"Once in Royal David's City" is hands down my most beloved Christmas Hymn. Aside from the beautiful music it is written to, the words provoke much contemplation about the mystery of Christmas and leaves the listener, or singer, helpless against the urge to wonder in awe. This Advent, I made it a personal 'theme' of mine in prayer and in my preaching to the parish a particular line from the hymn. It is the first line in particular from my favorite verse:
And our Eyes at last shall see
him
Through His own redeeming love
For that Child so dear and
gentle
Is Our Lord in Heaven above
And He leads his children on
To the place where He is gone
What do we desire to gaze upon? What do we wish above all else that we could behold? In times of emptiness, loneliness, fear and insecurity, what do we desire to soothe us?
In the darkness and
stillness of this Holy Night, our eyes at last see what we need and hunger for.
Born this night is the fulfillment of every human heart and desire. Because
sinfulness has brought us un-fulfillment, alienation, a myriad of suffering and
desolation to varying degrees, we need the presence of something whole,
beautiful and true.
This night we behold that which was robbed from us in the
egregious act of original sin: Life; life to the full and life that makes us
full. It was at that first Christmas where we saw the shimmer of Love
glistening upon the human heart. It was this Love made flesh that every human
soul searched for for centuries. It was This infant, this innocent and
vulnerable child, that was the answer to every question of doubt and anguish.
It was His promise that we would find in Him everything. It is in the presence
of this infant child that everything we need and desire is found!
Is this idealistic or for
the pious? No. He is for everyone, and everyone needs Him. This isn’t just some nice thing
that Christians find comfort in or some formula to anesthetize us from the
pains and unflattering truths of this world. Jesus is for everyone and everyone
needs Him and His presence. The existence of pagan mythologies, plethora of world religions and every other
attempt by man to search for and construct god and gods is proof that man,
regardless of background, is universally craving this vision of God. For it is
in this presence of the infant that we become whole again and find our true
wholeness.
The infant Jesus, in his crying, cooing and cawing, contains in His entirety what every man, woman and child needs and longs for. He is the reason for great rejoicing this festive and hope-filled time of year.
His birth shows us that the Love of an other said yes to Life and allowed the baby to be born, bringing with Him Love to those He will be around. Life necessitates Love, and Love cannot help but bring Life.
What do we need to see? Love. What do we need? Life. With the events of this Holy Night, we see and we live! We sit in the manger beside the Holy Family, shepherds, angels and kings in silence just looking, watching, gazing upon the face of Love made flesh.
It is a great mystery, one that requires us each year to call to mind these events in a special way to remind us of what we were made for and what completes us. We live lives often drastically void of any semblance of the quiet manger scene and the serenity of the loving touch of Jesus. Let us take advantage of this season of Christmas to carry us forward and make us strong in our commitment to both Love and Life in our world, nation, home and hearts.
And our eyes at last shall see Him. We have come to Bethlehem, let us now look upon our Lord and let all other things melt away as we sit in awe and wonder of His presence.
