Today in the town of David a Savior has been born =
to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord. This will be a sign to you: You =
will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.” — =
Luke 2:10-12
The night that =
Christ was born. Some things are impossible to imagine. But still, =
it’s worth the try.
In 1847, Placide =
Cappeau, a Frenchman and commissioner of wine, was asked by a priest to =
pen a song to celebrate the church organ renovation and sing at =
Christmas mass.
Known more for =
his poetry than church attendance, Cappeau was a little shocked, but =
took the request seriously and dug into Luke 2 for some =
inspiration. On a long, dusty carriage ride to Paris, Cappeau =
started to think about what it would be like to have been there. On that =
Holy Night.
Long lay the =
world in sin and error pining.
Till He appeared =
and the soul felt its worth.
Words in hand, Cappeau needed a melody and asked =
his friend and trained classical musician, Adolphe Charles Adams, for a =
little help. The two collaborated and the “O Holy =
Night” was debuted at the Christmas Eve service to rave =
reviews. It later spread to the U.S., after airing as the first song on =
radio waves.
A thrill of hope =
the weary world rejoices,
For yonder breaks =
a new and glorious morn.
You can almost put yourself in the back of that =
Paris cathedral over 160 years ago. Probably dimly lit by oil lamps and =
candles, hearing anew about that “night of our dear Savior’s =
birth.”
But can you put =
yourself in Bethlehem on that night? Can you imagine being there, =
in that lonely manger?
Fall on Your =
Knees. Oh hear the angels’ voices
Ask any parent about the most memorable =
moments in their life, and the birth of a child is certainly on top of =
the list.
But more than =
2,000 years ago, there were no smartphones to document the event. No =
Instagram or Facebook to share the moment with the world. Just =
fear and uncertainty.
“And an =
angel of the Lord appeared to them and the glory of the Lord shone all =
around them and they were terrified.” — Luke =
2:10
But even without =
social networking, word spread quickly about the birth of the Savior. =
After all, this was Good News and great joy.
Yes, bringing a =
child into the world is one of those things you just can’t stop =
talking about. But what about this Christmas? What about the most =
meaningful childbirth in all of history?
It may not be =
easy to imagine what it would be like, on that “night =
divine.”
But that =
shouldn’t stop us from talking about it.
[credit: Debra =
Kaul]
~~
Dr Bob Griffin =
[email protected] www.grif.net =
"Jesus Knows Me, This I =
Love!"