So the women of our church hosted a special breakfast this past week, and invited a bunch of women who aren’t from our church. And it looks like they had a great time!
Here’s breakfast – chilaquiles (a typical breakfast dish – tortilla chips with salsa and shredded chicken) . . .
Shari also brought her yummy baked oatmeal (a recipe which, I was just reminded, she adapted from a recipe from our friend Jo Ann Smith!).
There were about 22 women who came to the breakfast, which was at our friend Perla’s home.
Mayra shared the gospel, and they made a very cool Christmas craft – check it out . . .
Those are typical Christmas tree ornament shapes made from strips of foamie (is that what you call it? Sheets of thin foamy “paper” used for crafts.).
Anyway, we were very thankful for how well it went. May God bring growth to the seeds that were planted!
One of the changes that Hark the Herald Angels Sing has undergone is that it now has a chorus, and the stanzas have been combined into pairs. Originally, four lines were sung, and that was one stanza, or verse. Now we sing eight lines, and then we sing “Hark the Herald Angels Sing, Glory to the Newborn King” as a chorus.
We’re now getting into verses, or combinations of verses, that are virtually unknown. Here’s the next part of our song:
Come, Desire of nations, come, Fix in us Thy humble home; Rise, the woman’s conqu’ring Seed, Bruise in us the serpent’s head. Now display Thy saving power, Ruined nature now restore; Now in mystic union join Thine to ours, and ours to Thine.
These triumphant words are deep with meaning. “Desire of Nations” is a phrase also used in another one of my personal favourites, O Come O Come Emmanuel:
O come, Desire of nations, bind In one the hearts of all mankind; Bid Thou our sad divisions cease, And be Thyself our King of Peace.
The phrase is from the AV (KJV) translation of Haggai 2:7 (see AV here). Interestingly, this is a disputed translation. Some people believe the verse speaks of the Messiah, others do not. But the idea is certainly valid – that Jesus is the Messiah that nations have long looked for. Come at last, Lord! And yet, this part of the song does not speak of the first or second coming of Christ. It speaks of our desire that Christ should come and save us personally.
“The woman’s conquering seed” is Jesus, a descendant of Eve and born of a virgin, Jesus comes to finally destroy the power of the devil. For more detail on this prophecy from Genesis 3:15, see this edition of Promises of a Messiah. Don’t just bruise the serpent’s head in general – we want this to be a reality in us, says this song. “Now, display thy saving power!”
The last part of this stanza continues the idea of the deepest need of humans throughout history. We were created as something “very good”, a perfect creation of God (Genesis 1:26-31). But when the first man and woman decided to rebel against God, that perfect human nature was ruined.
A look at the world confirms it – we are in an unstoppable drift toward selfishness, a hatred of God, confusion and destruction. We look for new laws, or social pressure, psychology, public shaming, even violence – to try to stop people from doing things that we feel are wrong or destructive. But although sometimes these things can restrain evil for a time, or at least cause people to move away from less socially acceptable evil, the problem remains. A ruined nature.
So what is the answer that Charles Wesley suggests in this carol? “Now in mystic union join Thine to ours, and ours to Thine”. That is, to join human nature with God’s nature.
This can be confusing and misunderstood. The idea is not that a sinful nature can be mixed with God’s perfect nature. That would be impossible. No, it’s not the sinful nature, but it’s a person who is transformed by their union to Christ.
It is the Person who was born in Bethlehem who finally reversed the curse by living a perfect life. And then He took away His people’s sin by taking their punishment on the cross.
Paul explains it more clearly. All descendants of Adam are “in Adam”. They share in Adam’s sinful nature. Everyone in Adam is a sinner, by nature and by choice.
But now there is a “new Adam”, a new “First Man”. This time, He did not yield to Satan’s temptation. He lived a perfect life, and died a substitutionary death.
But there’s a problem – we’re all still “in Adam” – under a curse. The only hope is that we join with Christ. And so, by his grace, and through faith, Christians become members of a new race – those “in Christ”. In Christ we are descendants of the Perfect Man. We are forgiven of sin, and credited Christ’s perfect obedience. Simply stated:
For as by a man came death, by a man has come also the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive.
