Growing up I loved Christmas (and with the exception of how busy I am at work, I still do). The excitement, the glittering decorations, the giving and getting, time spent with family, the always hoped for but rarely seen Christmas snow, and most importantly… no school! I also loved a few Christmas hymns, especially “Joy to the World.” As a matter of fact, I loved it so much that almost everyone in my mom’s church knew it was my favorite. Throughout the year on the fifth Sundays the three Presbyterian Churches that were under the same pastor, as well as a couple of other churches, would get together for a joint Hymn Sing service. Basically the whole service consisted of people in the congregation taking turns choosing their favorite hymns to sing. No matter what time of year, I always chose (you guessed it!) “Joy to the World.” After I grew up and moved away, the congregants would often still sing “Joy to the World” on their fifth Sundays as a way of remembering me (and most often it wasn’t even my mother who would ask for it!).
As I’ve gotten older, my love of Christmas hymns has expanded greatly. One hymn that made the shift is “Lo, How a Rose E’er Blooming.” When it is sung by a choir, I find it to be one of the most beautiful hymns. As a child, I thought it was highly disappointing. It wasn’t upbeat, it didn’t thrill the senses, it was ho hum at best. Just one I had to suffer through during the Christmas Eve service at church. Now that I can understand the words and appreciate the harmony it is one of my favorites. What an awesome description of our Lord! A Rose “Amid the cold of winter When half spent was the night.” I have not studied the significance of the symbol of the Rose and Christ, but even in my limited understanding I can appreciate the symbolism one can draw between a beautiful flower blooming on a winter night and our Lord, descending from heaven to our dark cold terrifying world. Symbolically we are certainly in the midst of a winter night looking forward to the return of the Son who will save us and bring us light and warmth!
A rose is also surrounded by thorns, as was our Savior when He came to Earth. We are the thorns. Jesus being the only person who has ever lived without sinning, suffered Himself to be surrounded by those whose actions and sins would cause His suffering. And just as the physical thorns pierced His brow, so too did all of our sins pierce His heart and soul. We’ve been studying this quarter in Sabbath School about unity and yesterday we spoke about broken relationships within the church. However, the greatest broken relationship is that between God and humankind. And what did God do? He did the unthinkable, the unimaginable, something no one expected (as is His usual way). The King of the universe came to us in the form of a baby, “To show God’s love aright [Mary] bore to them a Savior.” What mattered to God? The glory of the heavenly palace, the rainbows, and blazing light that we can’t imagine, the perfect singing of the angels, and gold glittering everywhere? Or was it us? The runt of the litter. The wayward child. Jesus traded all the splendor of the universe and heaven for thorns.
And I know it’s not just about us. It’s about the whole universe and the character of God that has been called into question by the devil. Even with all that in mind, I think of the parable of the lost son and how the father, in Luke chapter 15, ran to meet the son even when he was still far away. I believe that Jesus would have come to save us, even if nothing else was at stake. This Christmas season let’s take time to truly consider what makes life worth living; what is really important. As a child I loved what I could see on the surface, things covered in glitter and flashing lights; things that are just that. Things! But do those things really mean anything if you don’t have a greater Light that shines in your life? As we celebrate and give gifts to those we love, let’s think about the greatest Gift. And maybe this Christmas season you can find some moments to share the love of God with not just your family but with your coworkers, your neighbors, or anyone else you see most often. It is God’s relationship with us and our relationships with others that make sharing at Christmas something extra special. And perhaps we can even be an encouragement to those we’ve maybe not spoken to in a while or those whom we know don’t have family. Let us consider how we extend to others the depth of love that Christ has bestowed on us.
“And wonders of His love, And wonders of His love, And wonders, and wonders of His love.”