My favorite Christmas hymn is "O Holy Night"; I am often overcome with emotion when I hear the hope filled lyrics soaring amidst the initially serene, then triumphant notes of the musical score of the hymn. This year, on the first day of December, I came upon the most beautiful rendition of that hymn on YouTube that I have ever heard by Celine Dion (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Jr-2eyRtV4&feature=colike), and decided that I was going to listen to it every morning during my prayer time until Christmas Day to remind me of the real reason for rejoicing and celebrating the Christmas season. I shared the video with my family, and my daughter sent me an amazing music video of "O Holy Night" she found on YouTube based on scenes from The Nativity Story movie (2006) and sung by Josh Groban (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Zh-yR0pbmU&feature=colike), which absolutely blew me away; so I decided to alternate renditions of the hymn in my new seasonal daily ritual.
You know how after reading or hearing or seeing something over and over again you begin to notice a lot of things that you did not pick up on the first few times around? Well, after listening to and watching the nativity scene video for about the 12th time, the Holy Spirit gave me a revelation which amazed and overwhelmed me, which I believe He wants me to share with you, and that we really need to get a hold of. Before I share this with you, would you take a few moments to watch that Groban video? I included a link above.
Here's what hit me all of a sudden about this video that I believe the Holy Spirit was trying to show me: All the actors in the video except one did such a wonderful job of acting in portraying their characters that they make the event of Christ's birth come alive. The one exception was the actor who made it all come together, but who wasn't acting: He was the baby who portrayed Jesus...who's name is not even revealed in the IMDB.com credits. What I mean is this: The baby wasn't acting...he was just doing what babies naturally do; he had no idea of how many "takes" he was in or what was going on around him, nor did he care. He just totally and unknowingly trusted in the people around him to take care of his interests, and went about being a baby, not acting like a baby. And then, the significance of what I was seeing washed over me...The same scenario existed for the infant Christ-child in the real event! An all-knowing God became the all-unknowing baby Jesus, totally dependent on the very humans He created, and their dependence on His heavenly Father, to provide for His every want and need; a baby - the perfect example of a most important spiritual concept: A "faith being", as opposed to a being "acting" in faith.
Jesus demonstrated His teaching to Nicodemus in John 3:1-8 ("I tell you the truth, no one can see the enter the Kingdom of God unless he becomes born again") and the answer to the question about who is the greatest in the Kingdom of God that He would teach about later in Matthew 18:1-4 ("I tell you the truth, unless you change and become like little children, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven. Therefore, whoever humbles himself like this child is greatest in the kingdom of heaven."). Our whole life is is spent growing up and distancing ourselves from childhood - physically, mentally and spiritually. But then, in chapter 3 of the Gospel of John, Jesus tells a man who has matured to an adult - physically, mentally and spiritually according to the world's terms- that in the spiritual realm, he must become "born again" - become like a baby again - to enter the Kingdom of God; and then, according to his teaching in Matthew 18 (and corresponding verses in Mark and Luke), stay as innocent and dependent as a child in that realm in order to reach its pinnacle.
Wow! For me, that adds a new dimension to the Christmas celebration. Christmas is all about the baby Jesus, joyful children with excited expectations and becoming like a kid again...the perfect example of what our spiritual life should be!
Merry Christmas, Everyone!
No comments:
Post a Comment