Saturday, December 24, 2016

O Come All Ye Faithful

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

O Sing, choirs of angels,
Sing in exultation,
Sing all ye citizens in heaven above
Glory to God, glory in the Highest;
O come, let us adore Him,
O come, let us adore Him,
O come, let us adore Him,
Christ the Lord.

Ye Lord, we greet Thee,
Born this happy morning,
O Jesus! to Thee be all glory given.
Word of the Father, now in flesh appearing;
O come, let us adore Him,
O come, let us adore Him,
O come, let us adore Him,
Christ the Lord.


It is here. Christmas Eve, the Holy Night, the Silent Night. The shepherds are quaking in the cold, not knowing that in a matter of hours an angel is going to give them the greatest news the world has ever known. The wise men have spotted a star and are making preparations to investigate what this crazy act of nature could be. And in a lowly manger, Mary is laboring away, panting through each contraction, wondering when the pain will end. None of them have to wait a moment longer. The King of Angels is born this night in Bethlehem. It is time for the world to stir, for the people to arise, for the triumphant march to begin. 

The weary world doesn't know much of triumph. The broken shepherd, shunned by society, doesn't revel in any major victories. The exiled slave who pours herself out day after day under a bitter ruler knows nothing of conquest. The grieving man who has lost his brothers in battle feels anything but victorious. The weary world has dropped their swords, fallen to their knees and surrendered.

And yet we are called to a triumphant march, a glorious march of rejoicing and exulting. Joyful and triumphant the faithful come, not because they have any cause to be full of joy, not because they have any victory of their own, but because this Baby has brought with Him the victory. He has taken up the sword; He has marched into battle; it is He who has defeated sin and death. We march with our head high because Jesus has vanquished the enemy. It is not our victory, it is His.

But He gives it to us. When this Child King comes, He gives us triumph, He gifts us with joy. We who are anything but faithful day in and day out, are given His faithfulness. We are faithful, we are rejoicing, we are victorious because He has given those things to us. This tiny Baby, ushered into this tumultuous world, brings with Him intangible gifts that we cannot fathom. 

So we greet Thee born this happy morning. It is a happy morning! It is a morning of great joy, of sighs of relief, of handing over the chains, of raising our swords in victory. God has brought us these gifts, and even more profoundly, He has brought the glory of God to live among us. The Word of the Father appears in flesh; we hear the words of God, we feel the depth of His love, we watch the transformational power of His healing. We glimpse right into the heart of God as He lives and breathes among us. All of this comes to us Christmas Eve in Bethlehem. 

Because God comes to us, because He leaves His throne to enter into our pain, because He moves towards us, we ought to respond in kind. As we see Him, as we hear the good news of His arrival, let us come adore Him. Let us move toward Him, let us gather around the Child King, let us marvel at all He brings. 

O come let us adore Him

Let us bring Him gifts of our time, of our thoughts. Let us lay at His feet our chains that we so strongly hold on to. Let us tell Him of how we fall short. And then let us delight as we tell Him all the ways He is enough. 

Let us adore Him. Worship Him. Honor Him. Glorify Him. Speak of Him. Pursue Him. Love Him. Prefer Him. Choose Him. Come to Him. Give all of us to Him. 

He is here. Christ the Lord, ruler of heaven and earth, creator of the universe and my beating heart. He is here, He is with us, for this day forth and forevermore. His faithfulness to us is infinite, it knows no bounds, it comes at any cost. His faithfulness to His Father is perfect, it knows no bounds, it comes at the cost of His life. His faithfulness, this breath-taking possession, is ours to behold. So let us gather at the manger in the dead of night, let us marvel at what God has done, and let us adore this precious gift of a Child. He is worth all of our adoration.

 


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