January 13, 2009 | In: Charity, Divine Law, Incarnation, Last Things
Oh Holy Night
The best hymns pack a lot of meaning into a few words. The Christmas hymn, “Oh Holy Night” begins with a beautiful and powerful summary of the entire Christian faith.
Long lay the world
in sin and error pining
’til He appeared
and the soul felt its worth.
Since the Fall, the world has been covered by the darkness of sin and error (ignorance). Humanity wears itself out seeking happiness in what can never satisfy. Without Christ there would be no hope to find rest in true happiness. Exhausted and hopeless, the world lies panting and dreaming of a better way. From the Fall, the desire for true happiness beat in our hearts, but there was no way to fulfill that desire. Then Jesus took on human nature and showed us how much God loves us. The Creator of the Universe places Himself helpless and vulnerable in the hands of human beings. The great Law-Giver becomes obedient to human parents. The Incarnate Word works the greatest miracle through the body of a human woman. Humanity catches its first glimpse since Eden of the perfect happiness of loving God and being loved by Him.
A thrill of hope,
a weary world rejoices.
Yonder springs
a new and glorious morn.
Christ’s birth thrilled through the entire world, and continues to do so. Humanity now has the hope of gaining that for which it was created — covenant with God. Even before we fully understood the redemption Jesus offered, we felt the seeds of that redemption in the closeness of our God. The sun has arrived, the darkness flees before it. Noontime has yet to come (in the Resurrection), but we catch a glimpse of the light and heat it promises and we are filled with hope. This hope is felt by the shepherds greeted by the angels, and also by the magi who see the hope in the changes of the universe and follow a star to the God-King. It is the hope we celebrate every Christmas.
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