Christmas time is here….so sings the children of Charlie Brown. And so it is. What this should mean, at least for Christians but probably for many others, is a time of mirth and joy-making. Yes, there is sadness in the world and much to be concerned about in our country, especially with a sense of concern about things like rising violence, economics and cultural debasement, and yet…..
For the believer, there is always reason to have great joy. C.S. Lewis spoke of this, as recounted by the official site. There, we are reminded that the great theologian and professor wrote “I want to stress what I think that we (or at least I) need more: the joy and delight in God which meet us in the Psalms.”
And so, what meets us in the Psalms? Well, here’s how Lewis put it: “Their fingers itch for the harp (43:4), for the lute and the harp—wake up, lute and harp!—(57:9); let’s have a song, bring the tambourine, bring the “merry harp with the lute”; we’re going to sing merrily and make a cheerful noise (81:1-2). Noise, you may well say. Mere music is not enough. Let everyone, even the benighted gentiles, clap their hands (47:1). Let us have clashing cymbals, not only well tuned but loud, and dances too (150:5). Let even the remote islands (all islands were remote, for the Jews were no sailors) share the exultation (97:1).”
Yes!
The writer of the blog, PRofessor Devin Brown of Asbury College addresses the point about mirth in a time of lament:
But how can we exult in a world where there is so much to lament? Where can we find joy in a world where hate is strong, as Longfellow has written, and mocks any expression of peace on earth and good will to men? In the “jocund” Psalms—where music, festivity, and agriculture are not things separate from religion, nor is religion something separate from them—Lewis claims, “I find an experience fully God-centered, asking of God no gift more urgently than His presence, the gift of Himself, joyous to the highest degree, and unmistakably real.”
And so if Lewis were alive today, this might be his wish: That this Christmas we may each desire no gift more urgently than the gift of God’s presence.
That this Christmas we may each prepare our hearts to receive this gift of Himself, a gift which, if we will but make room for it, will be found to be unmistakably real. And that this Christmas we may each find our own fingers itching for the harp, for the lute and the harp, to celebrate our joy to the highest degree.
So as we inch ever closer to Christmas, now a week away, rejoice. Again, I say rejoice. Let not your heart be troubled, but rather let it be filled with mirth in the acknowledgment that God has come to us in the baby. And as we all know, the birth of a child is always a good reason to throw a party.