Light and Life to All He Brings
At our Thanksgiving dinner this year, I asked what for me was an unusual question: “Do you have a favorite Christmas hymn?”
I’m someone who typically resists starting Christmas activities until after Thanksgiving weekend. But this year, with the first Sunday of Advent falling on Thanksgiving weekend, the question felt right. I had been reflecting on how the Apostle Paul connects being filled with the Spirit, singing, and giving thanks in Ephesians.
Instead, be filled with the Holy Spirit, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs among yourselves, and making music to the Lord in your hearts. And give thanks for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Ephesians 5:18-20, NLT
The responses from our family table—and others I asked throughout the weekend—were remarkably consistent. Two Christmas hymns came up again and again: “Hark! The Herald Angels Sing” and “Silent Night.”
“Hark! The Herald Angels Sing”
In Amazing Grace: 366 Inspiring Hymn Stories for Daily Devotions, K. W. Osbeck shares:
Written by Charles Wesley in 1739, the hymn emphasizes the glory of Christ’s birth and the peace He brings. Like many of Charles Wesley’s more than 6,500 hymns, this text clearly presents biblical doctrine in poetic language. The first stanza describes the song of the angels outside Bethlehem with an invitation to join them in praise of Christ. The following verses present the truths of the virgin birth, Christ’s deity, the immortality of the soul, the new birth, and a prayer for the transforming power of Christ in our lives. For more than 200 years, believers have been enlightened and blessed by the picturesque manner in which Charles Wesley has retold the truths of our Savior’s birth.
Hail the heaven-born Prince of Peace!
Hail the Sun of Righteousness!
Light and life to all he brings,
risen with healing in his wings.
Mild he lays his glory by,
born that we no more may die,
born to raise us from the earth,
born to give us second birth.Hark! the herald angels sing,
“Glory to the newborn King”
“Silent Night”
A few pages later, Osbeck tells the inspiring story of “Silent Night”:
When this beloved hymn was written by two humble church leaders for their own mountain village parishioners, little did they realize how universal its influence would eventually be.
Joseph Mohr, assistant priest in the Church of St. Nicholas in the region of Tyrol, high in the beautiful Alps, and Franz Gruber, the village schoolmaster and church organist, had often talked about the fact that the perfect Christmas hymn had never been written. So Father Mohr had this goal in mind when he received word that the church organ would not function. He decided that he must write his own Christmas hymn immediately in order to have music for the special Christmas Eve mass. He did not want to disappoint his faithful flock. Upon completing the text, he took his words to Franz Gruber, who exclaimed when he saw them, “Friend Mohr, you have found it—the right song—God be praised!”
Soon Gruber completed his task of composing an appropriate tune for the new text. His simple but beautiful music blended perfectly with the spirit of Father Mohr’s words. The carol was completed in time for the Christmas Eve mass, and Father Mohr and Franz Gruber sang their new hymn to the accompaniment of Gruber’s guitar. The hymn made a deep impact upon the parishioners even as it has on succeeding generations.
When the organ repairman came to the little village church, he was impressed by a copy of the Christmas carol and decided to spread it all around the region of Tyrol. Today it is sung in all major languages of the world and is a favorite wherever songs of the Christmas message are enjoyed.
Silent night, holy night,
Son of God, love’s pure light
Radiant beams from Thy holy face,
With the dawn of redeeming grace,
Jesus, Lord, at Thy birth,
Jesus, Lord, at Thy birth.Silent night, holy night,
Wondrous star, lend the light;
With the angels let us sing
Alleluia to our King;
Christ the Savior is born,
Christ the Savior is born.
My oldest daughter, Christy, shared this about why she chose “Silent Night”: “It’s not just the beauty of the lyrics, it reminds me of memories growing up and that I am now sharing with my children of singing it at the end of our church candlelight service.”
Light in the Darkness
Both hymns declare the same wonderful truth: Christ brings light into the darkness of our world.
The prophet Isaiah wrote: “Darkness as black as night covers all the nations of the earth, but the glory of the Lord rises and appears over you. All nations will come to your light; mighty kings will come to see your radiance” (Isaiah 60:2-3, NLT).
The apostle John writes in the beginning of his gospel: “The Word gave life to everything that was created, and his life brought light to everyone. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness can never extinguish it” (John 1:4-5, NLT).
All three stanzas of “Silent Night” speak to Christ’s light, as does the third stanza of “Hark! The Herald Angels Sing.” They echo Jesus’ own declaration: “I am the light of the world. If you follow me, you won’t have to walk in darkness, because you will have the light that leads to life” (John 8:12, NLT).
Let Your Light Shine
As we prepare to celebrate Christmas this Advent season, we remember that we are now children of His light, called to let our light shine.
Paul writes: “For God, who said, ‘Let there be light in the darkness,’ has made this light shine in our hearts so we could know the glory of God that is seen in the face of Jesus Christ” (2 Corinthians 4:6, NLT).
He also writes, “For once you were full of darkness, but now you have light from the Lord. So live as people of light! For this light within you produces only what is good and right and true (Ephesians 5:8-9, NLT).
And Jesus commands: “Let your good deeds shine out for all to see, so that everyone will praise your heavenly Father” (Matthew 5:16, NLT).
The Christmas candlelight services Christy remembered illustrate this perfectly. One candle lights another, then another, until the entire room glows. A single light is beautiful, but a room full of lights transforms the darkness.
The same is true for our churches. It’s beautiful when one church lets its light shine. It’s even brighter when churches across a city shine together.
I am thankful for all the churches across Arkansas who are displaying the beauty and radiance of Christ this season—through light displays, Christmas programs, meals for the hungry, gifts for families in need, and countless other acts of generosity.
Whether you have a favorite Christmas hymn or several, may we as individuals, families, and churches let our light shine this Advent and Christmas to display His radiant glory.
