Christmas hymns a great blessing

I grew up singing the old Christmas carols. I was stuck in the children’s choir at church when I was that age, and we learned these hymns by heart. I’d stand there, in front of the congregation with the other kids, feeling half-choked by the necktie that was foisted upon me, and we’d sing the songs that had been drummed into us.

I was 23 years old when I became serious about my faith. That was at the end of a November eons ago. The next thing that happened was that it turned into December, and the church I attended sang the old Christmas hymns joyfully.

I was happy to sing them without needing the words (because someone had taken the time to force them into me). But then I heard what I was singing. I noticed the words for the first time and was floored by what they were saying.

If you’re one of those oddballs that still attends a church with hymnals, open one up, find the Advent or Nativity hymns and take a read through the lyrics. They overflow with rich theology. They are worth your time.

“Veiled in flesh the godhead see; Hail the incarnate deity.”

For my money, this is the best, short statement of the biblical idea we call “the incarnation” that has been produced by 2,000 years of Christian thought and worship. (Incarnation means God became flesh and dwelt among us.)

Now, since it’s an old statement, there’s some unfamiliar language for us there. “Godhead” is meant to wrap up everything the Scripture reveals about God. The sum total of what makes God, God: that’s bundled in the word “godhead.”

The song says it’s veiled in flesh, though. It’s hidden, covered up, so that it’s not instantly, or even easily, spotted. It’s talking about the fact that Jesus of Nazareth, the Son of God, was the divine creator of all things walking around as one of us. The caroler invites us to move the curtain to one side a bit and peer beyond it.

Unlike the Wizard of Oz, who was deathly afraid that someone might see behind the curtain and expose his secrets, the celebration of Christmas urges us to focus on what’s behind the veil. The people of that era, back at the birth of Christ, were invited by choirs of angels, and later by maniacal preachers like John the Baptist, to see what was plainly visible, though not to their eyes. “Behold! The lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!”

Another, popular carol has this line: “He comes to make his blessings flow, far as the curse is found.”

This is a fair summary of the whole plot of the Bible after the fall of Adam and Eve in Genesis 3. In that fateful chapter, though our first parents were kicked out of Paradise, Eve receives the promise of a future redeemer, one who would come to ultimately defeat evil. The whole world was put under a curse because of their sin, but even then their restoration was in view. The curse would be reversed, and blessings would flow.

Joy to the world! May his blessings flow to you as well.

Gordan Runyan is the pastor of Immanuel Baptist Church in Tucumcari. Contact him at:

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