancy around us all through Advent, a sense of immanence. Something is about to happen. We even experience a sense of joy while we are still waiting. It's not like waiting for a death to occur, like waiting for a final knelling of the bells to tell us that it is all over at last - not somber at all. It is a joyous, celebrative waiting - as if we are waiting for a gift to be finally opened. Something good, something important, something that is going to raise us right up out of our seats and make us cry for joy is about to happen!
there is an excited whisper that runs through the congregation and, not being able to be held there, escapes out of the door, climbs up the steeple. The new rings out over the land: "Good news!" Isaiah proclaims it: "Break out together into singing … the Lord has comforted his people!" John exclaims: "There is a light shining in the darkness … and from his fullness we have all received, grace upon grace!" We hear the hymn of praise, "Thy throne is forever … God has anointed you with the oil of gladness!"
The message leaps from ear to ear, from town to town. Finally it reaches our hearts also: the promise if fulfilled! The Word has become flesh and dwells among us! We hear the good news from the letter to the Hebrews, "In many and various ways God spoke to us by the prophets, but now in these last days, he has spoken to us by his Son!" The full impact of the message doesn't hit us immediately because of its magnitude - who could fully comprehend such a message! But our hearts leap for joy. We can never understand fully what has happened - two thousand years later, we are still trying to plumb the depths of its meaning - the great love of God which caused him to empty himself, to come down to us. All we can do is to meet him, to go to the stable where he lays and gaze upon his face, and worship him God has come into our little world this day to unscramble our life, to put back together that which was broken by sin, to bring us contentment, and joy, and peace - to recapture his image which he once bestowed upon us. As we have attempted to continue our relentless quest to conquer outer space, he has come to conquer our inner space. As we learn to fly like birds, to swim life fish, and to soar like eagles, he comes and teaches us how to walk on the earth like people again.
So whether we are young or old, it is time to celebrate! It is Christmas Eve and God has given us new light. He has stepped into our world of mangers and crowded inns, of mars probes and world-sized problems. He invites you tonight to slough off the chains of sin, guilt and fear, the unforgiven and unforgotten mistakes of the past, and experience the joy of his presence. He invites you to sing a new son - a melody of two lines - to experience the promise of his coming, and to commit yourself to a life lived in love. It is Christmas, and God has taken on human flesh. He has come to be among us. He has come to bear our burdens so that we can sing with joy! May his song be on your heart this Christmas Eve, and always!