by Pastor Jim Strelan
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So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the manger (Luke 2:16).
Read Luke 2:(1–7), 8–20
Do you sometimes feel that your life is so ordinary? Nothing special about it, nothing anyone would write about in a magazine or report on TV news. Just a day-to-day struggle, trying to keep our heads above water. When we think about God, especially at Christmastime, we can easily think about majesty, glory, shining light, accompanied by choirs of angels – other-worldly, nothing at all like your life or mine. And God is in all those things. After all, God is God.
But see what we have when God comes to our earth. He comes as a baby, covered in gunk, bawling his eyes out, desperately seeking his mother’s breast. Not in the most prestigious hospital in the land, but in a cow shed, in a feed box for the animals, with no reporters and cameras and bright lights as witnesses, just some shepherds tired from a night out in the fields. A manger baby. Very, very ordinary if you ask me.
But that’s the magic of God. He loves to be in the ordinary, in muck, the inglorious – where we are. It’s interesting that the Christmas story, as we have it in the Gospel of Luke, consists of both the awesome and the ordinary at the same time. A bit like my experience of life with God. I am in awe of him, worship him, lift up his name, and I know that he is with me in all my ordinariness and brokenness. A traditional image of the baby Jesus in the manger is with his hands open and reaching out as best as a baby can. Reaching out to you and me as if to say, ‘This is for you; this is how I want to be involved with you. Come to the manger with me, and we will journey together. I am born for you. I enter your ordinariness and show you God’.
That’s worth doing what the shepherds did: glorifying and praising God (verse 20). May your Christmas celebration of the manger child bring you great joy.
Thank you, God of all, for choosing to enter our world in the ordinary. Be in the ordinariness of my life. Bless me today as I celebrate the birth of the Saviour. Amen.
Jim is a retired pastor who lives with his wife, Ruth, on the north side of Brisbane. He is a proud and not very humble Brisbane Lions supporter. Jim likes to read, listen to music and play golf. He and Ruth love being with their young grandchildren and watching them grow. For Jim, grace is everything, and he will share that however and whenever possible.
Away in a Manger Christmas Day
Read: Isaiah 7:14; 9:6-7 “While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born, and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.” Luke 2:6-7 (NIV) The nativity play was going as planned and Joseph and Mary were going from house to house knocking on the doors and asking if there was any room for them. As they continued to get “no room” answers a little voice called from the back “YOU SHOULD HAVE BOOKED!” The hymn, ‘Away in a Manger’ is sung at every carol’s evening or nativity play that I have ever been to. Did you sing it last night for Christmas Eve? Or this morning celebrating the birth of our Lord?
This hymn points to the manger as the source of our adoration and joy. God’s Son being born in a manger – an animal’s feeding trough – highlights the way that God uses our deepest pain, our humiliation, the things that we wish were different, the despised and the forgotten, to bring Him the greatest glory. Jesus was not laid in a manger by accident. Animals go to the manger for physical food, but with Jesus lying on the hay, we can go to the manger for spiritual food. Jesus has peace and love, patience and hope available for all. We can come to Him at any time and never go hungry with His infinite storehouse of nourishment available to any who ask. The hymn has long been attributed to Martin Luther, as it appeared in publications from 1882 as ‘Luther’s Cradle Song’ saying that he composed it to sing to his children.
But more likely it was written to celebrate the 400th anniversary of Luther’s birth, as there is nothing in Luther’s writings which refer to or correspond to this carol. No matter who claims authorship, the beauty of this hymn is the beauty of Christmas as it speaks of the miracle of Jesus’ birth. It is a beautiful petition to grow closer to the Lord Jesus and for blessings upon all our little ones. Sing or listen to: Away in a Manger
PRAYER V3: Be near me, Lord Jesus, I ask Thee to stay Close by me forever, and love me I pray. Bless all the dear children in Thy tender care, And take us to heaven, to live with Thee there. Amen. 2
Silent Night Christmas Eve
Read: Isaiah 9:2-7 “This is how God showed his love among us: he sent His one and only Son into the world that we might live through him. This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent His Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins.” 1 John 4:9-10 (NIV) At every Christmas Eve service since I can remember I think that the beautiful hymn ‘Silent Night, Holy Night’ ends the night and people quietly walk out of church and to their homes. The song is so well-known, and I don’t think any carols evening is complete without it – secular or sacred. Both the words and tune blend into a feeling that Christ is truly present, and we are singing Him a lullaby. This popular Christmas carol was composed in 1818 by Joseph Mohr, a Roman Catholic priest of Austria. Joseph Mohr began his life in very humble circumstances. In 1792 he was born in Salzburg, Austria to a poor spinster knitter. His father, Franz Joseph Mohr deserted the family when Joseph was quite young. As a child, Joseph developed a friendship with the local cathedral organ master who taught him music, art and history.
