The Eleventh Carol of Christmas
My older brother lives in Florida, and very recently came up to visit for Christmas. There have been several late nights(or should I say early :p) Long discussions, heated arguments, laughs that lasted so long they hurt, and beautiful memories made. I think this Christmas season has been the best in several years for us, and I look forward to Christmas day and all the time I have left for this year with Timothy.
Have you ever heard the saying, "Absence makes the heart grow fonder?" Well, to some degree that was the case with my older brother. We were always the two in the family to butt heads from how to sweep the floor, to whether or not Jews used the New Testament, and everything in between.
In fact, just now, my dear older brother proclaimed that I could never beat him in Bible Challenge - a Bible knowledge game, and I am convinced that I absolutely could.
I refrain from starting an argument, but, you see how this goes? Anyway, there was a point in my life where I was happy to have some distance between us because we simply couldn't see eye to eye, and I was thoroughly tired of ramming my head against a brick wall.
I didn't understand him, he didn't comprehend me in the least, and as for opinions, it was hard for us to agree what was personal and what was a matter of morality.
Well, I got distance; plenty of it, in fact. After a while, I was able to put things in perspective and began to see that while trying to get Timothy to see things my way was a matter of personal satisfaction, the amount of congeniality and love we had for each other was a matter of eternal importance. When we stand in the presence of Christ, out ideologies and opinions will not matter in the face of unquestionable truth. However, the times we spent, the way we treated each other, the love which we manifested, those will echo throughout all of endless time.
I still get into arguments with my brother now and again, but I've come to value him as a person, regardless of what he thinks or says. He's my brother, and that counts for a lot.
What does this have to do with Christmas? Oh, everything, of course.
You see, the unifying factor is Christ.
It is He who draws us together, and gives us a reason to be joyful.
Without Christ what reason would I have to even attempt to love any of my brothers who, at times, can be downright infuriating (of course I can be the same to them).
If Christ did not come, we would have no call to be glad about anything. The world is a depressing place on many counts; to quote a friend, "It seems as though every time you clean up one mess, there's another mess and it's twice as big as the old one."
But God....
Those blessed two words that turn the tide of even the worst course of events.
But God did not leave us where we were. He sent His son, born of a virgin, fully God and fully man, to bear our sins upon His shoulders, to take the full weight of God's just wrath upon His head. And now we can rejoice, and I think all nature joins in.
It's fitting to bring trees into our homes at Christmas, whatever the pagans may have done with them before, it matters not. Trees belong to God, and they are glorious now, but someday, because of Christ, God will restore them to their full glory. Animals may be dumb and nasty smelling now, but it was only fitting that they should be present at Christ's birth; someday, they too will be released from the burden of sin under which all creation groans.
Instruments are man made, flawed, sometimes jarring, and never perfect, but it's only fitting that even they should sing God's praises to the best of their ability. All that exists should exist to exalt our Creator, for that is where our purpose lies, and there we will find true joy.
I'm going to share a carol with you today which you've probably all heard, though, perhaps not in this particular version.
I first heard The Ukranian Bell Carol, also known as the Carol of The Bells, before I can remember, but I only really fell in love with the song a few years ago when I heard an English boy's choir sing their rendition. This beautiful chorus seemed to truly capture the heart of the song and I have adored it ever since.
While bells ringing has very little to do with the original Christmas story, it has a great deal invested in our Christmas traditions throughout history and reflect the joy we have been brought in Christ. When I was in Oxford I got to hear bells multiple times on Sunday , and they truly are magnificent.
They do seem to call us to throw cares away and be merry.
Christmas is here, bringing good cheer, perhaps more of us ought to listen to the song of the bells!
Gloria in Excelsis Deo!
~ Christianna
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