The first Noel the angels did say
Was to certain poor shepherds in fields where they lay
In fields where they lay, keeping their sheep,
On a cold winter’s night that was so deep:
The traditional Christmas story has very definite symbols attached to it and one of those are pictures of angels. In the telling of the Christmas story you cannot overlook the roles of angels. It was angels who appeared to Mary and shocked her with the news of her being chosen to become the mother of the messiah.
It was an angel who later announced the arrival of Jesus Christ when he was born and it is interesting that rather than announcing the news to the political elites or the scholars of the day, the angels found poor shepherds in the field watching their flocks and they were the first to hear the news that ‘today in the city of David, the messiah had been born’
The carol ‘First Noel’ captures the story of the first Christmas or birthday of Jesus. The word Noel comes from the French word Noël meaning Christmas, from the Latin word natalis which translates as birthday” the refrain on the carols tells us “Noel, Noel, Noel, Born is the King of Israel”
The long awaited king, saviour, messiah arrived in the world and only a handful of people were aware that anything of significance was taking place. Today up and down our country, Jesus the king is entering into people’s lives and circumstances and whilst there are no angels announcing his arrival, the bible tells us there is joy in heaven over one sinner who turns around and starts following Jesus.
May we continue to know the joy of having Jesus in our lives and experience during this Christmas season.
Lord may our hearts remain open to you in everything that we do
O little town of Bethlehem, How still we see thee lie
Above thy deep and dreamless sleep, The silent stars go by
Yet in the dark streets shineth, The everlasting light
The hopes and fears of all the years, Are met in thee tonight
Bethlehem was a small insignificant town in Galilee and it was there that God had planned for the Messiah to be born. It is amazing to realise that God is in control of time and he can direct the desires of an emperor to fit into his planned purposes. In Luke’s gospel we are told that Augustus decreed that a census be taken and this led to a great movement of people which ultimately placed Mary and Joseph in Bethlehem where Mary went into labour and Jesus was born.
This Carol captures the sentiment surrounding the birth of Jesus. Bethlehem was a quiet town where nothing really amazing ever happened. But as the silent star went by, little did people realise that the hopes and fears that people had carried for centuries, the hope of deliverance from sin, the fear of God’s wrath was wrapped up in that one event taking place on that quiet still night.
In the baby being born, time would show that he would lead people into the great hope of salvation and the wrath of God would be fully met in his sacrifice and his everlasting light will shine brightly for years and years to come.
That hope is still being realised everyday, when someone opens their heart and invites the man from Bethlehem into their hearts transformation takes place.
Lord help us believe the story at the heart of Christmas and apply its truth to our lives.
Sing choirs of angels; Sing in exultation
Sing all ye citizens; Of Heaven above
Glory to God; glory in the highest
O come, let us adore Him
Christ the Lord
The bible states that “there is nothing new under heaven”. All we can truly do as human beings is discover what has always been or replicate what has already existed.
It is true, especially in the West that Christmas has truly become a commercialised activity. Most companies really do make their years profit around this time of the year. Alongside the commercialisation of Christmas we also have the Hollywood version of Christmas, where most Christmas films always end happily, people fall in love or find that special someone, conflicts are resolved and children receive the gifts they asked Santa for and most importantly everyone is happy.
The first Christmas basically reflected the great optimism we find in our commercialised Hollywood Christmas. Angels are appearing all over the place, shepherds are seeing a host of angels singing glory to God, prophets are appearing and blessing the baby and we get the impression that heaven is happy and those on earth who know about the messiah’s arrival are ecstatic.
This carol calls the faithful to rejoice because the most wonderful news humanity will ever hear has happened. The God of heaven has decided to come to earth in human form and now lives among us, so the writer challenges us to come and adore Jesus Christ because he is the Lord.
Lord may we truly see you in your majesty and realise your lordship over our lives
We three kings of Orient are;
Bearing gifts we traverse afar
Field and fountain, moor and mountain
Following yonder star
Just as it was during the time of Jesus’ birth so it is today, we are not even aware how much we reflect this ancient story in our own activities.
