Luke 1:5-25;36-45 Luke:1:24,25
“After this his wife Elizabeth became pregnant and for five months remained in seclusion. 25 “The Lord has done this for me,” she said. “In these days he has shown his favor and taken away my disgrace among the people.”
One of the favorite activities of the Christmas season for many are the singing and listening to Christmas songs and carols. Our church, along with others are practicing music specials by choirs of children, youth, and adults. I am thankful they are, for it just seems more like Christmas with more music. I am so glad God gave within our hearts and emotions the means of expressing to Him joy and love and witness of what God has done for us in sending His Son into the world.
I want to begin a series this December on Christmas carols taken from the first 2 chapters of Luke. These might be called “the Original Christmas Carols”, but technically the Bible does not say they were sung, but said. However, these are words of praise said often in a loud voice so for our purposes we will call them praise songs if you grant me that permission.
Literally a carol is a joyous song or lyric, from the French it might include a dance to a flute, but it has in our culture come to be known as a song of praise especially in honor of the nativity. It is a response of joy concerning the story of the first coming of Jesus Christ to earth.
According to my research St. Francis of Assisi tried to change the Church’s Latin formalism with the human warmth. He set up the first crib, ox and donkey, manger and infant, and sang in 1223.
Interestingly Christmas carols were banned in England in 1647. As you know many customs and traditions surrounding Christmas were adapted from pagan worship of the sun god. Christians decided to not celebrate the solstice but rather the Son of God and so took that holiday for their own to recognize the birth of Jesus. The puritans wanted ban any such celebrations.
Now it seems ACLU is the Grinch that wants to outlaw Christmas singing except in churches. Not only have there been various law suits throughout the country on what songs school program can and cannot include, and whether nativity scenes can be placed on public property, and even if the Salvation Army can solicit funds on public ground to help the poor.
As long as we still have freedom let us sing and tell the good news.
We know real joy isn’t in singing and telling the Christmas story, it is in knowing Jesus Christ in a personal way and receiving His free gift of salvation by repenting of sin and by faith following Him. If you haven’t made Christ Lord of your life, my prayer is you will this year.
G. Campbell Morgan, writes: “Luke, the artist, has gathered and collected, under the guidance of the Holy Ghost, the stories which reveal the fact that when Jesus came into the world, poetry expressed itself and music was reborn.” From Luke we see praise expressed.
We begin with the praises of Elizabeth and look at God’s story using her.
