Hi, friends. Today’s post is a little different. It’s an article I wrote years ago about my first experience with Handel’s magnificent oratorio, Messiah, and the One on whom it’s based. Merry Christmas, everyone.
Family and fans filled the auditorium for the highlight of our high school choral season. Though young, our choir had gifted singers and a director who demanded excellence. The music demanded it too. We all stood taller when we sang Handel’s most famous piece, the oratorio Messiah.
Written in 1741, Messiah uses scripture to tell the story of the birth, life, death, and resurrection of Christ. Every December, our choir sang the Christmas portion of the oratorio, and finished with the finale that has brought people to their feet for centuries: the “Hallelujah” chorus. For me, a young Christian, singing about the Lord through this exciting music during my favorite time of year was thrilling. But did I ever wonder think about what it must have cost the Father to give us His Son?
“The Glory of the Lord” (Isaiah 40:5)
Throughout the generations, God revealed His glory to the Israelites in many ways, including creation, the law, the Prophets, and physical manifestations of His presence like fire. But, distracted by pagan cultures, the people were fickle and idolatrous. Still, God was faithful. And one night, He revealed Himself and showed His love in a different way. No fire, no cloud, no sea-parting. This time, a baby was born, and what a baby He was.
God has planned this birth from the beginning, even before Adam and Eve ate the fruit that soured our relationship with Him. Old Testament prophecies foretold the coming of God’s Son, born into a life of ministry, teaching, love, and sacrifice no one could have imagined. It was an astonishing plan: to wrap flesh and bones around a heart that beat with love for mankind, around the heart of His only Son. All the while, the Father knew that three decades later, His Son’s heart would be broken, His body mangled. It would cost His life, but God sent Jesus anyway.
“For Unto Us a Child is Born” (Isaiah 7:14)
The glory of the Lord took the form of a newborn, fearfully and wonderfully made, fresh from his mother’s womb. He lay in a manger instead of a fancy crib. God the Father loved Jesus in a new way, through the tender care of His young mother and the protection of a godly man. Angels sang the glorious news, shepherds came to visit, magi later brought the most precious baby gifts ever given. Thus began the life of God’s Son among us.
In order for Jesus to be Immanuel, which means “God with us,” He had to be away from His Father. Jesus was still God, but they were bound by the limitations of His human body. Surely the Father felt His Son’s absence. Was heaven different without Jesus? I wonder if the angels were sad. What about that dark day when Jesus bore the sins of the world, when God had to turn His back on Him--did the Father’s heart rip in two like the curtain in the temple? After He died, Jesus descended into hell because of our sins and experienced total separation from God. Did the Father long to see His Son again and welcome Him home?
“Hallelujah” (Revelation 19:6)
Hallelujah! Jesus rose again; our Lord God Almighty reigns. He is coming back, and this time, His arrival will be obvious to all the world. Everyone will see God’s glory revealed, and we all will kneel and honor Him. Why does the Father wait to send Jesus again? As always, love motivates Him. He doesn’t want anyone to perish but everyone to come to repentance (2 Peter 3:9). So He waits.
And the years roll by. Every Christmas, we get glimpses of His glory in music like Messiah, worship services, family celebrations, memories of God’s faithfulness. We sense Immanuel in the beloved story of the birth, in gifts given from the heart. Maybe this year considering the cost of Christmas will be our gift to Him--the One whose gift to us that first Christmas was His own heart.
Thank you for stopping by my blog, Glimsen, where I write about the beauty around us in nature, the arts, and the unexpected. If you like what you've read, sign up to receive my weekly blog posts and occasional updates in your inbox, and I'll send you a gift of beauty. Just click on the big blue button below to sign up.
Photo by Tim Umphreys on Unsplash