This organ master, Johann Hiernle recognized Joseph’s musical talents and enrolled him in the famous grammar school in Kremsmunster, Upper Austria. He finally completed his education at the seminary in Salzburg and was ordained as priest in 1815. He was 23 years old. Joseph’s first parish was in the mountains of Austria where one morning he sat and wrote the poem: ‘Stille Nacht! Heilige Nacht!’ (‘Silent Night! Holy Night!’) Several years later Joseph met and became friends with Franz Xaver Gruber, who was the schoolmaster and organist of St. Nicholas Church in Oberndorf, Austria.
On the evening of 24 December 1818 – history itself is not clear, but it is said that the organ of St. Nicholas was broken and could not be repaired in time for Christmas so Joseph came up with the idea of putting his poem to music so it could be sung by the choir. Franz Gruber wrote the melody and Joseph Mohr transcribed the words to one of the most popular Christmas carols, Christmas Eve 1818. That night ‘Stille Nacht! Heilige Nacht!’ was heard and sung for the first time in St. Nicholas Church in Oberndorf, Austria. Reflect on the words as you sing it this Christmas and pray that all may recognise this beautiful gift from God. Sing or listen to: Silent Night, Holy Night
PRAYER V1: Silent night, holy night! All is calm, all is bright Round yon virgin mother and child. Holy infant, so tender and mild, Sleep in heavenly peace, Sleep in heavenly peace. Amen.
Hark! The Herald Angels Sing 4th Monday in Advent Read: Matthew 1:20b-23
“Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying, ‘Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to those on whom his favour rests.’” Luke 2:13-14 (NIV) My mother is a wonder at poetry and can recite the most obscure and funny poems that she learned at primary school in the 1930’s. One such poem she quoted: Hark, hark! The lark at heaven’s gate sings, And Phoebus ‘gins arise, His steeds to water at those springs, On chaliced flowers that lies; And winking Mary-buds begin to ope their golden eyes: With everything that pretty is, My lady sweet, arise: Arise, arise. (By William Shakespeare) The word ‘Hark!’ is an old English term meaning ‘to listen’.
In our Lutheran Hymnal there are 5 hymns beginning with the word ‘Hark’ - obviously something important is about to be said. In the hymn ‘Hark! The Herald angels sing’, the second line tells us what is so important “Glory to the new-born king”, and this is repeated in the refrain each time – just in case you weren’t listening the first time. The fourth line states “God and sinners reconciled”. The word ‘sin’ and ‘sinner’ are not the words people like to hear. But originally it was an archery term that referred to the distance between the bull’s eye and where the arrow landed on the target. So basically ‘sin’ meant ‘to miss the perfect mark’.
In God’s terms, sin means to miss the mark of God’s perfection. We were born that way… but the Good News is that God didn’t leave us that way – He sent His Son to earth for us! This hymn is full of imagery. Written by Charles Wesley (1707-1788), he cleverly wrote the three verses telling in verse one, WHY Jesus came and TO WHOM He came. No wonder the angels were so excited! Verse two tells us WHO Jesus is. Try to list all the descriptions: He is the everlasting Lord, offspring of a virgin’s womb, God with flesh and bones, Immanuel. Verse three tells us HOW the Christ child made eternal life available to all of humankind. He gave up His heavenly position to come to earth as a man and then gave His life so that we could be born a second time and live with God eternally in heaven.
Sing or listen to: Hark! The Herald Angels Sing PRAYER V3: Hail, the heaven-born Prince of peace! Hail, the sun 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 new-born King. Amen
O Holy Night 4th Sunday in Advent
Read: Job 38:4-7 “After they had heard the king, they went on their way, and the star they had seen in the east went ahead of them until it stopped over the place where the child was.” Matthew 2:9 (NIV) According to legend, a Christmas song once brought peace to a battlefield. It happened on Christmas Eve during the Franco-German War (1870-1871) as the two sides faced each other in their trenches. A French soldier jumped up and began singing “O Holy Night.” The surprised German soldiers did not fire. Instead, one of them stepped forward to sing ‘From Heaven Above To Earth I Come.’
For a brief time at least, peace on earth prevailed and goodwill was shared among men whose job it was to kill each other. This hymn has its origin in the mid-1800s in France, when the composer Placide Cappeau was asked to write a poem about the birth of Jesus according to Luke 2. He had his Jewish friend Adolphe Charles Adams help him with the music. The French people initially accepted the carol, but Cappeau became influenced by socialist propaganda and walked away from his faith. Due to Cappeau’s stance, the song caused controversy in the Catholic church, to the point where it was banned. But John Sullivan Dwight (a political activist) heard this hymn and music in America. He changed the words a bit, but realising the slavery issue in America, he could relate to the third verse:
“Chains shall He break, for the slave is our brother”. With understanding the history of this hymn: through a man who lost his faith, a Jewish man who composed the music, an American abolitionist, God still managed to get His message of the night when Christ was born to the world! It reminds us that baby Jesus was born into the political unrest of the time, but we can still focus and love all of humankind through Jesus’ example.
