23rd December - A Weary World Rejoices

 “A Weary World Rejoices”

by Andrew Norrie

Well, guys there’s only two more sleeps to go, that’s right in just two more sleeps we will be celebrating the birth of Santa!

I am of course joking. In two days time we will be celebrating and remembering the birth of Jesus in a cold, draughty stable over 2000 years ago.

Whilst I joke about Christmas being a celebration about the birth of Santa I do wonder how many of us spend more time celebrating the present giving, the trashy tv and the fantastic food than we spend remembering the true reason for the day.

For many of us this Christmas will be very different to what we have been used to, we may not be able to see the friends and family that we are used to seeing and Christmas parties are a thing of the past. In a year when everything is upside down and the world seems to be completely broken. I am reminded more than ever of the simple message of that first Christmas Day and the reason for God sending Jesus to earth.

I for one will be the first to admit that I am finding this Christmas a bit of a struggle, I’m missing all the Christmas parties that I usually get to attend, missing getting to catch up with friends and I am not looking forward to not seeing friends and family over the Christmas and New Year period. 

But as I have been preparing for a very different Christmas season there is one song that has been going round in my head. The lyrics of ‘Oh Holy Night’ have been spinning round and round in my head from I wake up to I got to sleep. If you haven’t heard the song you can listen to it here: https://youtu.be/iyjm6VpNaNA

But it is these two verses that are standing out to me the most this year.

Oh holy night

The stars are brightly shining

It is the night of our dear savior's birth

Long lay the world in sin and error, pining

'Til He appeared and the soul felt it's worth

A thrill of hope, the weary world rejoices

For yonder breaks a new and glorious morn'

Fall on your knees, oh, hear the Angels' voices

As I reflected on these words and thought about all that has happened over the past year these words have spoken to me more than ever.

This year I feel like we have all been able to identify errors that we have been making in how we have been living our day to day lives. We’ve been force to slow down and realise that some of those things we thought were crucial to our day to day lives weren’t so important. We have rediscovered family, we’ve learnt what it means to be at home and spend time with loved ones, to go for walks and appreciate the world around us, and so much more. Those words, Long lay the world in sin and error, pining, ’Til He appeared and the soul felt it's worth seem so true and accurate for this year. 

It’s as if God has used everything that happened this year to remind us of our with in Him and the value of ourselves and the importance of taking time to pause and rest in him.

A thrill of hope, the weary world rejoices

For yonder breaks a new and glorious morn'

As we head into the new year, there is Hope on the horizon with the vaccine role out and new treatments becoming more widely available. I don’t think anyone would disagree that our world is weary at the moment but we are rejoicing at the Hope that lies ahead. A new and glorious morn is about to break. Let’s not forget all that has happened this year and most importantly let’s remember the Hope that we have in our saviour.

This year more than ever I think we can all relate to the words of this hymn.

As we celebrate this Christmas let’s reflect on the words of this hymn and take some time to Fall on our knees and worship our King who came to earth as a baby so that we could be reunited with God.

Have a great Christmas everyone.