"It's dark in here...we need a Light."

I know a few people who secretly started to listen to Christmas music before Thanksgiving day. Some, like myself, consider this a serious breach of an unwritten code. A crime. An offensive decision. But for those who follow the rules, after that glorious meal, there is nothing as satisfying as Christmas music floating though the house when washing the mile-high stack of cranberry-stained dishes. As Amy Grant’s Immanuel belts out, my sister starts in sync at the top of her lungs...Wonderful, Counselor, Lord of Life, Lord of all, He is the Prince of Peace, Mighty God, Holy One....Im-m-a-an-u-el, Immanuel. The sounds of these songs are magical; we can’t quite wear them out. For one month we press repeat on the songs that tell the story of the holidays: family gathering around the table, presents under the tree, chestnuts roasting, snow falling, mistletoe, turkey and a baby born in Bethlehem...the memories bubble up in my mind with each song.

Then there’s the other part of Christmas--bags in hand, bustling about in shopping centers and malls, sitting for hours online scouring for sales...hopeful for just the right find for someone, and crafting a long list of the particular things we all want. The economy breathes it all in with one big, Grinch-like smile. For those who wander around in the scramble, it takes an intentional awareness to notice these same songs whispering through the speakers in Dick’s Sporting Goods, Eddie Bauer, or Marshall’s. Hark the herald angels sing glory to the new born King...Silent night, holy night, Son of God, loves pure light...The hopes and fears of all the years, are met in Thee tonight...

Ironic. Hovering over us as we race and rush are the songs that beckon us to worship. At no other time EVER do shoppers hear lyrics so boldly proclaiming Jesus as God, as Savior, as Messiah. The story of Christmas gets hijacked by the sales and sparkle of the season. Jesus is just another magical element, much like our stockings...hung by the chimney with care.

Yesterday I pulled out of Dilworth Coffee with Elgin’s fluffed Cafe O’ Le in hand and hit the highway from Matthews, NC to Media, PA. 8.3 hours. My eyes took in every beautiful landscape along the drive through Virginia and along the farmlands of Pennsylvania. At points I saw some flurries, caught up with an old friend on the phone and snacked on some sweet holiday treats from my students. I never mind this road trip. My mind is still, undistracted and attentive. The Christmas break travel is especially invigorating with the cold, gray skies, the warm drinks, and the Christmas music that inspires me to sing like Julie Andrews at the top of my lungs!

And as I sing,
I listen...

Some lyrics bring tears to my eyes. Pure poetry, rich in theology and a reminder of what we revere.

At times I imagine the malls, highways, and food stores going into lockdown mode, everyone’s feet glued in place, stuck. All conversation stopped, all registers closed, all lights dimmed, total silence...except the songs of Christmas...


...No more let sins and sorrows grow,
Nor thorns infest the ground;
He comes to make His blessings flow
Far as the curse is found,
Far as the curse is found,
Far as, far as, the curse is found...


...Hail, the heaven-born Prince of peace!
Hail the Son of righteousness!
Light and life to all he brings,
Risen with healing in his wings.
Mild he lays his glory by,
Born that man no more may die,
Born to raise the sons of earth,
Born to give them second birth.
Hark! the herald angels sing,
Glory to the newborn King...


...Silent night! Holy night!
Son of God love's pure light
Radiant beams from thy holy face
With the dawn of redeeming grace,
Jesus, Lord at thy birth...

...Yet with the woes of sin and strife
The world has suffered long
Beneath the heavenly strain have rolled
Two thousand years of wrong

And man at war with man hears not
The tidings which they bring
O hush the noise, ye men of strife
And hear the angels sing

O ye, beneath life's crushing load
Whose forms are bending low
Who toil along the climbing way
With painful steps and slow

Look now, for glad and golden hours
Come swiftly on the wing
O rest beside the weary road
And hear the angels sing

For lo, the days are hastening on
By prophets seen of old
When with the ever-circling years
Shall come the time foretold

When peace shall over all the earth
Its ancient splendors fling
And the whole world give back the song
Which now the angels sing...


...O Holy Night
The stars are brightly shining
It is the night of our dear Savior's birth
Long lay the world in sin and error pining
'Til He appeared and the soul felt it's worth
A thrill of hope the weary world rejoices
For yonder breaks a new and glorious morning
Fall on your knees, O hear the angels’ voices
O night, divine...

A Savior has been born. He has come to take away the curse of sin and the despair in meaningless living. Every twisted act of violence, every selfish obsession with money, every misplaced affection, every demanding and controlling intention, every racist response, every prideful root, all idolatry of children, stuff, power, physical beauty, all envy, strife, anger, passivity, laziness, workaholic lifestyle, dismissal of the Sabbath, covetousness and the love of self rather than love of God. God came as an infant. He came poor, helpless and hated. He came to rescue us and resurrect us from our lives of hopelessness and self-absorption. There is a sad truth in all of this, even for those who know Him. The malls are much like our Christian homes. We love the holidays but forget about the Christ. We move fast and eat a whole bunch, we buy gifts and blast the music while we cook and laugh and sing. Our table is set and our gifts perfectly wrapped...all to celebrate a King we never mention.

Christmas comes around each year, and each year we push Him to the side. We feel good to feed the homeless but are terrible at prayer. It’s awkward and serious to put Him in the middle of it all.The results are profound, and though subtle, powerful: greed, high expectations on family members, an increase in the numbing effects of materialism, disappointment when we don’t get what we want, debt, tension, apathy, selfishness, distraction, busyness...

He comes to make His blessings known, far as the curse is found...

O ye, beneath life's crushing load
Whose forms are bending low
Who toil along the climbing way
With painful steps and slow

It’s no different today than in the days of old. A Savior had come to a world that would reject Him. And we still do. We choose darkness over light. We choose stuff over Him. But He is the gift, and just as God said to Abraham in Genesis, “I AM your great reward,” Jesus tells us to stop and consider Him. He is the reward. He is the gift we long for. He is the only balm for our grasping souls. He makes all crooked things straight. He makes streams flow in the desert. He finds the one lost sheep. He raises the dead. He heals, listens, cares, redeems, He fills us with bottomless joy ...A baby born with a mission to find us in our toiling, give us direction in our waywardness and peace in our angst. Above all, Isaiah prophesied about Christmas this way:

The people who walk in darkness will see a great light; those who live in a dark land, the light will shine on them. Is 9:2

Stop as if your feet are glued to the ground. Force it. Wait and listen. Be still and pray by yourself, even if just in the shower. Better yet, lead your children to the manger where true life is found. He will fill them up more than an American girl doll, an Xbox, or the coolest trendy clothes.

It’s dark out, help them find Him.

Help them hear the message of Christmas...

A thrill of hope, the weary world rejoices...