“In his name all oppression shall cease.”

“In his name all oppression shall cease.”
Carol: “O Holy Night” – Translated from the French by John S. Dwight (1813-1893)
Tune: CANTIQUE DE NOEL (Adolphe Adam)

Oppression, slavery, mistreatment, abuses of all kinds. If I had one wish for every new year, it would be the cessation of all these. In other words, I guess my desire – my prayer – would be for peace, just like the angels promised.

These are the kinds of things that I can actively eliminate from my own habit-cycle, but I can’t seem to do much about it outside my own little piece of the globe. I can give to organizations that seek to eradicate these from people-groups, I can stand up for human rights, I can elect leaders who join me in my concern… but CAN all oppression cease?

I have to believe that it can, and that the infusion of the Spirit of Christ into the hearts and minds of the offenders is indeed capable of wiping out cruelty and subjugation wherever it raises its ugly head… or hides itself behind conventional facades. Not only is his name wonderful, it is also powerful – and freeing.

We started the Advent season with "O come, O come Emmanuel, and ransom captive [people of all kinds] who wait in lonely exile." Before we step into Epiphany - to all those who fall into this category, I want to say with confidence: “Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel has come to thee.”

UCLA Choir Sings This Carol

“Fall on your knees.”

“Fall on your knees.”
Carol: “O Holy Night” –Translated from the French by John S. Dwight (1813-1893)
Tune: CANTIQUE DE NOEL (Adolphe Adam)

“Fall on your knees” is a call-to-worship, and to me it is in an interesting context; it seems to be stronger than “kneel” or “bow down.” It seems to be more of a reflexive action… one we do before we realize what we’ve done!

I’m a movie-lover, and two scenes from fairly recent films come to mind: 1) SAVING PRIVATE RYAN when the mother gets word that her sons have been killed in battle, and 2) MICHAEL CLAYTON when Tilda Swinton realizes her undoing. In both these cases, the women fall to their knees in shock; in our case, it would be awe. Upon realizing we are in the presence of a holy God, our reflex might be to fall to our knees without thinking it through: “Now should I raise my hands, should I bow my head, should I dance, should I be still?” Without any contemplation, we react in a way appropriate to our own expression, uncaring or unaware of anyone else’s reaction.

Whatever your natural, unbridled, child-like response, let it happen during this Epiphany season. If it’s as extreme as falling on your knees or prostrate (face down, arms spread) or standing still, let it be your honest, open response to the arrival of Emmanuel. It is an event worthy of your authentic worship response.

Susan Boyle Sings This Carol

“His law is love, and his gospel is peace.”

“His law is love, and his gospel is peace.”

Carol: “O Holy Night” –Translated from the French by John S. Dwight (1813-1893)

Tune: CANTIQUE DE NOEL (Adolphe Adam)

When the grown-up Jesus said, “Love one another,” it was not a suggestion; it was a command – a law, if you please. He had every expectation that his followers would live up to this directive.

With our government’s laws, for most of us these have become second nature. Because we were taught them in driver’s ed, the laws of the road stuck with us: we observe the speed limit (for the most part!), we signal before we turn, we maintain a safe distance behind the car in front of us, etc. We are instinctively law-abiding citizens; following the rules has become one of our characteristics.

So it should be with this mandate from Christ. “Truly he taught us to love one another. His law is love, and his gospel is peace.” When loving our fellow-humans becomes our inherent behavior, we will have begun to obey this law, and in turn, we will have become more Christ-like. In reality, we will also be happier people because we will be living out the gospel of peace.

We have our orders. It is our duty as an FOJ* to follow through.

This Carol Sung by Michael Fawcett

                                                                         * - If you’re new to this blog, that’s a “Follower of Jesus.”

“He knows our need, to our weakness is no stranger.”

“He knows our need, to our weakness is no stranger.”
Carol: “O Holy Night” –Translated from the French by John S. Dwight (1813-1893)
Tune: CANTIQUE DE NOEL (Adolphe Adam)

We continue our week with “O Holy Night.” I hope you won’t tire of my breaking this one apart!

Identification. When you list the attributes of Christ, you may overlook this one, but the fact is that part of his mission to earth was to identify with those whom his Father had created. His having walked several hundred miles in our shoes made it possible for him – even now in his glorified state – to empathize with us human pilgrims.

I think I understand the concept of Christ having knowledge of my needs even before I voice them; that has been drilled into me from my earliest days of neediness. However, I am struck in this carol by the line “to our weakness (Christ) is no stranger.” I’m more familiar with “I am weak, but thou art strong,” but THAT is looking at this from a different perspective. Being no stranger to my weaknesses points out this identification attribute. He does not stand to the side as the strong silent type and wonder what I’m facing; he stands inside, seeing it from my perspective and whispers, “I know what you’re going through. I’ve been there.”

So, my fellow needy weak friends, the name Emmanuel can take on a deeper meaning for us during these days leading up to Christmas. Christ truly is WITH us in all our struggles... still.

Carol Sung by Home Free

“Sweet hymns of joy in grateful chorus raise we.”

“Sweet hymns of joy in grateful chorus raise we.”
Carol: “O Holy Night” –Translated from the French by John S. Dwight (1813-1893)
Tune: CANTIQUE DE NOEL (Adolphe Adam)

This carol by a French poet and French composer was translated into English by an American Unitarian music critic just before the Civil War. That’s the background.

I thought this one was appropriate for this blog since it includes the word “hymn.”

One of the reasons I have a lot of trouble doing hymnlines regularly during the Advent/Christmas season is because so many traditional carols simply deal with events and characters from the first Christmas; you can only expound so much on angel appearances, magi arrivals and over-crowded cities with hay-filled cattle stalls.

“Sweet… joy… grateful” – wonderful words that sum up this season, don’t you think? We join in a grateful chorus to express our hymns of joy… our SWEET hymns of joy. Nothing saccharin about this kind of carol-singing… no Splenda, only splendid music! There is, in other words, no substitute for music that bubbles forth from the lips of children and child-like adults who celebrate their faith through song.

Queued at the register at Target, bustled about in the shopping mall, harped on by some church Scrooge: in all these situations, I hear the voice of Hedy (my mother) saying, “Now Ronald George, you be sweet.” Mustering all that is within me, I try to obey that long-ago-spoken directive.

Need a lift during the next seven days? Raise a song. Lift a carol. Be grateful. Be sweet!


A grand chorus sings this carol