Everyday Christmas

‘Tis the sixth day of Christmas in our countdown to Christmas Day, and today’s Christmas carol goes hand-in-hand with patience, or longsuffering as it’s sometimes translated. The word indicates forbearance, fortitude, perseverance, endurance.

O little town of Bethlehem, how still we see thee lie!
Above thy deep and dreamless sleep the silent stars go by.
Yet in thy dark streets shineth the everlasting light;
The hopes and fears of all the years are met in thee tonight.

Christmas on earth – how quiet is the scene that is set! For hundreds of years, the world has groaned and travailed for some Redeemer to loose it from the sin that runs rampant throughout its lands and borders. All elements are here: the patience, the endurance, the fortitude, the long-suffering.

So often we want to escape that suffering – or at least shorten it. “If I must suffer, hurry up and get it over with.” Yet it is through the perseverance in the trials God allows that works in us complete dependence upon Jesus Christ. It’s how we enter into the fellowship of His sufferings.

In the midst of whatever difficulty you are facing just now, look to the Everlasting Light that beams even in the darkest places.

For Christ is born of Mary and, gathered all above
While mortals sleep, the angels keep their watch of wond’ring love.
O morning stars, together proclaim the holy birth,
And praises sing to God the King, and peace to men on earth.

While the first verse gives the perspective of Bethlehem itself, verse two speaks of the view from heavenly places. Wondering love! Careful watch! Proclamations of joy! Songs of praises! Declarations of peace! Think how the angels themselves must have anticipated this moment.

How silently, how silently the wondrous gift is giv’n!
So God imparts to human hearts the blessings of His heav’n.
No ear may hear His coming, but in this world of sin,
Where meek souls will receive Him still the dear Christ enters in.

Again perseverance and patience play out here. We desire immediate change. We want the saving event revealed and fully embraced at once. We want the fullness of the vision of glory right away – yet “how silently” God works! As Jesus declared, “The kingdom of God cometh not with observation: Neither shall they say, Lo here! or, lo there! for, behold, the kingdom of God is within you.” (Luke 17:20-21).

Rest, dear child, and embrace the silence and secrecy of the kingdom of God.

Where children pure and happy pray to the blessed Child,
Where misery cries out to Thee, Son of the mother mild;
Where Charity stands watching and Faith holds wide the door,
The dark night wakes, the glory breaks, and Christmas comes once more.

All this isn’t just for Christmas Eve. It’s here. It’s now. True Christmas is the entering in of Christ into our hearts and lives every day. Where Charity stands watching – where Faith holds wide the door, darkness cannot stand in the glorious light of the gospel! That’s when the Spirit of Christmas – the Holy Spirit sent by Jesus Christ, born as a baby, grown into a man, and ascended into heaven – reveals itself in everyday life.

All the “good feelings” and “warm wishes” of the season may be nice, but ultimately they will fade if initiated by the will of humans. Even though that may feel like “the Christmas spirit,” in reality it is only a cheap, flesh-made counterfeit – a paltry imitation of the true Spirit sent to us, the true Spirit that desires to live itself within us every moment. Why be content with an imitation penny when the infinite riches of the Kingdom are at your disposal!?

This Christmas – today – embrace the Spirit of God, the Spirit whose fruit is love, joy, peace, patience, and more we will yet explore. Let that Charity of Christ watch over your life; let the Faith of the Son of God live itself through you, and you’ll be surprised to discover just how much richer Christmas can be.

The final verse of this carol is our prayerful response to Him:

O holy Child of Bethlehem, descend to us, we pray;
Cast out our sin, and enter in; be born in us today.
We hear the Christmas angels the great glad tidings tell;
O come to us, abide with us, our Lord Emmanuel!

Be born in us today! Amen! May it be – abide with us this day, Emmanuel, that the fruit of the Christmas Spirit may abundantly crowd our lives every moment of every day, and every morning as we awake and find ourselves still with Him, we can truly say that Christmas comes once more.

Come back tomorrow for The Song of a Song.

Find the rest of today’s Twelve Days of Christmas party posts here. 

Enter the giveaway here.