Songs Of Hope - Sing We Now Of ChristmasSample

Hark! The Herald-Angels Sing

Hark! The herald-angels sing
Glory to the newborn king;
Peace on earth and mercy mild,
God and sinners reconciled

Today is the day! Today we celebrate the birth of Jesus, our savior, master, and king. Most of us are relieved from our regular work today. Christmas, well celebrated, usually involves pouring out our love on our family and friends. It is a day of good feelings and goodwill. It is a day of joy and a day of peace.

That was not the Christmas the newborn Jesus experienced. Christ was not born into a joyful, peaceful earth. His country of origin had been overrun by numerous foreign powers and was cruelly occupied on the day He arrived. But our Lord did not come to compete with any of those powers, foreign or domestic. He did not come to wage war; He has come to wage peace.

His weapons are not simple spears and chariots, or even the much deadlier modern equivalents. He is the God who breaks spears and burns chariots (Psalm 46:9). His weapons are holy, and much more powerful - sacrifice, humility, forgiveness, and mercy. Christ’s weapons do not produce defeat; they produce reconciliation – man to God and man to man.

One of the things that makes Christmas so exciting is that this day is not just His day. It is our day. Jesus has called us to join Him in His ministry of reconciliation. He has called us to wage peace on the world. He has gifted us with those same weapons – sacrifice, humility, forgiveness, and mercy. We have only to ask for them and be prepared to employ them in our own hostile environment.

Today is the day! Take up your weapons, brothers and sisters. Storm the broken, violent world around you. Follow your savior, master and king, until that day when His peace covers the earth and all creation has been reconciled to Him.

Larry Locke
Associate Professor, McLane College of Business
University of Mary Hardin-Baylor