My plea to you, readers, is to really listen to the Christmas hymns playing everywhere all the time throughout December. They are not just for the happy and unburdened. They are for the weary and the lonely. They are for the weak and the anxious. They are for those who are afraid, broken, depressed, and needy. They are for us. They comfort us because they offer hope and inspire joy. Jesus is that hope, and the source of true joy. He who “bade the waves be still,” as this song says, is also master of our current storms. In the midst of trials, we cannot help but cling to the One who subdues storms with a word. Even the rage of a dark storm is like a mere backdrop that serves to further reveal the bright light of his glory. Suffering may abound, and it most certainly will visit each one of us in this life, yet we look to Jesus and “falls peace upon the soul.”
This peace confounds an unbelieving world. How has it been accomplished? Like the very best of our Christmas hymns, today’s song juxtaposes crucifixion with incarnation. Remember that Christ suffered the worst of sorrows on our behalf, securing a peace that surpasses all understanding through this ultimate act of his love. Then the cry of his death throes reverberated into resurrection song three days later. “And Christ our Lord, by heav’n adored, is mighty now to save!”
Scripture to consider:
Sing aloud, O daughter of Zion;
shout, O Israel!
Rejoice and exult with all your heart,
O daughter of Jerusalem!
The Lord has taken away the judgments against you;
he has cleared away your enemies.
The King of Israel, the Lord, is in your midst;
you shall never again fear evil.
On that day it shall be said to Jerusalem:
“Fear not, O Zion;
let not your hands grow weak.
The Lord your God is in your midst,
a mighty one who will save;
he will rejoice over you with gladness;
he will quiet you by his love;
he will exult over you with loud singing.” Zephaniah 3:14-17
Hymn to enjoy:
O sing a song of Bethlehem,
Of shepherds watching there,
And of the news that came to them
From angels in the air:
The light that shone on Bethlehem
Fills all the world today;
Of Jesus’ birth and peace on earth
The angels sing alway.
O sing a song of Nazareth,
Of sunny days of joy,
O sing of fragrant flowers’ breath,
And of the sinless boy:
For now the flow’rs of Nazareth
In ev’ry heart may grow;
Now spreads the fame of his dear name
On all the winds that blow.
O sing a song of Galilee,
Of lake and woods and hill,
Of him who walked upon the sea
And bade the waves be still:
For though, like waves on Galilee,
Dark seas of trouble roll,
When faith has heard the Master’s word,
Falls peace upon the soul.
O sing a song of Calvary,
Its glory and dismay;
Of him who hung upon the tree,
And took our sins away:
For he who died on Calvary
Is risen from the grave,
And Christ, our Lord, by heav’n adored,
Is mighty now to save.
Words by Louis F. Benson (1889); medieval English/Irish folk tune
The Type B Mom 