As I hold my new granddaughter, I find myself regularly speaking my love over her. Out loud I tell her, “You are so loved.” When she looks contentedly up at me, I kiss her forehead and say to her, “I love you.” When she hollers hungrily, I speak the words, “I love you.” When her legs pull up and she cries out in pain, I whisper over her, “I love you.” My heart for this child of mine is for her to know that she is loved – for her to live as though she believes in that love.
And isn’t that the heart of our heavenly Father for each of us? Repeatedly, God tells us of His love for us.
“I have loved you with a love that lasts forever.
Jeremiah 31:3 CEB
And so with unfailing love,
I have drawn you to myself.”
Continuously, our Father demonstrates His love for us.
“God shows his love for us in this: while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”
Romans 5:8
Perhaps it seems the wrong season to talk about Jesus dying when we’re meant to be celebrating His birth. But the reality of Advent – of living in and with and for Jesus in this world – is learning to embrace the tensions of our faith. The pull of ‘now and not yet.’ The tug of birth and death, of resurrection and return. Jesus was always the plan for our redemption, for the righting of all that’s wrong in us, in the world, and in our relationship with God. All of Jesus for all of us. His birth and life. His death and resurrection. Here and now. For all time.
When we can see Jesus for all that He is, for all He has done and will do, we will better rest in our Father’s arms. We will more fully embrace the love that our Father has for us – collectively and individually. And as we trust His love is always for us, we will live as ones sourced by that holy love.
Movement Twenty-Six: All We Like Sheep Have Gone Astray
This is week four of Advent, so if we were lighting an Advent wreath together, this would be the week we’d light two candles – the fourth candle on the wreath marking this fourth Sunday as well as the center Christ Candle on Christmas (Eve or Day). In other words, this is the week we’ve been waiting for!
For our purposes as we journey through Handel’s Messiah, this week’s first candle will shine into the reality of our inner darkness, into our need for a Savior. Its flame becomes a reminder of our fallen state – of our hopelessness without Immanuel.
Isaiah’s words describe humanity’s common lot and help us take hold of this truth – because when we don’t embrace our sinfulness, we fail to see our need of forgiveness. We become immune to our brokenness, resistant to the grace offered by the One who loves us so much that He willingly took on all our sins.
“We all, like sheep, have gone astray,
Isaiah 53:6
each of us has turned to our own way;
and the Lord has laid on him
the iniquity of us all.”
Handel’s music helps listeners recognize the folly of sin – its utter deceptiveness, its light-like frolic that feigns true joy. This song’s jolly tones defy the words of Isaiah, that is until everything takes a sharp turn three minutes into the movement. The playful music gives way to minor keys, sobering us with the reality that all the sin that once seemed so good has been laid upon our Savior.1 Sin’s false promises and fake goodness lose their appeal as we see all of it pinned on the Sinless One.
And so it is that Handel helps us acknowledge that we are, indeed, like sheep in need of a Good Shepherd, and such a revelation breaks our hearts and souls wide open, making way for the in-breaking of Christ’s light. Recognizing that we continue to turn to our own plans, attempting to forge our own ways allows us to receive what our Father has wanted to give us all along – His love.
Just as I am for my granddaughter in all circumstances and in every way, even more so is our Father for us. He embraces us and fights for us. He forever stands at the door that tends to keep us from His presence, awaiting our knock of acknowledgment and repentance and need – always ready to open the door and invite us into His presence and to His table (Revelation 3:19-20). Such love forgives and redeems. Such love heals and makes whole.
Such love is ready to be poured out again and again – for each error and every mistake, to right every wrong and erase every lie. The embrace of our God isn’t only a one time result of our first coming to Christ; it’s a forever desire of our Father to draw us to Himself every time we need a hug, an assurance of His goodness and kindness and love.
Such love cannot enter into a closed heart any more than water can be poured into a sealed container. Neither water nor God’s love forces its way in. Yet our ever-patient, compassionate Father waits for us to open ourselves to Him. He knows that when we ask Holy Spirit to search our hearts, to test us and know all our worries, to “see if there is any offensive way” in us, we will be forgiven and free to live in His rest (Psalm 139:23-24; Jeremiah 6:16).
“It’s through God’s love that we find ourselves forgiven.”2 And it is as we respond to this holy love that we become agents of grace, love, and forgiveness to everyone God puts in our paths. We embody the love we’ve been given, becoming a light to others. We embrace the gifts within us and engage them regularly as we pray for and encourage others.
Movement Forty-Four: Hallelujah!
As we lean-in to light the center Christ candle, we recall its white color represents the purity of Immanuel as well as His power and victory – in His birth and death, in His resurrection and return. The flame itself symbolizes Jesus as the Light of the World, the breaking-in of light into the darkness of the world and our hearts (John 1:4-5).
As Handel composed Messiah, he gave himself entirely to the process of writing for twenty-four days, sleeping little and eating even less. One day in the midst of what many believe to be a divinely inspired fervor, Handel’s servant discovered the composer sobbing with emotion, exclaiming, “I did think I did see all Heaven before me, and the great God Himself seated on His throne, with His company of Angels.”3
The song he was writing during this holy experience? The now famous “Hallelujah Chorus!”