Christmas eve every year sees a great movement of people, schools would be on holiday and most offices either close on Christmas eve or they finish early. The truth is most people save holidays so they don’t have to work on Christmas eve and that is the day most people decide to travel.
How amazing that a journey made over two thousand years ago by wise men who traverse afar, over fields and fountains, moors and mountains following a star is still copied today. It’s wonderful to see cars laden with gifts as people set off to spend Christmas with families and friends, a journey that bears a slight resemblance to the wise men who travelled and then presented gifts to the baby Jesus.
It is true that we reap what we sow. God gave the world the greatest gift of life in Christ Jesus and it is no surprise that when we truly understand God’s gift our response is to give God our lives in return and our hearts to serve him.
There is so much joy in giving but God has designed giving to be a form of blessing to the giver.
Lord may we truly discover the joy of giving and create in us a heart of generosity.
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
Among the Yoruba people of Western Nigeria there is a tradition that when a child is born, the child remains nameless for eight days. The family studies the child and events happening around the time of birth and then chooses an appropriate name for the child to have. It was believed that your name will ultimately reflect your nature and affect the life that you live.
Something similar seems to have happened to the baby Jesus when he was presented in the temple. Simon, a prophet, comes into the temple, sees Jesus and goes straight towards him, taking Jesus in his hand he says “Sovereign Lord, now let your servant die in peace, as you have promised. I have seen your salvation, which you have prepared for all people. He is a light to reveal God to the nations, and he is the glory of your people Israel”. Ana, a prophetess also comes into the temple and gets hold of Jesus and she talked about the child to everyone who had been waiting expectantly for God to rescue Jerusalem.
The writer of this Carol captures one key element of Jesus’ life in the line ‘with the dawn of redeeming grace’ The bible tells us that grace and truth came through Jesus Christ and that grace continues to draw us closer to God through Christ and his truth continues to redeem us and lead us to freedom.
This grace expressed at Christmas has transformed millions of lives around the world and continues to do so
Lord help us continue to grow in your redeeming grace as we understand your truth
O holy night, the stars are brightly shining
It is the night of the dear Saviour’s birth
Long lay the world in sin and error pining
Till He appeared and the soul felt its worth
One of the dangers we face at this Christmas time is giving gifts that people do not really need, which leads to false thank you’s that do not come genuinely from the heart.
One of our challenges is trying to educate our children to value things, but by giving our children too much it inevitably leads to children growing up with a demand for more and a lack of appreciation for the things they do have.
Giving gifts at Christmas reflects the Christmas story but a closer look at what was given at Christmas shows that God gave what we truly needed not just what we wanted. If there was no Easter, Christmas would have been completely pointless. The reason why we can truly appreciate God’s gift of Christ at Christmas is because we can now see Jesus’ gift to humanity at Easter
The writer of this Carol states ‘long lay the world in sin and error pining; till he appeared and the soul felt its worth’. The greatest need that existed in our world before Jesus arrived was the need for forgiveness of sin and reconciliation with God and that need was met perfectly through Jesus Christ.
Today our souls can feel the worth of Christ’s appearance and truly appreciate his power to deliver us from sin so we can experience life. That is why God’s gift at Christmas is truly the best gift this world has ever known.
Lord open our eyes to see your gift and receive it
Said the little lamb to the shepherd boy
Do you hear what I hear (do you hear what I hear)
Ringing through the sky shepherd boy
Do you hear what I hear (do hear what I hear)
A song, a song, High above the trees
With a voice as big as the sea
I saw an article titled ‘Proof men really do have selective hearing’ it stated “study finds the average man switches off after just six minutes of chatting with their other half (but pays attention for 15 minutes when talking about sport with his mates)”. I can guarantee that if a study is conducted the other way, it would also prove that women also have selective hearing because selective hearing is a human problem not a male problem.
Throughout the last book of the bible ‘Revelations’ the writer states regularly ‘let him who has ears hear what the spirit is saying to the church’. Our ability to only hear what we want to hear will definitely affect our ability to have a relationship with God, to grow in faith, develop as a person and have good relationships with ourselves and others.
