Our Advent series this year is called The Songs of Christmas. Each week we are featuring a different carol, peeling back the layers of beauty and meaning as we rediscover the joy and peace of Christmas.
This week the carol is O Come, All Ye Faithful. This carol tells the good news of the birth of Jesus, perhaps from the perspective of a shepherd or an angel.
Verse 1 & 2 say…
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.
True God from true God,
Light from Light Eternal
lo, he shuns not the Virgin’s womb
Word of the Father, begotten not created
The carol is based on the story from Luke chapter 2…
Luke 2:8-12
In that region there were shepherds living in the fields, keeping watch over their flock by night. Then an angel of the Lord stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid; for see—I am bringing you good news of great joy for all the people: to you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is the Messiah, the Lord. This will be a sign for you: you will find a child wrapped in bands of cloth and lying in a manger.”
Reflections
The carol reminds us that the one born on Christmas is not just any baby, but God in the flesh: true God from true God, Light from Light Eternal, the Word of the Father. What difference does it make to you that Jesus is not only human, but also divine?
Consider the incredible story of the incarnation, that God would stoop to us, to become human, so that we can experience for ourselves the beauty and power of his love.
Prayer
Lord Jesus, during this season of Advent, let me not take the Christmas story for granted, but be thankful that you have not shunned the Virgin’s womb but instead embraced the world you created with love and forgiveness. I pray in your name. Amen.