It tells us to “fall on our knees…” in awe of the wonder that God sent to earth in a tiny baby. The true meaning of Christmas can shine out with the stars that point us to the Saviour of the world! Sing or listen to:
O Holy Night PRAYER V1: O holy night, the stars are brightly shining; It is the night of the dear Saviour’s birth. Long lay the world in sin and error pining, Till He appeared and the soul felt its worth. A thrill of hope, the weary world rejoices, For yonder breaks a new and glorious morn! Fall on your knees! O hear the angel voices! O night divine, O night when Christ was born! O night divine! O night, O night divine! Amen.
Little Donkey 3rd Saturday in Advent Read: Luke 2:4-7
“Rejoice greatly, Daughter Zion! Shout, Daughter Jerusalem! See, your king comes to you, righteous and victorious, lowly and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey.” Zechariah 9:9 (NIV) What do you call a donkey with one leg and a bad eye? A winkey wonkey donkey. Why didn’t the donkey cross the road? He saw what happened to the zebra. Where in the Bible does it say that Mary and Joseph travelled on a donkey to Bethlehem? Nowhere! We can read in Luke that they travelled to Bethlehem from Nazareth, a journey of 145 km. They could have walked or ridden a camel.
So how do we come up in most Christmas Nativity plays that Mary rides on a donkey to Bethlehem? It was a long journey and Mary was heavily pregnant and donkeys were quite prevalent, I think we like to think that Mary didn’t have to walk the whole way. Maybe there is also the association of thirty-three years later Jesus rode a donkey into Jerusalem as King on Palm Sunday (Zechariah 9:9). The Christmas Carol ‘Little Donkey’ was a one-hit-wonder by a British songwriter Eric Boswell in 1959. He wrote many other pieces of music about his home area in Britain, but none made it as big as this simple tune. It is a popular one to perform with children’s musicals and nativity plays. When Eric Boswell was wanting to write a simple song for Christmas, he decided to focus on the treasure that the donkey was carrying to Bethlehem. Christmas can be a time of worries – family, presents, celebrations, food, and the list continues.
Mary and Joseph had worries of their own in trying to get to Bethlehem before census day and before their baby was born… I rather feel they had more issues than us! Were their cares and worries gone with the birth of the baby? Maybe they didn’t focus on them immediately, but having Herod out to kill them might have later become real. As the song says this donkey carried Mary safely… our loving Saviour also carries us with our issues and burdens. Celebrate and enjoy a Christmas filled with joy at the birth of the little Jesus.
Sing or listen to: Little Donkey PRAYER Little donkey, little donkey had a heavy day. Little donkey carry Mary safely on her way. Little donkey, little donkey on the dusty road. There are wisemen waiting for a sign to bring them here. Do not falter, little donkey there’s a star ahead. It will guide you, little donkey to a cattle shed. Amen. 2
Infant Holy, Infant Lowly 3rd Friday in Advent Read: Luke 2:7, 12, 16
“I reared children and brought them up, but they have rebelled against me. The ox knows its master, the donkey its owner’s manger, but Israel does not know, my people do not understand.” Isaiah 1:2b-3 (NIV) There are many things about a child’s birth that we remember, and some that we choose to forget. I am an avid believer in the blessing that God gave to mothers in a short-term memory loss when it comes to childbirth, otherwise I truly believe every couple would only have one child. I do remember the baby shower given to me for my f irst child. Surrounded by family and friends, celebrating with me the upcoming birth of a new little child. Gifts were given, games were played, and amazing blue and pink food enjoyed.
Overall, the event concentrated on and celebrated the new life coming. The Christmas carol for today – ‘Infant Holy, Infant Lowly’ concentrates on the wonder of this new baby, born in a stable, placed in a manger, and celebrated by the animals and low in society (shepherds). This beautiful carol talks of what happened in the stable in the most beautiful way. This was originally a Polish carol thought to be written by Piotr Poweski (1532-1612). He was a tutor, Catholic priest and missionary who wrote this carol ‘W żłobie leży’ (in Polish) just a few months before his death.
Edith Margaret Gellibrand Reed was able to translate it in 1920 to the carol we have today. It originally had a Polish tune, but Joseph Herl in the early 2000s wrote the music that we know today. The word manger is mentioned 3 times in Luke – it was obviously an important detail. But it was also foretold by Isaiah 700 years earlier in the above Bible verse. It was in this humble setting that Mary wrapped Jesus in swaddling clothes and laid Him in a wooden or stone manger – which was an animal’s feeding trough - not a normal child’s crib, and certainly not an appropriate one for the Messiah.
