"I count myself one of the number of those who write as they learn and learn as they write." ~St. Augustine

Sunday, December 12, 2010

Drunken Hymns bring Hope

I went to a charity ball last night. Yesterday, all day long, I asked Jesus to go with me to the party. I asked Him to remind me of His presence and to be with me as I dressed, as I ate, as I talked and as I danced.

Gowns and jewels. Tuxedos and styled hair. Christmas lights and a tinselled tree. Dancing and dessert. This was an event!

The time came for the traditional "Carol singing" and my mind began to stagger. Could I join them in song? Could I sing out these deeply meaningful words, while surrounded by party mayhem?

As the singing commenced, I began to wonder...

What might Jesus think while He listens and watches words about His birth being sung with indifference? Almost unconscious movement of lips, ...apathetic reading of a words on a page, ... an all-too familiar tune plunked out on an old piano... What is it like for Him to watch?

What might He feel as words fall off drunken lips, Christmas hymns sung loudly and with brash undertones? What do these voices sound like to His ears? What might we look like as we mix our raffle tickets, beer bottles, "Jingle Bells" and "Little Town of Bethlehem".

What might Jesus think or feel as the room full of 'happy', well-dressed and overstuffed people sing about what those herald angles "harked" that momentous night? When they sing with gusto about that newborn King who bring God and sinners together, ...God and sinners reconciled!... what might my King be feeling?

I watched last night as this party of people, wild and tipsy, belted out the carols of Christmas. I watched and wondered. And, I asked Him what He might be feeling... And, I prayed.

His answer surprised me. And, my heart was filled with joyful prayer! With an odd sense of excitement and hope, I prayed that He would make Himself known to even just one heart that night. Would someone sing, "Silent night, Holy Night. Son of God, love's pure light" and think, even for one significant moment, about that Son of God? Or might one soul, even for one piercing minute, wonder about the Who that is Love! Might they wonder what kind of love it is that possesses and gives pure light?

Touch even one soul, Lord. Bring one moment of awakening, Lord!

Last night, I watched. I sang. And I prayed. And, I waited... knowing that I was asking something that was deeply on His heart.

Today I sing and I pray. I watch and I wait. What will He do, this faithful One, we sing about each Christmas? I wonder and I wait. Advent season at it's best!