This amazing theme will be further explained next week, in one more verse that evolved through time. But let’s finish with part of another early hymn from the Wesleys:
The Promise stands forever sure And we shall in Thine Image shine (Romans 8:29) Partakers of a nature pure (2 Peter 1:3-4) Holy and Perfect and Divine In Spirit join’d to Thee the Son As Thou art with Thy Father One (John 17:20-23)
Hymns and Sacred Poems (John and Charles Wesley) (Scripture verses added)
John and Charles Wesley. Two brothers, two Bible preachers. In fact, they went as missionaries to the New World. But they were not saved.
They were not saved! Can you believe it?
Their friend George Whitefield was preaching about salvation – the “new birth”. Charles was impressed – but Whitefield’s preaching did not seem to stir any sense of need in his heart.
John and Charles became very interested in the Moravians, a missions-oriented Christian group that was currently going through a time of renewal. In England they connected with Peter Boehler, a Moravian then in his 20s, and began an ongoing conversation about the faith, being in communication almost every day.
Once, when Charles became sick, he convinced Peter to pray for him. After praying, Peter asked him,”Do you hope to be saved?” Charles said yes.
“For what reason do you hope to be saved?”
“Because I have used my best endeavours to serve God.”
Peter shook his head and didn’t say anything else. Charles wasn’t happy – what, will he take away all my best efforts?
That’s exactly what Peter was taking away. The efforts of sinful man are never enough!
May 21st, 1738. The celebration of Pentecost. Charles spoke with a Mrs. Turner, who had been recently saved, and Mr. Thomas Bray (a Moravian), who read him this passage:
Blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered. Blessed is the man unto whom the Lord imputeth not iniquity, and in whose spirit there is no guile.
It is not a matter of endeavours – the man who is blessed is the one whose sins are not imputed – or credited to his account! Charles says, “I found myself convinced, I know not how, or when … I now found myself at peace with God … !”
It was only a short while later that Charles wrote these words, in Hark the Herald Angels Sing:
Hail the Heav’nly Prince of Peace! Hail the Sun of Righteousness! Light and Life to All he brings, Ris’n with Healing in his Wings. Mild he lays his Glory by, Born 鈥漷hat Man no more may die, Born to raise the Sons of Earth, Born to give them Second Birth.
Jesus did not come so that we would try harder to please God. He didn’t come to give us a second chance to be better people. He came to bring life! Light, healing – to raise the Sons of Earth to a new birth! Without it, we are lost.
Again we see the paradox – in His birth He rises in our vision like the rising sun. And yet, in his incarnation, He “laid his glory by” – He set it aside, to take on flesh. He laid aside His glory – that we may have new life!
Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews … came to Jesus by night and said to him, “Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher come from God, for no one can do these signs that you do unless God is with him.”
Jesus answered him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God.”
The first stanza of the “other” greatest Christmas song, Hark The Herald Angels Sing, rang with the announcement of the angels, and the call to worship. The second stanza invites us to wonder at the “incarnation”.
English speakers who know the word “carnal” may recognize the same root in “incarnation”. It simply means the act of being made flesh – specifically referring to the Son of God, who became human. But first, who is this Person who becomes incarnate? Wesley writes:
Christ, by highest Heav’n adored; Christ the everlasting Lord; Late in time, behold Him come, Offspring of a virgin’s womb.
Christ – the Messiah – a title referring to the One who was long predicted throughout history. The one chosen by God to come and save us. Who is this “Christ”?
Connecting us with the first stanza, He is worshipped by the host of Heaven. The author of Hebrews writes: “. . . when he [God] brings the firstborn into the world, he says, ‘Let all God’s angels worship him.'” (Hebrews 1:6)
He is worshipped by angels (those who warn us to worship only God (Revelation 22:8-9)). He is the everlasting Lord (see Isaiah 9:6 and this look at the prophecy).
He comes “late in time” – that is, after many years of waiting and many prophecies – He finally arrives. In fact, His coming begins the “last days” in which we now live (See Hebrews 1:2).
And, of course, a recognition of the virgin birth – this everlasting Lord was truly and physically born.
Veiled in flesh the Godhead see; Hail th’incarnate Deity, Pleased as Man with men to dwell, Jesus our Emmanuel.
Veiled – hidden – Jesus did not walk around with a brilliant glow of glory – His deity was hidden, in a sense, in His flesh. Hidden – and yet in flesh we SEE Him! Through His flesh He revealed God to us humans! (John 1:18) He was truly God – the incarnate Deity!
