December 13, 2019

What’s your favorite Christmas song? I’m kinda guessing it may be “Jingle Bells, Batman Smells, Robin laid an egg…” Okay, how about your favorite actual Christmas song… Joy to the World? Away in a Manger? Silent Night? A lot of Christmas hymns we sing in church have roots in different languages. Silent Night was first written in German (Stille Nacht), Angels we have heard on high has the latin phrase “Gloria in excelsis deo” , which means Glory to God in the highest, and The First Noel? Noel is a French word for Christmas, but it may go back to a latin word for birth.

The First Birth kind of changes the song for me. All along I’ve just sang the words “the first noel”, and it always seemed like noel meant song.

• The First Noel, the Angels did say, Was to certain poor shepherds in fields as they lay

But look at what the angels actually say to the shepherds:

⁸ And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. ⁹ An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. ¹⁰ But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people. ¹¹ Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord. ¹² This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.”

Luke 2: 8-12 (ERV)

The angels tell of the birth–the first noel, the first birth of our Savior. The good news. Glory to God.

Take time today to try and see something new about the Christmas story.

Dear Jesus, you came as a baby to save me–that’s pretty amazing. Help me to see something new about your coming today. Amen.

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