Listen

Go tell it on the mountain

Over the hills and everywhere

Go tell it on the mountain

That Jesus Christ is born

 

Shepherds feared and trembled

When low above the earth

Rang out the angel chorus

That hailed our savior's birth

 

Go tell it on the mountain

Over the hills and everywhere

Go tell it on the mountain

That Jesus Christ is born

 

Down in a lowly manger

The humble Christ was born

And God sent our salvation

That blessed Christmas morn

 

Go tell it on the mountain

Over the hills and everywhere

Go tell it on the mountain

That Jesus Christ is LORD

 

Luke 2:15-20

“So it was, when the angels had gone away from them into heaven, that the shepherds said to one another, “Let us now go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has come to pass, which the Lord has made known to us.”  And they came with haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the Babe lying in a manger. Now when they had seen Him, they made widely known the saying which was told them concerning this Child. And all those who heard it marveled at those things which were told them by the shepherds.  But Mary kept all these things and pondered them in her heart. Then the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things that they had heard and seen, as it was told them.”

It’s Christmas Eve. My plans this year look different than they have in years past because 2020 is the year of interrupted plans. Normally my family and I would be attending a Christmas eve service where I would have to wrestle a lit candle away from my toddler and throw looks that communicate “Santa is still watching!” at my kids to get them to behave for the next 45 minutes. In between these looks, I would try to listen to someone else tell me the Christmas story and then sing along with the carols about Jesus being born in a manger and to the world. Despite the difficulty of trying to get my 2-year-old and 5-year-old boys to relax long enough to enjoy one carol, I actually very much look forward to this service. I love hearing the Christmas story told to me. The wonder of the creator of the universe being held in the arms of a teenage mother, a created being, and being pacified by her calm soothing voice captures me. I love lifting my candle along with countless others in celebration and praise as we collectively remember the story and the great plan of redemption that was in place since the foundation of the world.

In a song by Beautiful Eulogy, they state it like this:

“The infinite becomes infant, the maker becomes man.”

Imagine that for a moment. The one who thought up the cosmos and also had the power to put them into the expanses, He became a baby who was also a squirmy, curious, little boy.

This seems crazy. “That in a lowly manger our humble Christ was born.” Jesus coming into the world as a baby, being born in a stable, and sleeping in a manger is the perfect picture of humility. Humbly he became a baby, born to a poor family, and accepted all the limitations that came along with that.

On the night Jesus was born, the angels interrupted the shepherds with news of the saviors’ birth. This was a welcome interruption, for the shepherds wasted no time in seeking out their newborn king. When they witnessed the truth that the angels spoke they took it upon themselves to share this great news with anyone who would listen. They were still shepherds, but they let this interruption give them a new purpose which was to glorify God and tell the world of all they had heard and seen!

So maybe this year you have had your life interrupted. I know I have. But no interruption is bigger than the moment Jesus interrupted my life by coming into my heart, rescuing me, and becoming my king and savior! If you have a moment like this too you know that this will always be the biggest interruption of your life. You know that your life was headed in one pitiful direction and Jesus entered your world and brought you into His kingdom changing your life forever! Has this moment raptured you the way it did the shepherds? Are you now compelled to “go tell it on the mountain, that Jesus Christ is LORD?” Or are you more compelled to talk with others and complain to others about your current temporary interruptions? Have you forgotten the power of the king who created the cosmos who lives inside of you?

This Christmas eve, take inventory of your heart. Your life is the mountain on which you have a voice to the world. What story are you telling? Re-read the story of the coming of Jesus in Luke 1:26-2:40. Dwell on the fact that Jesus did not enter a perfect world either, but his life told the perfect story. So this Christmas (and all the time), when you hear someone speaking of their despair and hopelessness, remind them of the story of Jesus. Remind them that their hope no longer needs to be in the status of the world, their hope can rest in the power of God to rescue them from this world!

Merry Christmas!