The Second Sunday of Advent - Peace
Music at Christmastime can range from the silly "I Saw Momma Kissing Santa Claus" to the profound "Coventry Carol". It can have texts that speak of mistletoe, presents, snow, sleigh bells, and the Christ Child. While I cannot claim to have sung in a lot of Christmas or Advent concerts, I've had my fair share, and one of my favorite choruses to sing is "For Unto Us a Child is Born" from Handel's "Messiah". It is a joyous chorus, not morose or foreboding: the music bounces, and has 16th-note runs that can test a choir's skill at vocal articulation. Its text is from Isaiah 9, and speaks of the names that The Child shall be called, one of those being "Prince of Peace".
Today is the Second Sunday of Advent, and the candle that is lit today represents Peace. It is also called the Bethlehem Candle, to remind us of the lowly and humble birth of The Christ Child.
And while the chorus "For Unto Us a Child is Born" is joyful and thrilling, and repeats that the child will be called many things, including Prince of Peace, we must realize that Jesus was born in a very humble state: He was not born in a palace which most might associate with kingship. He was not born of wealthy parents - in fact, other than Him being God incarnate, Jesus' only claim to fame was lineage to the House of David - King David. He was born in humility, and lived His life as a humble Servant of His Father.
We, too, in order to foster peace, need to recognize that peace requires that same kind of humility. If we are proud, and expect our way, there is no peace. When we are humble, when we recognize it's not about ourselves individually, but collectively, there is peace. Jesus' humble birth illustrates that, but even more so, His LIFE illustrated that. His Peace, from His Father, was a peace of spirit, a peace of the soul, that leads and encourages us to live humbly, and to think outside of ourselves.
May the Peace of the Advent Season fill your soul.
Soli Deo Gloria
Comments