I love Christmas! First, there’s the food; turkey, turkey curry, turkey sandwiches, turkey toasties. Then there’s the music; I wish it could be Christmas every day! Not forgetting the Christmas movies; Elf, The Grinch, It’s a Wonderful Life. The bright lights of Christmas help to shorten what would be a long and dark Northern Irish winter. But best of all, Christmas holidays allow us to rest and spend quality time with our family and friends. What’s not to love about Christmas?
Of course, these things are fun, but they are also superficial; Christmas is really about Jesus. And Christmas allows us to pause and reflect on what the birth of Jesus the Messiah really means to a fallen and broken world.
We all love to sing the traditional carols, one of my favourites is Hark the Herald Angels Sing.
The last verse quotes Malachi 4:2, “Risen with healing in His wings.” The promised Saviour was coming! “The sun of righteousness,” would rise. He would bring healing, “For you who fear my name.” And so, just as Malachi prophesied…400 years later, Jesus came!
This is the real Christmas hope; that Jesus brought (and brings) healing to a messed up, sinful world.
The broken relationship between God and a repentant sinner… healed!
The spiritual deadness brought about by our sin…healed!
The physical deadness that we will all experience because of sin…will be healed!
Malachi prophesied that Jesus would come: Jesus came as Malachi promised.
Jesus promised that He will come again.
Jesus will keep His promise!
And when he returns, then we will experience complete healing, we will be changed, “and we shall be like him.” (1 John 3:2) This is the real hope of Christmas!
Light and life to all He brings, risen with healing in His wings.
Hark the herald angels sing, glory to the new born king!