O Holy Night

Today I was listening to O Holy Night on the radio, and it was as if I was hearing it for the first time. I mean, I could totally sing along with it, because I sing it every Christmas, (even years when I don't sing it publicly, I perform it for at least myself). It is one of the songs sung by the person who inspired me to learn how to sing. I would sit in awe each Christmas Eve as this beautiful woman sang gloriously the words that I couldn't begin to comprehend the meaning. Even today as I listened, I was struck by the poignancy and the magnitude of the poetry.

O Holy Night, the stars are brightly shining. It is the night of our dear Savior's birth.
Can you imagine the beauty of that night? We think of the one star that shined so brightly that it literally marked the very spot where the Lord was born. But, the entire sky was filled with stars. The tapestry of the sky paid testimony to the miraculous God who was giving this world, our world, the gift of life, everlasting life.

Long lay the world in sin and error pining. 'Til He appeared, and the soul felt its worth.
We are still in this world of sin and error. But, the gift given that first Christmas night can be realized not just at Christmas time, but ANY time. Because of the one gift from God, through Jesus Christ, our very souls can feel the worth inherited through the King that was born. He walked this world of sin, of error pining, and He knows what each of us struggles with through our inherent human weakness.

A thrill of hope, the eager world rejoices; for yonder lies a new and glorious morn.
It's true. But it seems so hard to believe. Doubt threatens to steal the thrill, the awe, the wonder, the truth of this glorious morn. We can't know it until we accept the gift, and we don't know if we should accept because it is new, uncharted territory. And, if truly honest, it's scary. It's scary to believe that the foretelling of a new and glorious morn, the promise of value and worth, is really based on stars in the sky, and an infant King.

Fall on your knees. Oh, hear the angel voices; oh night divine, oh night when Christ was born.
After the poet, Adolphe Adams, describes the excitement, the joy, the splendor of the night, there is a request for action. There is an urgency in the phrasing. I have had very few occasions to fall on my knees. Only in the midst of such overwhelming beauty and hope would falling to one's knees be warranted. But the request doesn't stop there. We are to hear the angel's voices. Oh, to have been under the star and hearing the angel's voices heralding the arrival of this baby, this King. What more could one do than fall to one's knees. Speechless, overwhelmed, fearful, hopeful, joyful, scared; emotions that capture the hearts and minds during the arrival of new life.

Dear friends, our God offers new life every moment of our day. Though we remember the arrival of Jesus each Christmas, imagine these lyrics heralding the moment of awareness when each person realizes the thrill of hope, the rejoicing, that a newborn King came to this world, and gave Himself; for you, your brother, your sister, your friend, your enemy, the stranger, the foreigner, the poor, the wounded, the lonely, the rich, the mighty, the weak, the somebody, the nobody, and every lost person that roams the world looking into the sky for hope that their soul is worth the precious gift of the King.

This anthem rings in my ears, vibrates in my vocal chords, and resonates in my heart and mind. It is too much to comprehend and yet, it is so real that I feel it to the very core of my being. As I ponder the richness of truth so beautifully offered through the gift of poetry and music, I have to stop and thank God that the truth is as real as the notes on the page and the stars in the sky. It is beauty and joy manifested in each of our hearts because of the Holy Night that our Lord God thought so highly of us, that he was willing to reconcile our hearts through Jesus Christ, his only son. Ruminating on this first verse inspires me to fall on my knees and listen.