My Favorite Christmas Song

            I love Christmas music but there is one song that causes me to stop and worship every time I hear it and is my favorite, O Holy Night. O Holy Night was written by Placide Cappeau de Roquemaure in 1847. Placide, the commissionaire of wines in a small French town, was also a poet, and was asked by the parish priest to pen something inspirational for Christmas mass.

            Placide, inspired by the gospel of Luke, imagined witnessing the birth of Jesus in Bethlehem and wrote a poem, Cantique de Noel, about what it would be like to be there on that blessed night.  The work was later put to music and O Holy Night was birthed.

            The imagery in O Holy Night gives me chills: Fall on your knees! Oh, hear the angel voices! O night divine, the night when Christ was born…..Sweet hymns of joy in grateful chorus raise we, with all our hearts we praise His holy name. Christ is the Lord! Then ever, ever praise we, His power and glory ever more proclaim.

            Have you ever thought about how you would react if you were present at Jesus’ birth?  Would you fall on your knees? Would you sing and praise His name? Would that night seem holy to you?

            It occurred to me that as Christians today, even though we weren’t present in Bethlehem, each of us have Christ with us and our reaction should be the same as it would be on the night of his birth. Jesus was resurrected from the dead.  He is our savior, alive and well. He has been birthed in our hearts. I know my own life was radically changed through my salvation. What about you?

             Because of that, we should fall on our knees and worship him. We should praise his Holy name and proclaim his power and glory!

            Every night should be a Holy night in our lives, because Jesus’ birth gave us hope for this life and for an eternal future. According to the song, he knows our need, our weakness is no stranger….His law is love and His gospel is peace. That is worth celebrating now!  

            O night, O holy night, O night divine!

            What about you?  How has Christ transformed your life?   Is it worth falling on your knees today?