The majestic and triumphant music of “Hallelujah” has been used to usher in celebration for all sorts of occasions and across many cultures, but for Handel this movement “is the specific celebration of Christ’s ultimate sovereignty over earthly kings and lords.”1 Three partial verses sung many times, in several tones and rhythms, and by multiple voices has moved audiences for generations to tears – and to their feet.
“Hallelujah! For the Lord God omnipotent reigneth!” Revelation 19:6
“King of Kings and Lord of Lords.” Revelation 19:16
“He shall reign forever and ever.” Revelation 11:15
Its music builds for nearly four minutes toward the pulsating precursor and ultimate moniker for the Messiah, “King of Kings and Lord of Lords,” and into the grand final chorus, “Hal-le-lu-jah!” And we all fall down before our King of Kings, humbled and grateful that He is, indeed, a God who is near. A God who cares. A God who has demonstrated His love for us in the most meaningful way possible!
Entering into such Scripture-soaked music prepares our hearts for worship. We give God all the glory! We remember, once again, to seek Him and His kingdom first (Matthew 6:33). And most. We realign ourselves with our Lord, putting ourselves in positions of servant and child – all of which prevents us from putting ourselves first and from constantly focusing on our circumstances.
Handel reminds us of this practice of glorifying of God throughout his oratorio. Even at the end of his manuscript he inscribed the letters “SDG,” which are initials for the Latin phrase, Soli Deo Gloria – “To God alone the glory.” Handel understood that giving God the glory keeps our perspectives on the One who left heaven to become Immanuel. Such a shift of focus changes hearts, minds, and lives. And it elevates our God in the most holy and righteous of ways.
That, my friends, is why we celebrate Advent – to enter into preparation, to immerse ourselves in expectancy, to move toward Jesus and praise Him with all we are. Then we move into the world with His light, sharing His love with the hope of preparing hearts for this Savior who came as a baby, lived as a man, ministered as God, and died as a criminal. All for love!
And isn’t ALLLLLL of this reason to stand and sing Hallelujah!?!
Father God, we kneel before You repentant and hopeful. We open our hearts to receive your forgiving grace and holy love; we release our fears and despair. We enter your perfect rest and offer ourselves as your servants, as sons and daughters who will forever remain wholly yours because You are the King of Kings and Lord of Lords. You reign over all. You reign forever! We have nothing to fear; we have everything to celebrate!! So we stand before You now full of joy and expectancy as we celebrate your Son’s birth, death, resurrection – and return!! Thank You for coming to be with us! Thank You for granting us the grace to celebrate You with full hearts! We give You all the glory – HALLELUJAH! In Jesus’ name we pray, amen.
And Merry Christmas!
(inspired by Revelation 11:15, 19:6 & 16)
Resources: I love sharing with you the books, podcasts, articles, and anything else that has inspired, encouraged, or taught me. These are humble offerings with no expectations.
- 1 – This Interlude article unpacks the musical sounds of the Second Part of Messiah, from which both movements in today’s post come.
- 2 – Seedbed article by Andrew C. Thompson, September 1, 2017
- 3 – I quoted this article, but the story is found all over the internet. However, there’s no precise proof of this interaction and vision.
- I don’t think any song will ever top and preclude Handel’s Hallelujah!, so I invite you to take another listen to it on our Embraced by Love playlist. And I dare you to make it to the end without getting a lump in your throat. Praise to our God who reigns forever and ever!
- Each Wednesday I upload a “Teacup” teaching video that carries on the topic here. You can find all the videos on my Facebook Author Page, Instagram, and YouTube.
- Many of you have found me on Substack. Thank you so much! And, if you’d like to listen to (rather than read) these weekly posts, you can do so on Substack, as well. It’s easy to see and use the audio bar across the top of each post. While you’re on Substack, check out the ministry I’m blessed to be part of, the Devoted Collective.
- My monthly newsletter, The Abiding Life, goes to email inboxes the first week of each month to those who have subscribed on my website. I also post them on Substack. My most recent edition can be found there, and you can subscribe for future newsletters on Substack, here.
Rhythms: As my newsletter’s title infers, we seek to develop an abiding life in this space — a place where we can get informed but also be transformed as we learn to abide in God’s presence throughout our days. I like to think that developing rhythms is one way to aid us in our desire to become more Christlike. We’ll follow Charles Jennens’ lead and take hold of a biblical passage that points us to Christ as Messiah each week as part of our Advent preparations.
- This week our passage is Revelation 19:6. The very words that gird the “Hallelujah Chorus” —
“Hallelujah! For the Lord God omnipotent reigneth.” –Revelation 19:6 KJV - We’re all called to share the truths about the work of Jesus. One way you can do that is by sharing this site and telling others your own stories of faith experiences. Believe it or not, we worship God each time we share our stories of faith! We use our whole selves to tell about our holy God!!
Featured Photo by Max Beck on Unsplash. “All the Bits and Pieces” Photo by Matthias Cooper on Unsplash.
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Love wins!!!
Yes. It. Does!!