The bible challenges people to respond to God today and says ‘if you hear his voice do not harden your heart’. Christmas reminds us that God loves us(you). God is interested in you and Jesus came for you. Christmas reminds us of the gift we cannot work for but was freely given and those who learn to unwrap the gift will discover life.
This carol challenges us to listen to the one who will ultimately bring us goodness and light. I hope over this Christmas season we would have eyes to see, ears to hear the wonderful news of God’s great love for us in sending Jesus into our world.
Lord give us ears to hear your great love and eyes to see your wonderful truth that came through Jesus Christ.
‘They entered the house and saw the child with his mother, Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped him. Then they opened their treasure chests and gave him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh.’ Matthew 2:11
There is a reason why gold still remains a precious metal.
The vast majority of gold that exists on earth has been naturally sourced. While scientists can create gold in a laboratory setting, it’s an incredibly energy-intensive and expensive process, making it impractical for large-scale production. Scientists believe that most of the gold we find in jewelry, electronics, and other applications comes primarily from natural deposits formed over billions of years through geological processes.
It is this rarity that continues to give gold its value. It is the reason why in ancient times and today gold still remains a gift given to royalty. When the wise men appeared over two thousand years ago to visit the infant Jesus, they arrived with gifts.
They gave Jesus Gold. This was a generous gift for a baby and it also showed the value the wisemen placed on the baby they were visiting. Christian tradition over the years have stated that the gold was given symbolically to indicate the kingship of Jesus
If the wisemen were completely unaware of the nature of Jesus, it was still a generous gift to give and it showed their generous nature. I wonder what we can give to Jesus that will reveal the value we place on him.
Lord teach us to be generous with the resources you have given us
‘They entered the house and saw the child with his mother, Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped him. Then they opened their treasure chests and gave him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh.’ Matthew 2:11
Frankincense was an interesting gift to give to a baby. It is an aromatic resin used in aromatherapy and skin care today and historically it has been used in religious ceremonies and offerings.
In Christian traditions many have speculated that the gift of frankincense was symbolic of Jesus’ role as a priest and his sacrificial nature. Jesus was the priest that represented humanity before God and his sinless nature was a sweet aroma to God.
The wisemen, it is believed, were telling us one of the key natures of Jesus. He was going to be our high priest before God.
Today we spend billions of pounds hiding our natural scent with specially designed perfume. Yet no matter how much we try we still leave a scent when we interact with others. One of the promises for followers of Jesus is that as we engage with him, and interact with him, God will spread the fragrance of Jesus through us. Paul in his letter states that the fragrance of Jesus is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness and self control. I pray over this season we would be a sweet smelling fragrance of Jesus to those we interact with.
Lord make us a fragrance of Christ and spread your amazing knowledge through us.
‘They entered the house and saw the child with his mother, Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped him. Then they opened their treasure chests and gave him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh.’ Matthew 2:11
This was the strangest gift the wisemen brought for the baby. I do not think an embalming fluid would be a gift new parents will appreciate for their child. Myrrh was a fragrant oil that was used for embalming. It was used in ancient Egypt and valued for its antimicrobial properties, which helped to preserve the body. It was often used in conjunction with other substances to dry out the body and prevent decay.
Historically Christian have viewed this gift as symbolically pointing towards the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Whilst Christmas celebrated the arrival of the Messiah most followers of Jesus look to the events of Good Friday and Easter Sunday as the defining work of Jesus here on earth.
The gift brought by the wisemen is believed to show the kingship of Jesus, his priestly order and also as the sacrificial lamb who takes away the sin of the world. The truth is Jesus’ life was not lived for him, it was to bring glory to God the Father and provide a way for human beings relationship with the father to be restored
As we celebrate the coming of Jesus into the world today and celebrate the joy of that occasion, our hearts also turn to Easter knowing that without it access to God would remain impossible.
Thank you Lord for the joy of Christmas. We are equally grateful for the sacrifice of Easter and the life you gave to us.
Our vision is to be a church where people flourish, growing in the knowledge and love of God and reaching out in the spirit of generosity.