Christmas would not be Christmas without a rendition of the classic carols that mark this holiday season.
It’s hard for me to choose one of the many festive songs of the season of Christmas. No matter what the genre – whether a timeless classic such as Silent Night or one from the recent past like Mary Did you know? – they tell us the Christmas story from various perspectives.
The song was composed in 1962. Do you hear what I’m hearing? was written by two husbands and wives to sing a song of peace in the Cuban missile crisis and the possibility of nuclear war according to a report I read. The daughter of the couple recalls the background story that inspired the lyrics.
Her father was a soldier as a soldier during World War II, which provided him with a firsthand view on the abysmal war conditions. He wrote “Pray for peace all people everywhere.” Because Christmas is a time to bring peace and joy, as well as goodwill to men, he wrote the promises “The Child Sleeping in the darkness. The Child will bless us with joy and the light of Christ.”
The lyrics contain questions. “Do you recognize what I am seeing? “the night-time wind asks the lamb. “Do you know what I’m saying?” the little lamb asks the shepherd boy. “Do you know what I am talking about?” the shepherd boy asks the mighty king.
The Gospels of Matthew and Luke offer two views on Christmas’s story. Matthew was a writer about wise men’s journey towards Bethlehem and Luke gives the details of Christ’s birth as well as the shepherds’ visit.
As I read both stories again I came across something interesting about this sacred event which had never occurred to me prior to this. God delivered special message from Heaven to every sorts of people. While a majority of them were listening, many did not understand what God was speaking.
To certain people, like Mary as well as Joseph, God sent angels to give an individual message. “Fear to not be afraid, Mary, you will have a son and refer to His name as Jesus” (Luke 11:30 – 31). “Joseph do not be afraid to accept Mary to be your wife…she will give birth to one son and you shall name Jesus his name. Jesus” (Matthew 1:20-21).
God has spoken through prophets over the years, predicting that Christ would be born. Bible experts have pointed out the fact that Christ was able to fulfill 300 prophetic prophecies regarding His birth and life, death and resurrection.
The wise men searched for the child When they found the baby, King Herod summoned the top priests and scribes. They demanded to determine the place where Christ was to be born. They replied, “In Bethlehem of Judea because that’s what it says in the Bible. mentioned in the words of Prophet Elijah.” Why then did they not go? Perhaps they didn’t believe. Shepherds believed. They heard the angelic voice and ran in a hurry to discover the baby in the manger.
What a different Christmas story would have been If those who heard God’s message did not choose to pay attention to the words God was telling them? Minister and author Max Lucado writes, “Were it not for the shepherds there would not be a reception. If it weren’t for the stargazers There would have been there were no presents.”
God continues to speak to us, just as He did a century ago when Christ came into the world. He continues to speak through His Holy Spirit and His Word. Are you able to sense Him talking to you?
-” Jan White has compiled a collection of her columns in her book “Everyday Faith for Daily Life.”
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