“Carols and the Christ” from the lesson series Music of Christmas, December 2021
our Scripture
Suddenly, a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God
(Luke 2:13 NIV),
| Luke 2:13 NASB | Luke 2:13 NET | Luke 2:13 NLT | Luke 2:13 NCV | Luke 2:13 MESSAGE |
| Luke 2:13 KJV |
Luke 2:13 NRSV | Luke 2:13 HCSB |
Luke 2:13 ESV |
Luke 2:13 RVA60 |
our Lesson
We could not discuss the music of Christmas without spending a serious amount of time talking about carols and the Christ. Christmas carols celebrate the birth of Jesus. The earliest Christmas carol seems to date back as far as 129, when a Roman bishop presented a song to be sung during a Christmas service in Rome. The term “noel” is also used, especially for carols of French origin.
The word carol actually means dance or a song of praise and joy. Carols used to be written for all four seasons, but only the tradition of singing carols at Christmas has carved its place in history. Popularity of carols would ebb and flow during the years, but by the Middle Ages – around the 1200s – most people had lost interest in celebrating Christmas at all.
This changed in 1223 when St. Francis of Assisi started his Nativity Plays in Italy. The people in the plays sang songs or canticles that told the story during the plays. Sometimes the carols were in Latin, but most of the time they were written in the language that people would understand.
The carol had as its beginning the vocal accompaniment to a dance. The unique feature of the carol was a chorus that was sung at the beginning of the dance and then again after each stanza. Dancers would sing the chorus as they danced. The stanzas were performed by a soloist while the dancers rested.
In the eighteenth century, hymn singing was introduced into English worship services. Hymnists like Isaac Watts and Charles Wesley wrote texts that focused on the incarnation. While properly known as hymns, the songs have become known as “carols” because of the Christmas nature of their message.
Carols cross boundaries. They transcend cultures, ethnicities and even religious divisions. The carol forms the best known group of religious music in the United States and the world. Carols do not have a special role to play in the liturgies of worship services. The carol just replaces the singing of hymns during the Christmas season.
At one point in American history, “caroling” provided a reason for friends to get together and served as a form of the group’s entertainment. The practice of going from house to house has become less frequent as culture has become more urbanized and more influenced by technology. In addition, society has become busier and people have become more isolated and insulated from their neighbors.
The “house-to-house” tradition actually began in England in the seventeenth century. Town musicians, known as “waits,” were officially permitted to solicit and collect alms in the weeks before Christmas. Alms were gifts of food, clothing or money. The impoverished people could collect alms in exchange for the singing of Christmas carols.
Most Christmas carols prior to 1930 had a traditional religious theme. The time of the Great Depression brought a flood of songs which underscored the more secular traditions of Western culture. Most of these songs were focused on children, emphasizing gifts and Santa Claus. Their popularity spurred sentimental songs performed by favorite singers of the era for adults.
Bing Crosby’s “White Christmas” is the best-selling single song of all time, while Elvis’ Christmas Album is the best-selling Christmas album of all time. The Time magazine website researched the most-recorded Christmas song since 1978, encompassing songs from “Jingle Bells” to “O Holy Night.” The website collected data on every Christmas album recorded through the US Copyright Office since that year. In a landslide victory, almost doubling its nearest competitor, “Silent Night” is the most popular carol with 733 copyrighted recordings. “Joy to the World” came in second.
Carols have several features that set them apart from other types of songs, including hymns. Let’s think about two characteristics that make them unique. First, for at least a month carols can be heard not just in churches, but in elevators, on the radio and across loud-speakers in shopping malls. You cannot imagine “A Mighty Fortress Is Our God” being played on a secular FM radio station.
In addition, the Christmas carol is one of the few areas of American culture where public religious expression is still allowed and accepted. Nativities, Scripture readings and even prayers have been banned in the public square, but the carol can be heard or sung during the Christmas season by anyone anywhere.
The church may not have a better means of teaching the message of the Gospel to an “un-churched” world than through Christmas carols. Let’s allow our verse of Scripture today to direct our thoughts to the Greatest Story Ever Told. As the shepherds are being told the good news of the birth of the Savior, Luke records a simple verse.
The Bible uses the phrase “heavenly hosts” on several occasions (Psalm 148:2, 1 Kings 22:19-22, 1 Samuel 1:3, Psalm 24:10, Isaiah 22:14, Malachi 2:16, etc). The heavenly host are heavenly messengers, not bound by time and space as those of us on earth. The word “host” means “army.” The Lord of hosts is the Lord of the army. R.C. Sproul called them a “veritable army of angels” whose primary purpose is praise.
Is there a better weapon than this?
This is how the birth of Jesus the Messiah came about: His mother Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found to be pregnant through the Holy Spirit.19 Because Joseph her husband was faithful to the law, and yet did not want to expose her to public disgrace, he had in mind to divorce her quietly.
20 But after he had considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, “Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit.21 She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.”
22 All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet:23 “The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel” (which means “God with us”).
24 When Joseph woke up, he did what the angel of the Lord had commanded him and took Mary home as his wife (Matthew 1:18-24 NIV).
So Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to Bethlehem the town of David, because he belonged to the house and line of David.5 He went there to register with Mary, who was pledged to be married to him and was expecting a child.6 While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born,7 and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no guest room available for them (Luke 2:4-7 NIV).
And he gave him the name Jesus (Matthew 1:25b NIV).
And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night.9 An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified.10 But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people.11 Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord.12 This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.”
13 Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying,
14 “Glory to God in the highest heaven,
and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests.”15 When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let’s go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about.”
16 So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the manger.17 When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child,18 and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them (Luke 2:8-18 NIV).
Merry Christmas to all, and to all, a good night.