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 Unlike listening to the radio these were live
voices belting out Christmas favorites. Hearing children sing
Christmas hymns and songs I was emotionally moved and began to feel
the pit-a-pat of the heart and the smile spread across my face.
“Away in a Manger” asks the Lord Jesus to continually stay by my
cradle and stay close to me forever. My imagination soared to the
words of “Go Tell It on the Mountain” seeing the holy occasion of
the birth of Jesus Christ in my head.
Of course, even though it’s not a hymn, I have nearly always felt a
tear when the Little Drummer Boy plays Par-rum-pa-pa-pum. I have yet
to figure out if the song moves me or it’s simply the childhood
memory of the Claymation sheep being run over by the chariot and the
Little Drummer Boy crying over the death of his beloved Baabaa. I
must confess I am as moved by that song as I am still spooked by the
Bumble on the Claymation, Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer, special.
Go ask my children, I still can’t watch Yukon Cornelius, Hermey the
elf, and Rudolph deal with Bumble the Abominable Snow Monster.
Come to think of it, I’ve noticed that I have near the same feelings
of Christmas warmth and smiles on the fourth of July when I hear the
singing of “You’re a Grand Old Flag. ” My heart thumps when I read
all the words of “The Star Spangled Banner” like, “thus be it ever
when free men shall stand between loved homes and the wars
desolation…” The same feelings come over me when I read the great
poets who have placed the human condition into verse.
What, then, is the difference? If the heart is moved by one as well
as the other what can one say about the emotions of Christmas? Well,
they’re not bad and they are real. But my emotions rise and fall. We
all have them but we should not look to them to confirm the
blessedness of Christmas.
Christmas is an objective fact, a truth claim made by Christianity
of the nativity of our Lord. The Holy perfect Son of the True and
Living God took on human flesh and became a human being. Though it
might happen, the Son of God did not do this so that our heart might
go pit-a-pat.
The Son of God came to us in Bethlehem to reunite our estranged
humanity to God the Father. Jesus came to obey where our first
parent Adam disobeyed, and where we have all disobeyed. Jesus came
to be righteous for the unrighteous. The baby in the manger came to
die on a cross so that we who dwell in the valley of the shadow of
death would be given the gift of eternal life.
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Does any of the work of Jesus depend on how I feel
today or tomorrow? No. Jesus birth, life, death, and resurrection
are good, right, true, and valuable no matter how we feel at any
given moment. Dear readers, your feelings will rise and fall. The
truth of God's Word and the work of His Son Jesus stand constant and
unchanging forever.
So yes, go ahead and feel warm and gushy over Scripture readings and
hymns, it’s ok. But, always remember it’s truth, the real objective
truth of Jesus Christ’s incarnation that makes Christmas merry.
Pastor Mark Thompson
Zion Lutheran, Lincoln
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