‘O Holy Night’
How magnificent are these words!
This Christmas these three words have been ever present in my mind. After a bit of research, I found that this well-known hymn was written by Placide Cappeau de Roquemaure as a French poem to be read at Christmas mass in 1847. While reading the story of Jesus’ birth in the gospel of Luke, Cappeau penned these remarkable words as he imagined witnessing the birth of Christ. This poem was turned into the song ‘O Holy Night’ by Cappeau’s friend Adolphe Adam, a Jewish man who did not believe wholeheartedly in its words.
O Holy Night! The stars are brightly shining,
It is the night of our dear Savior’s birth.
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.
Our world still groans in sin and error. One glance at the world news and we are sickened, angered, outraged at the injustice and cruel treatment of others. The world suffers long after things that will never satisfy: the desire to be right, to be heard, to be seen, and to be loved have tainted all since the fall of man.
Yet, He came.
He came on a holy night–lowly at first glance. Surely, a stable was not the place for the promised Messiah to make His entrance.
He came. He came to meet us in our lowly places. Those dark places we run to for comfort and security. Those places that are far away from Him.
He came to rescue. And with this glorious rescue, the poet of “O Holy Night” captures the essence of who we are as believers in Christ Jesus—Filled. Our souls, after chasing the useless for fulfillment, find their worth in the rescue form of a lowly baby on a holy night.
He came.
Bringing hope. Bringing a THRILL of hope He entered the world. A hope of newness, the hope of eternity, the hope of the end of the useless pursuit.
The birth of Christ is more than a long told story about a baby and a manager. It is about a filling. A filling of all that we have ever longed for. Jesus Christ sent from God the Father came to make us whole. Only in Him are our weary hearts satisfied.
May the beauty of this gift bring you to a place of fulfillment and hope in Jesus Christ. Christmas is a new and glorious morn!
by Jen Heffentrager
