Like so many of us, I love the Christmas carol, O Holy Night. The music is beautiful, and the lyrics speak to me in a way that lifts my spirits and reminds me that at Christmas… hope appears when the Christ Child is born again in our hearts. One of my favorite lyrics from the song follows the line, Long lay the world in sin and error pining. The very next line is the answer to the world’s problems: Till He appeared and the soul felt its worth.
Without the birth of Christ, our souls are weighted down by the human condition. Paul sums up that condition when he says, “I can’t seem to do what I know to be right and I keep on doing the evil I know to be wrong.” But then Christ comes into the world reminding us that despite our sinful nature, we are still of great value to God. God loves us despite our shortcomings. He restores our souls according to the 23rd Psalm. God is our shepherd, and He reminds us we need nothing more than to be in His presence beside the still waters.
Phillip Keller was a shepherd who wrote a book entitled, A Shepherd Looks at 23 Psalm. In that book, he writes that sometimes when the sheep’s fleece is long or heavy, it can cause problems if the sheep lays down and ends up on its back. The weight of the fleece can keep the sheep from righting itself. The shepherd must come along and, as Keller says, “restore the sheep,” holding the animal erect and rubbing its legs until circulation is restored and it can walk on its own. Similarly, the Good Shepherd restores us, restores our souls when we falter.
Many years ago, my older brother was attending an Episcopal church in downtown Houston. He said it was their tradition for the congregation to gather in the education building before the Christmas Eve service. It was there that Mary and Joseph would ride a donkey and lead both children and adults of the church on a short walk to the sanctuary. Once everyone had entered the space, they would begin the Christmas Eve service. One year, the parade was making its way to the entrance of the sanctuary when this poor old donkey collapsed and died in the doorway. What do you do when the donkey dies on Christmas Eve? My brother said, “nothing can stop Jesus from being born on this night,” so the members of the church gingerly stepped over the donkey and made their way into the sanctuary where they sang the carols, heard the scriptures, and lit their candles.
O Holy Night reminds us that this is a night different from any other night. It is a night when hope is born, and our souls once again feel their worth.
Rev. Dave Poteet, Pastor of Congregational Care