Wait – what’s with this word “Godhead”? Actually, it has nothing to do with a “head” as we know it now. English speakers may recognize a suffix with the same meaning – “-hood”. Fatherhood – the state of being a father. Personhood – the state of being a person. You might say “Godhood” or God-ness. The One who is God, who is in nature God (Philippians 2:5-7).
Jesus was pleased to live with us – He voluntarily came. (Incidentally, this line has gone through some minor changes through the years, being originally “Pleas’d as Man with Men t’ appear, Jesus, our Immanuel here!”. Same idea!)
In the Bible, Matthew quoted from the prophet Isaiah: “‘Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall call his name Immanuel’ (which means, God with us).” (Matthew 1:23) Jesus, as the eternal God, is our “God-with-us”.
And so Matthew concludes his book with the further fulfillment of the idea of Immanuel (or Emmanuel):
And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”
Absolutely astounding – that the everlasting Lord, worshipped in Heaven – would desire to come and live with us! What a paradox, that He would reveal the invisible God to us through visible flesh – by becoming like His own creatures. And yet, how else could we understand Someone so different from us?
But the incarnation is going to become more personal and meaningful in the stanzas to come. Another one of the Wesleys’ poems says:
But will He not at last appear And make His power and Godhead known? Surely He shall the Mourner cheer And make the broken heart His throne
Hymns and Sacred Poems
Meanwhile, we marvel at the incarnation of the eternal Lord…
And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth. . . . For from his fullness we have all received, grace upon grace. For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. No one has ever seen God; the only God, who is at the Father’s side, he has made him known.
As some of you may remember, last year I did a series on what I considered to be the greatest Christmas song of all time, a bit of a reaction to some of the ridiculous lists of “greatest Christmas songs” that I was hearing about. You can read the whole series here: The Greatest Christmas Song: Index/Resources
The song I chose was Adeste Fideles, known in English as O Come, All Ye Faithful. But in the end, I was actually waffling between two different songs that could easily have been number one. So, this year, I’m going to take the next few weeks to talk about the other greatest Christmas song!
Like Adeste Fideles, this other song has made its way into popular culture. Well known in the recording industry, it has been recorded many times by many famous artists, and made it to #14 on the billboards in the USA a few years ago when it was sung by Carrie Underwood. It has found its way into the movies also, and has been translated into many languages including Sinhala and Spanish.
In spite of its popularity, many people don’t know its rather controversial history, and neither do they know most of the words. But we’re going to do a deep dive into this one over the next few weeks, so brace yourself.
And for those music nerds who need one more hint, let’s just say – get ready to hear the welkin ring!
Usually I check a little more often, but this time I didn’t. So by the time we were ready to leave, we realized that Hannah’s flight was arriving very early, so we were running late.
We had only driven a few feet when I remembered that I had left something in the house. So – quick re-entry, and back in the van, and – it would not start. Not even close. Waited a minute or two – no go.
SO – we ended up picking up Hannah via taxi. And we’ve learned that taxis are VERY EXPENSIVE on Christmas Eve (though, thankfully, a lot cheaper in Mexico than in the rest of North America).
But, after all that, we were at the airport in time to greet Hannah coming out of the gate – about 10 minutes to spare.
There were a lot of unexpected adventures. The van? Well, turns out it was the battery. So that was changed (by me).
The traditional low water pressure was a part of our holidays. Hannah and Nathanael wanted to sleep in – and hence found it very hard to get showers, because the water was generally low to non-existent during the day. Doing dishes takes a looooooong time.
And then on New Year’s Eve, we woke up to cold showers – the water heater was on the fritz. So we found a plumber to come and fix the tank (probably should get a new one, but no money for that). Thankfully, it was fixed without a lot of fuss, the same day.
Actually, we’ve had a lot of household/appliance problems in the past few weeks – and many more that we would probably take care of if we had the funds. We’re just hoping we’ll get a few months break – but who knows?
Anyway, aside from these things, we had a good time together. Tomorrow Hannah heads back to Canada (and cold temperatures! – about 33 degrees colder than here on Tuesday, according to the forecast).
We really enjoyed the service on Sunday. People had a lot of time to share, and we sang “requests” for the music. It’s always good to hear what people are learning, and to reflect on our hopes for our church in 2019.
So there you go! Just a little news. On Monday, the whirlwind of work begins again for all of us. It’s going to be a crazy week. But let’s not think about that. 馃檪