O Holy Night

“All of this occurred to fulfill the Lord’s message through his prophet:“Look! The virgin will conceive a child! She will give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel, which means ‘God is with us.” — Matthew 1:22-23

You’ll hear “O Holy Night” sung in practically every style, from gospel to choral, to country, to pop. But no matter what genre, it is hard to sing. It’s a solo, for one thing, with tempos and soaring sustained notes not meant for unskilled singers. Back in the old days, there were a number of audible sighs when O Holy Night was being sung. But it is a beautiful song about a holy night that changed history.

Jesus came to earth as a baby, born of a woman, to change the world. At no time of the year are we more reminded of just how much He has changed the world than at Christmas. In Philippians 2:6-8, Paul tells us of the glory of Christmas. “Though he was God, he did not think of equality with God as something to cling to.Instead, he gave up his divine privileges he took the humble position of a slave and was born as a human being. When he appeared in human form, he humbled himself in obedience to God and died a criminal’s death on a cross.” Paul is reminding us why the night on which Jesus was born was such a Holy Night. The entire Old Testament, from Genesis to Malachi, points to the birth of Jesus Christ.

The line in the song that stood out to me the most was the line, “the soul felt its worth.” Many people struggle with this idea of worth.  We too readily listen to people tell us “you’re never going to amount to anything.”  Or“You’re not smart”  and we carry those narratives with us. Most people struggle with trying to earn their own righteousness. We are wired for the law. We don’t understand grace. I think the more we can show people that their worth is not the issue, the better they will understand it.   

The message of the gospel is the message that although you are unworthy, He (God) deems you as having unending value and worth. He proved it by living and dying and taking our sin upon Himself and conquering death through the resurrection.  You cannot read the Christmas story and not come to the conclusion that in the eyes of God humanity has deep, deep worth and value. Since the resurrection, followers of Jesus have been reminded that for some reason we are of great worth to the King of kings and the Lord of lords.  

We can throw our misgivings and our personal appraisals out the window. They are not relevant. What is relevant is the fact that Jesus took on flesh, lived a perfect life, died on a cross for you and for me. As we celebrate the day of His birth, remember that you are deeply loved by the King of kings.  In His eyes you’re worth it.  Think about that for a second..you are worth it.

Discussion Questions:

1. How do you balance your worth with Christ dying on the cross for you? 
2. What is the best way to celebrate the holy night of Christmas?