Christmas Night

On Christmas night all Christians sing, to hear the news the angels bring,

On Christmas night all Christians sing, to hear the news the angels bring,

News of great joy, news of great mirth, News of our merciful King's birth.

All out of darkness we have light, which made the angels sing this night,

All out of darkness we have light, which made the angels sing this night,

Glory to God and peace to men, Now and forevermore.  Amen.

~Sussex Carol
Good Christian men, rejoice with heart and soul and voice!

Now ye need not fear the grace:  Peace!  Peace!  Jesus Christ was born to save;

He hath opened heaven's door, and man is blessed forevermore.

Christ was born to save.  Christ was born to save.

The Love of God

"The whole life of Christ was a continual passion; others die martyrs, but Christ was born a martyr.  He found a Golgotha even in Bethlehem; for, to his tenderness then, the straws were almost as sharp as the thorns after; and the manger as uneasy at first, as his cross at last.  His birth and his death were but one continual act, and his Christmas Day and his Good Friday are but the evening and morning of one and the same day."   ~ John Donne, from a sermon preached at St. Paul's Cathedral in London on Christmas Day, 1626

For Christ came once to die that we might live with Him eternally (Hebrews 9), so "Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God.  In this the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent his only Son into the world, so that we might live through him.  In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins."  1 John 4: 7, 9-10 

A most blessed and tender Merry Christmas from all of us at High Meadow Farm.

Merry Christmas!

"And in the same region there were shepherds out in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night.  And an angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around the, and they were filled with fear.  And the angel said to them, "Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people.  For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.  And this will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger."  

And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying, "Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased!"

When the angel went away from them into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, "Let us go over to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has made known to us." And they went with haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby lying in a manger.  And when they saw it, they made known the saying that had been told them concerning this child.  And all who heard it wondered at what the shepherds told them.  But Mary treasured up all these things, pondering them in her heart.  And the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen, as it had been told. them."  Luke 2:8-20 

'Tis the Season

"Deck the halls with boughs of holly,

Fa-la-la-la-la, la-la-la-la.

'Tis the season to be jolly,

Fa-la-la-la, la-la-la-la!"

"The holly and the ivy, when they are both fully grown

Of all the trees that are in the wood, the holly bears the crown.

The holly bears a blossom as white as lily flower,

And Mary bore sweet Jesus Christ to be our Savior.

The holly bears a berry as red as any blood,

And Mary bore sweet Jesus Christ to do poor sinners good.

The holly bears a prickly as sharp as any thorn,

And Mary bore sweet Jesus Christ on Christmas Day in the morn.

The holly bears a bark as bitter as any gall,

And Mary bore sweet Jesus Christ for to redeem us all.

For all these reasons we decked not halls, but a tiny casket this Christmastime.  Holly is the male representation of triumph, and ivy the female representation.  The holly berries stand for the blood of Christ.  We used these visible symbols to remind us that in Christ Jesus, by His blood that redeems us, our little Beau - and we - stand triumphant over death.  It has no power over us, but has simply become the servant who bears us to the Father.  It's spectral presence has been defeated.The lovely little mistletoe was mixed in with holly and ivy, too.  It's small white berry pictures purity for us, and, of course, it brings to mind its tradition of kissing.  For these reasons we used the mistletoe, because in life we covered Beau with constant kisses, and in death we covered his grave with kisses as well.
"The holly and the ivy when they are both full grown,

Of all the trees that are in the wood the holly bears the crown.

O the rising of the sun and the running of the deer,

The playing of the merry organ sweet singing in the choir."

Why We Can Rejoice

There have been many beautiful paintings of the Madonna and Child, and this one by Giovanni Bellini (circa 1459) is particularly meaningful.  I wish the brilliant colors that Giovanni used showed up better in this print, but they don't.  What does show clearly, however, is the raven perched upon the hand of the Christ Child to signify that the child came to die.  

"She will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins."  Matthew 1:21

"The saying is trustworthy and deserving of full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners..."  1 Timothy 1:15 

Because of this we have hope though yet we grieve.  Christmas came that there might be Easter that there might be new life eternal.

"To the King of ages, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory forever and ever."  Amen."  1 Timothy 1:17

Can It Be Christmas?

Christmas carols, twinkling lights, television specials, advertising that promises magical joys.  Crowded stores, Christmas tree lots, baking, and planning surprises.  All these things and more abound.  Can it really be Christmas?  It doesn't feel like it.  None of the usual delight and excitement is anywhere on the horizon at our home.  Life and death came in the same lovely bundle for us.  A precious baby suffered and died.  Can it possibly be Christmas?

"Joy to the world, the Lord is come!  Let earth receive her king."

Life and death also arrived in a lovely bundle 2,000 years ago in Bethlehem.  Jesus was born to suffer and die.  He would be pierced for our sins. The old prophet Simeon told Mary that her soul would be pierced by a sword.  Love has it's cost.

"Joy to the world, the Savior reigns!  Let men their songs employ."

Christianity is the Great Paradox.  Christ came to die and rise again in order that we might live eternally.  Death for life.  Suffering for healing.  Because He triumphed over death, we can say, "O death, where is your victory?  O death, where is your sting?"  (I.Cor.15:55)

"No more let sins or sorrows grow, nor thorns infest the ground.  He comes to make His blessings flow far as the curse is found."

"And He who was seated on the throne said, 'Behold, I am making all things new.'  Also He said, 'Write this down, for these sayings are trustworthy and true." (Rev.21:5)  We can look with confidence for the day when there will be no more sorrows nor thorns of life, for He will wipe away our tears and erase the curse.  

"He rules the world with truth and grace, and makes the nations prove the glories of his righteousness and wonders of His love."

"The wonders of His love."  He gives comfort to the mourning, peace to the troubled, healing to the wounded.  Today He gives those things to His children, and not at some later pie-in-the-sky day.  Today the Gospel is true.  

Yes, it can be Christmas, because the Gospel is true.

In The Valley

"Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil; for though art with me: thy rod and thy staff they comfort me."  Psalm 23:4

Formerly, I never got past the first part of that passage in Psalms - the Valley of the Shadow of Death - and wondered what it must be like.  The ideas that took root in my mind were images of darkness, terror, fear, abandonment.  But, now I have seen the rest of the passage.

A shepherd's rod and staff keep the fearful sheep on the right path so that they don't stray into danger.  I have found this to be true, and it is indeed a comfort.  And what was so remarkable in that awful Valley, was the fact that it was not at all dark.  Instead it was light and precious and holy, for the light of the Lord Himself illumined that darkness, and we were not afraid.  We were comforted."... grief is not a force and has no power to hold.  You only bear it.  Love is what carries you, for it is always there, even in the dark, or most in the dark, but shining out at times like gold stitches in a piece of embroidery."

"I was yet grateful.  Sometimes I was grateful because I knew I ought to be, sometimes because I wanted to be, and sometimes a sweet thankfulness came to me on it's own, like a singing from somewhere out in the dark.  I was grateful because I knew, even in my fear and grief, that my life had been filled with gifts."  ~ Hannah Coulter by Wendell Berry.