The First Carol of Christmas

         It's twelve days to Christmas. By this time you've probably heard enough Christmas pop music to last you a lifetime. There is a point which even we music lovers reach when the bells have jingled quite enough, somebody ought to steal Frosty's magic hat for keeps, and for goodness' sake will Rudolph please just run away!

          This is one of the huge problems I have with people who attempt to celebrate Christmas with out Christ. There is no substance, it all gets very insipid, very quickly, and there's no point to any of it because none of it is even real.

         Think about it for a moment, what's left when we take away Christ from Christmas? Santa Claus, Reindeer and a celebration of snow which is nowhere to be seen for many of us at this time of year. Then there's stress for the parents, gluttony and over-gratification for the children, bad-blood between relatives who don't bother getting together at any other time, and only now because it's what one does.....I sound pretty cynical, don't I?

          That, my friends, is what I would sound like if there were no Christ in my Christmas. My musician's soul would be galled by the dinky jingle tunes that make up secular Christmas music, my romantic loving soul would be fed-up by the back-stabbing consumerism pushed by suited corporations, and my logically driven mind would be incensed with the utter meaningless of it all.

         As it is, I love Christmas. I love the lights, the presents, the carols, the decorating, even the shopping sometimes, because it's exciting buying things for other people. However, ultimately it's remember the heart of Christmas, the one truth that brought it all together that makes me love it so.



         In the popular story of the Grinch who tried to steal Christmas, a somewhat ethereal statement that Christmas is not about the stuff but about the heart attitudes of the people celebrating it, is heart-warming in the moment, but unsubstantial in the long run. What must we make of a warm fuzzy feeling about something that means no more than the value we imbue in it?

          I have searched for worth in many places in life. Stuff, people, nature...and I've even looked for it in myself. I'll admit it, I have often yearned for complete independence from everyone and everything else. But it doesn't happen. It won't ever happen, because we cannot look within ourselves for something we never had: Completeness.

          On that night, in that manger, in Bethlehem so long ago, there lay the One God sent to rescue us from our utter inadequacy. He came to ransom us from the vapid nature of our own sin. From the dark despair of our evil hearts. That's something I can take a month of craziness to celebrate. That, good readers, is why I love spending far too much money on presents.

That, is why I love spending hours on Christmas decorations.

      Where does the beauty of the lights come from?
     
       From whence springs the joy of gift-giving?

     What spawned humanity's love for merry-making?

The Creator of all, the Babe in the manger. The darling of heaven fully man and fully God; the word made flesh come to dwell among us.


           And we still see His light.

     If I could sum up Christmas in a word, I would use the same word in which I would sum up the gospel, the law and the prophets, the message behind any true hope: Emmanuel - God with us.



             Over these next few days, I'll share with you much shorter posts introducing twelve carols I've selected for this year, and, if I don't miss my guess, you won't know most of them.

             However, today, I want to start with the pith of Christmas and one of my favorite Christmas Carols. It also happens to be one of the oldest, first written in Latin back when Latin was still a common tongue, and before the Catholics completely sullied the waters with all of their additions and burdens to the pure Gospel.