O Holy Night

I am sure many of you took time last night to view the "North Star" or "Christmas Star".  Supposedly this is the closest that Jupiter and Saturn have been to each other in over 800 years and it won't happen again until 2080.  So if you're from my generation, most likely, we won't see this again in our lifetime.  Although people are referring to this as the Christmas Star, it is really called a conjunction (bear with me, I promise this isn't a science report) and it is where two planet's orbits overlap.  They have reason to believe that when Jesus was born there was a conjunction of at least three planets.  Which would have made this "star" even brighter around the time of Jesus' birth.  

Last night, my kids and I bundled up to go outside and look for the "star".  It didn't take long for us to find it and we ewwwed and awwwwed at it for a while as they sky around her grew darker and darker.  Being the nerd that I am, I read the girls the scientific explanation for this star and then answered approximately three thousand questions (some related and some not) because, well kids.  We talked about the story of Jesus' birth that we had read previously and about how this same "star" proved to be such an important part of leading the wisemen and shepherds to his humble place of birth.

Just as we were about to go in, my middle child Gabriella said, "Mommy, can we sing the Christmas Star song?"  I wasn't really sure what song she was talking about until she started belting out, "O holy night, the stars are brightly shining, It is the night of the dear Savior's birth..." As we continued to sing the song, standing outside, shivering in the cold, for the first time I actually paid attention to the words, "...Long lay the world in sin and error pining, till he appeared and the soul felt its worth.  A thrill of hope the weary world rejoices, For yonder breaks a new and glorious morn...Fall on your knees! Oh, hear the angel voices.  Oh, night divine, Oh, night when Christ was born..."

If this song doesn't apply to us and our world's current situation, I don't know what does.  The world and so many of us in it are weary and pining for something to breathe new life into us.  We are tired, hurting, beat down by sin or life's hard blows--we are in great need of something more.  With the political unrest, long-lasting affects of Covid, the deaths of lost loved ones, the disappointment with where we might find ourselves in life, we are weary and longing for something else. 

The Christmas season has always brought about a sense of hope, that something better is coming.  That help is on its way!  It reminds us that there is a reason our weary world can rejoice again, our Savior, the King of Kings and Lord of Lords has been born!  The song goes on to say, "And in His name, all oppression shall cease..." This suffocating oppression of which we have been succumbed to, is commanded to cease.  It has to release us.  But there's something interesting in this song, it says over and over again to "...fall on your knees..." In order to experiment this peace, this rest to our weary souls and this salvation from oppression, we have to acknowledge our Savior's birth. We have to kneel down and acknowledge Him and what He is doing around us and in us.  

I truly believe these next words are prophetic, (and I say that carefully and with all humility) "...For yonder breaks a new and glorious morn...".  It is always darkest before dawn, and this past year has been a dark one for many.  It has been a trying, painful and strange year.  People have lost jobs, lost relationships, lost loved ones and the losses go on and on.  BUT, the yonder is breaking and we are about to experience a GLORIOUS MORN.  Our Savior has been born and HE is exactly what our weary world and souls need more than any gift this Christmas.  

I invite you to kneel with me, alongside the manger where a baby boy was born so many years ago, to acknowledge that He was and still is the Savior that our weary world needs.  

Merry Christmas to each and everyone of you.  May this upcoming year be one of NEW and GLORIOUS things.