O Holy Night
By Jenny Komenda
“The King of kings lay thus in lowly manger;
in all our trials born to be our friend.
He knows our need, to our weakness is no stranger.
Behold your King; before Him lowly bend!”
O Holy Night
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Despite being largely confined to a single chapter in the Gospel of Luke, the Nativity is one of the most cherished and retold moments in Christianity. Perhaps this is because the story of the Savior’s birth vividly demonstrates, in a way nothing else does, what kind of God Christians believe in: a God who chooses poverty over privilege, vulnerability over spectacle, and obscurity over power. A God who comes close to mankind and lights up dark places with His everlasting light. A God who calls on obscure, unclean shepherds and distant traveling Magi to testify of His coming.
Dorothy Day once wrote, “I am so glad that Jesus was born in a stable. Because my soul is so much like a stable. It is so poor and in unsatisfactory condition—yet I believe that if Jesus can be born in a stable, maybe He can also be born in me.” The Nativity assures us that Christ does not require perfect conditions. He comes to the humble, the cluttered, the seeking—and brings with Him the possibility of new life. For a Messiah who entered the world in a manager, there is no life, no circumstance, no place too humble,
broken, or obscure for Him to enter and bless.
In verse, Charles Wesley captured this miracle, and its promise,
with deep reverence:
“Come to earth to taste our sadness, he whose glories knew no end;
by his life he brings us gladness, our Redeemer, Shepherd, Friend.
Leaving riches without number, born within a cattle stall;
this the everlasting wonder, Christ was born the Lord of all.”
N.T. Wright explained that the message of the Nativity is found in the words of the herald angels’ song. “Glory to God in heaven, and peace among his people on earth. And these are not two different things. The whole point of Christmas is that in Jesus, born in Bethlehem, heaven and earth have come together, so that giving glory to God in the highest heaven is directly linked to working for peace and justice at his behest here on earth. And it’s time to start all over again, as Christmas people, to think what it might look like if this Jesus really is the Lord of the world, and if we who worship him are to work for his kingdom here and now, among all those on the edge of hopelessness.”
Dieter F. Uchtdorf has similarly taught, “Let us never forget that we are disciples and followers of Jesus Christ, the living Son of the living God. To truly honor His coming into the world, we must do as He did and reach out in compassion and mercy to our fellowmen. This we can do daily, by word and deed. Let this become our Christmas tradition, no matter where we are — to be a little kinder, more forgiving, less judging, more grateful and more generous in sharing our abundance with those in need.”
As we do so, we honor the spirit and message of this holiest of nights.
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