BIRTHDAY SONG

It seems so incongruent that a King would have the most inadequate “bassinet” around. An animal feeding trough, not a crib with a pristine sheet and safety-approved side rails. No nice receiving blanket or soft sleeper, just strips of coarse cloth wound about Him to keep Him snug and serve as a type of diaper. Today, when the little kids (or even adults) re-enact the nativity scene (bless those shepherds in Dad's robe), we tend to forget the original “maternity ward” for the King of Kings was cold, crude and dirty.

Yet that's how God chose to write His Son's birthday story. He stooped to earth to raise us up to eternal life.

If left to human standards of celebration, Christ's birth would have been a presidential inauguration and royal coronation all rolled into one, and more besides. Parades! Bands! Extensive media coverage! But God doesn't need glitz to spread the Gospel. Possibly, we're ill equipped to accord Him the infinitely indescribable honor and glory that is His.

This past month or so, I've been reading and re-reading Psalm 89. It's a lengthy one, in which God's love and faithfulness—and the anointed reign of King David—get top billing. But between the lines extolling a human ruler are the parallels of the great Heavenly King who begin His long-prophesied reign in a chilly barn.

The heavens are yours, and yours also the earth; you founded the world and all that is in it....

Righteousness and justice are the foundation of your throne; love and faithfulness go before you.

Blessed are those who have learned to acclaim you, who walk in the light of your presence, O Lord.

They rejoice in your name all day long; they exalt in your righteousness. For you are their glory and strength....(vv. 11, 14-17)

When I'm around a newborn baby, my voice is soft, tender. They are so fragile and vulnerable to loud and surprising sounds. (I wonder how Baby Jesus coped with the barn-mates' baas and moos!) But this psalm reminds me: it's okay to acclaim and rejoice—verbs that imply loud and joyful praise.

I like the quiet, lullaby-like Christmas hymns, like “O Come, O Come, Emmanuel,” “O Little Town of Bethlehem,” and “Silent Night.” But this sacred holiday of celebration also calls for :”Joy to the World,” “Hark the Herald Angels Sing” and “All Come, All Ye Faithful.”

Sing with gusto and joy! It's okay....He's no longer the “baby Jesus” needing a quiet nursery setting (if that was ever possible in a primitive animal shelter). As the the writer of Psalm 89 suggested with words like “rejoice” and “exalt,” this is the time to sing out with gladness. A King is born! More important, a Savior has come!