IDEA: Behind the common carols can lie uncommon theology.
“O Come, All Ye Faithful!”
PURPOSE: To help us sing the carols with meaning.
How well do you think you know the Christmas carols? Let me give you the words from one of the carols, and tell me what carol it is.
"God of God, Light of Light, Lo! He abhors not the Virgin’s womb; Very God, begotten, not created"
This is from the carol, “O Come, All Ye Faithful.”
"O come, all ye faithful, joyful and triumphant, O come ye, O come ye to Bethlehem. Come and behold Him, born the King of angels"
When you think of this familiar hymn, what is the strategy of the writer, the way he puts it together? He is calling on the faithful to come and sing the praises of Jesus, the King of angels.
Look at the verses of “O Come, All Ye Faithful.” The first thing the writer asks is that all the faithful come and see this one who is born King of angels. The second verse expands on that. He is the God from God, Light from Light, but he doesn’t shy away from being born in the virgin’s womb.
"God of God, Light of Light, Lo! He abhors not the Virgin’s womb; Very God, begotten, not created"
But now he calls on the angels to sing:
"Sing, choirs of angels, sing in exultation; O sing, all ye citizens of heaven above. Glory to God, all glory in the highest"
The first verse calls on people of faith to worship Christ the King, who is born the King of angels – what does that mean? The King of angels is now born in Bethlehem.
You can see why the faithful would sing, but why would the angels sing? They were present at creation, at the moment when Adam and Eve were driven from the garden, etc.
On Christmas morning, with that theology in mind, we can sing:
"Yea, Lord, we greet thee, born this happy morning, O Jesus to thee be all glory given; Word of the Father, now in flesh appearing:
Refrain: O come, let us adore him. O come, let us adore Him O come, let us adore Him, Christ, the Lord."