Wintersong/Christmas Lights/It Came Upon The Midnight Clear

I love Christmas. I love the music, the lights, the colors, the festivities that are tied to the season. It's a season of merriment and joy! But then again… it's not. That first Christmas…Christ was born in a dirty barn and laid in a dirty manger filled with straw, with dirty animals about. There's nothing pretty about that scene, but that's the scene we're given for the birth of this king. It wasn't really joy-filled, except maybe for when Mary held her son. It doesn't matter what happens before. When a mom holds her newborn…there is joy, a deep joy, following deep pain, but joy nonetheless.

There is deep pain around us, on so many levels, near and far. My heart breaks for Berlin and Aleppo. It grieves for a young couple I know who lost their baby earlier this year.  It hurts for a friend whose elderly mother is currently hospitalized. I still miss my dad.  

Emotions are all over the place this time of year. My song selections tonight are also all over… I heard this song a while back and wanted to share it. So painfully beautiful. Dedicated to the heartbroken.

 

 

Then I heard this song. I love Coldplay so I immediately recognized Chris Martin.  Found the video and thought it needed to be shared as well.  Quirky would be a good description. Dedicated to the melancholy…

 

But, just as my story about that first Christmas may have started with pain and suffering and ended with joy… this song series ends in joy, incredible joy.  Weeping endures for the night, but joy comes in the morning.  It really does and it really will.

But you, O Bethlehem Ephrathah,
who are too little to be among the clans of Judah,
from you shall come forth for me
one who is to be ruler in Israel,
whose coming forth is from of old,
from ancient days.
Therefore he shall give them up until the time
when she who is in labor has given birth;
then the rest of his brothers shall return
to the people of Israel.
And he shall stand and shepherd his flock in the strength
of the Lord,
in the majesty of the name of the Lord his God.
MICAH 5:2–4

If you are “in him” by faith, you will inherit all the promises
of God. Micah’s prediction came true in Jesus. And thus all the
promises were confirmed. God has told the truth. Christmas
is God’s great confirmation of all his promises. If Christ has
come, God is true. And if God is true, all the promises will
come true for all who trust him. Receive this unspeakable gift."

-The Dawning of Incredible Joy, John Piper, Desiring God