One of the most common traditions that many churches observe during the Christmas season is the lighting of the candles on an Advent wreath. Originally adopted by Christians in the Middle Ages, the wreath and candles are full of symbolism tied to the Christmas season. The wreath itself, which is made of various evergreens, signifies continuous life. The circle of the wreath, which has no beginning or end, symbolizes the eternity of God, the immortality of the soul, and the everlasting life we find in Christ.
The candles also have their own special significance. The four candles represent the four weeks of Advent, and one candle is lit each Sunday. There are many ways to do this, but the standard practice is to light the “Prophet’s Candle” first, representing hope, followed by the “Bethlehem’s Candle” second, representing peace, the “Shepherd’s Candle” third, representing joy, and the “Angel’s Candle” fourth, representing love. Some choose to add a white candle to the center of the wreath and light it on Christmas Eve. This white candle is called the “Christ Candle” and represents the pure light and sinless life of our Lord Jesus himself.
As I have been meditating on the hope that is ours in Christ during this first week of Advent, I have been drawn to one particular passage from the book of Lamentations. In the midst of an extraordinarily dark time in the history of God’s people, and in the middle of one of the most intensely raw and unvarnished expressions of sorrow and grief found anywhere in the Bible, the prophet Jeremiah pauses to offer the following statement of faith:
“My soul is downcast within me, yet this I call to mind and therefore I have hope: Because of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed” (Lam 3:19-22).
As I was meditating on this verse, I was reminded that lamentations are actually poems that are often set to music. With this in mind, I began thinking about some of my favorite Christmas carols and how they help to cultivate a spirit of hope during the Advent season, even though many of them were written in the midst of unusually traumatic or unexpected circumstances.
“O Holy Night” definitely ranks right up there on my list of favorite Christmas carols. Very few songs have the ability to inspire a greater sense of genuine, Spirit-filled hope among God’s people, in my humble opinion. Just listen to these words from the opening stanza:
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.
Every text has a context, of course, but as best-selling author Ace Collins has suggested, “O Holy Night” provides us with one of the most amazing Stories Behind the Best-Loved Songs of Christmas.
What I find most fascinating is that this beloved Christmas carol actually began as a poem, written by a popular yet generally pagan French bard, at the request of a local pastor in commemoration of his congregation’s newly renovated organ. As it turns out, the poet liked what he wrote so much that he asked a famous Jewish friend of his to compose a musical score for the piece as well. The fruit of their joint labor, a song originally titled “Cantique de Noel,” premiered at a midnight mass in Roquemaure, France, on Christmas Eve 1847.
Led by the light of Faith serenely beaming; with glowing hearts by his cradle we stand.
Several years later, a Unitarian (non-trinitarian) and Harvard-trained clergyman from Boston discovered the song, translated it from French into English, revised the lyrics, and renamed it “O Holy Night.” As an ardent abolitionist, the pastor strongly identified with the song’s second stanza, first sung on Christmas Eve 1855.
Chains shall He break for the slave is our brother; and in His name all oppression shall cease.
While its historical reliability may be in doubt, there is a famous story that has been circulated over the years about a strategic encounter between enemy troops during the Franco-Prussian War. Legend has it that on Christmas Eve 1871, a French soldier suddenly jumped out of his muddy trench. As both sides stared at the seemingly crazed man, boldly standing with no weapon in his hand or at his side, he lifted his eyes to the heavens and started singing “Cantique de Noel” (“O Holy Night”). After completing all three verses, a German infantryman climbed out of his hiding place and answered with the opening words from the beginning of the Lutheran hymn, “From Heaven Above to Earth I Come.” As the story goes, the fighting reportedly stopped for the next twenty-four hours while the men on both sides observed a temporary peace in honor of Christmas day.
Truly He taught us to love one another; His law is love and His gospel is peace.
On Christmas Eve 1906, a 33-year-old university professor from Pittsburgh did something long thought impossible. Using a new type of generator, the professor spoke into a microphone and, for the first time in history, a man’s voice was broadcast over the airwaves: “And it came to pass in those days, that there went out a decree from Caesar Augustus, that all the world should be taxed,” he began in a clear, strong voice, hoping he was reaching across the distances he supposed he would. To the few who caught this broadcast, it must have seemed like a miracle – hearing a voice somehow transmitted to those far away. After finishing his recitation of the birth of Christ, the professor picked up his violin and played “O Holy Night,” the first song ever sent through the air via radio waves.
Fall on your knees, Oh hear the angel voices! O night divine! O night when Christ was born. O night, O holy night, O night divine.
More recently, yet another example of the nurturing power of “O Holy Night” was reported from the battlefield by The Marine Corps Times. According to the article, a Catholic priest and Marine Reserve major sang “O Holy Night” at the bedside of a dying American Marine, wounded on a military mission in Fallujah, Iraq, to convey a message of love from home on or about Christmas Eve 2004.
The King of Kings lay thus in lowly manger, in all our trials born to be our friend.
Which begs the question: “What do a pagan poet, a Jewish composer, a Unitarian minister, a French foot soldier, a Pittsburgh professor, and an America Marine all have in common?” The answer, of course, is that they are all in desperate need of hope, just like the rest of us, and they all found it in a simple, poetic proclamation of the gospel, skillfully set to music, that has become one of the best-known and best-loved Christmas carols of all time. Why not take a few minutes right now to let the Lord rekindle a “thrill of hope” in your heart as you listen for yourself: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MptnOJsIlyE
Sweet hymns of joy in grateful chorus raise we; let all within us praise his Holy name!
Christ is the Lord! O praise His name forever! His pow’r and glory evermore proclaim!
– David O. Williams, Lead Superintendent
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