Christmas Music

Wasn't it great to receive the gift of the Chancel Choir's Cantata last Sunday - A Carol Trip Around the World. We heard Christmas music in so many global styles - some almost somber as they expressed the hopes for healing and new beginnings promised in the Christ Child; some practically boisterous in their celebration of God with us.

And in just a little over a week, we get to experience another gift of Christmas song, as the Chapel Choir presents their Christmas concert, "Hallelujah, Amen!" at 4:00 p.m. on December 18. As with the Chancel Cantata, we will leave the Chapel Choir concert with new songs bubbling up in our minds and hearts, and helping us to see the moments of this season, and the meanings of this season, in new ways.

The story of Christmas told in the Gospel of Luke is filled with songs. Zechariah, at an advanced age, sings a song when his doubt is turned to trust in the arrival of an unexpected child that he names John, meaning "God's gift." What but a song could capture the years of disappointment and uncertainty right alongside the joy of a new beginning? Angels sing in the sky when Jesus is born in the humblest of places. What but a song can get to that beautiful truth, that God is with us, bringing love and salvation to us in the very parts of our lives we thought weren't good enough?

And Mary sings a song when her unexpected pregnancy, and she herself, is blessed by an older cousin, Elizabeth. Mary sings of what God will certainly do to bring new understandings, new relationships, and hope for all in the world - all brought into focus in her welcoming of the Child, Jesus.

We'll be hearing again the familiar and powerful words of Mary's song in Luke 1:46-55 this Sunday. And we'll ponder how we, in our own ways, join our voices in this generation to hers in a song of joy and courage.