Sing We Now of Christmas -
Psalm 51:10-12 - Create in me a pure heart, O God,
and renew a
steadfast spirit within me.
Do not cast me from your presence
or take your
Holy Spirit from me.
Restore to me the joy of your salvation
and grant me a
willing spirit, to sustain me.
Today, we look at a traditional French carol, NOEL NOUVELET, which
literally means “Christmas comes anew.” This
tune dates to the late fifteenth century and has dozens of stanzas not
translated into English. It is believed
that these many stanzas were a walk through the twelve days of Christmas. In more recent times though, the song was
shortened to focus more on celebrating the figures in the Creche, the handmade
French nativities found in almost all French Christian homes. These nativity
sets are more central to the French than even Christmas trees. The practice in
many homes was to sing the carol while dancing around the nativity as a way of “entering
into” the story of Christ’s entrance into the world. This is the way Christmas comes anew each
year as we take time to enter into the story as a participant instead of a
casual observer.
As you look
back on Advent and Christmas this year, have you been able to enter into the
story or has it all been a blur? It’s
not too late. Spend a few moments with the figures of the nativity before this season
ends next week. Imagine you are a shepherd
steered to the manger by the visitation of angels. Or a wise man in a far-off land who has heard
the message that a king has been born and you begin a long journey to pay Him
homage. Or even Mary or Joseph with a
baby in their arms anticipating the joys and sorrows ahead being the earthly
parents of the very Son of God. In what
ways could you place yourself in that first-century stable? To the extent that we can do that, we allow
Christmas to “come anew” for us this year and every year.
Question: How has
Jesus been reborn again in your life this year?
Prayer: Son of God,
help me be present again in the stable where you entered our world and
inhabited our human experience. Help me
experience the power as if I had been there in person. Be born for me again this new year. Amen.
Prayer Focus: Pray
for your own spiritual needs today.
Song: Sing We Now of Christmas – Straight No Chaser
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