In the Isaiah text we can look deeper and see that the ox and donkey knew their ‘owner’s manger’, but the people of Israel remained clueless to God’s child coming in Bethlehem. Will you recognise the Saviour born this Christmas for you?
Sing or listen to: Infant Holy, Infant Lowly PRAYER V1: Infant Holy, Infant Lowly, For his bed a cradle stall; Oxen lowing, little knowing Christ the child is Lord of all. Swiftly winging, Angels singing, Bells are ringing, Tidings bringing: Christ the child is Lord of all! Christ the child is Lord of all! Amen
Joy to the World 3rd Thursday in Advent Read: Psalm 98 “The Lord has made his salvation known and revealed his righteousness to the nations.” Psalm 98:2 (NIV) Sometimes we assume that because a song is classed as a Christmas Carol that it was written especially for Christmas. That is not the case for this Christmas Carol – ‘Joy to the World’. I don’t think that a Christmas has gone by for me without having sung this carol at least once (more than likely many more times). “Since the 20th century, ‘Joy to the World’ has been the most-published Christmas hymn in North America.
As of December 2009, it was published in 1387 hymnals in North America.” [Wikipedia] But it wasn’t written as a Christmas hymn. In 1719, Englishman Isaac Watts wrote it as a Christian interpretation of Psalm 98 and Genesis 3:17-19. It was not written to depict the birth of Jesus but rather concentrated on the second coming. The tune used usually with this carol is from an 1848 edition by Lowell Mason’s ‘Antioch’, but it has also been attributed to George Handel. This hymn was first played during the Christmas season – maybe that it why it is classed a Christmas carol. God brought the first ‘Joy to the World’ when He sent His Son as a baby in Bethlehem, but our second ‘Joy to the World’ happens when our Lord and Saviour comes for the second and final time to redeem all people.
This makes this hymn a great Advent hymn as it reminds us to keep our eyes on the imminent return of Jesus, both at Christmas and throughout the year. Read the words to the hymn with new eyes. The church needs to sing for joy to God for Jesus is coming! We are to be prepared. We are to look forward to a world without sin and curse any longer. We are to be filled with His truth and grace by which He rules. We are to be awed with the wonder of His love. Our Lord has come, and He is coming again!
Sing or listen to: Joy to the World PRAYER V1: Joy to the World; the Lord is come! Let earth receive her King! Let ev’ry heart prepare Him room, And heaven and nature sing. V4: He rules the world with truth and grace, And makes the nations prove. The glories of His righteousness, And wonders of His love. Amen. 2
Still, Still, Still 3rd Wednesday in Advent Read
Psalm 19:7-10 “Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.” Psalm 46:10 (NIV) Beautiful music often reflects the beauty and majesty of God. It touches our minds, hearts, and souls and gives us a glimpse of the divine. Music is a mystery of creation that reveals part of God’s infinite creativity and love for us. For three years I played f lute in the Noosa Orchestra. It was a joy and a thrill for me to be a part of the orchestra. I was just one little flute, but when combined with all the violins, violas, cellos, oboe, trumpet, French horn and timpani, the result is just overwhelmingly beautiful. Each small instrument plays a big part in the beauty of the resulting music.
Pope Benedict XVI once observed that when words are not enough, beautiful music can express the joy and mystery of God’s love. “It is hard to find words to convey the sheer joy of the soul’s loving encounter with God; indeed, the great mystics could only remain silent before the mystery,” he said. When researching into different Christmas carols, I came across the beautiful hymn - “Still, Still, Still”. I don’t remember singing it in church very much over Christmas, but I do remember hearing it sung by choirs and orchestras. The melody of the hymn is a folk melody from Salzburg Austria first appearing in a folksong collection by Vinzenz Maria Süß in 1865, who was the founder of the Salzburg Museum. This hymn/carol lends itself in its simplicity to a large and full sound.
I found a recording of it sung and played by an Austrian choir and orchestra. In the angelic rendition sung by this Austrian choir, I could imagine the shepherds and animals and those coming to the manger in quietness to marvel at the Son of God. The words describe the peace of the baby Jesus and his mother as the baby is sung to sleep. Find a recording (maybe the one I heard) and just sit and listen and thank God that He sent His Son to earth for each one of us. We all play a part in God’s story. Sing or listen to: Still, Still, Still
PRAYER V1: Still, still, still, He sleeps this night so chill! The Virgin’s tender arms enfolding, Warm and safe the Child are holding, Still, still, still, he sleeps this night so chill. Amen. 2