by Victoria Heinecke

During the darkest of days, a light shines.

You can listen to today’s devotion by clicking on this SoundCloud link.

“The people that walked in darkness have seen a great light: they that dwell in the land of the shadow of death, upon them hath the light shined.”
Isaiah 9:2 King James Version

It’s December.

The days are short and the nights are long. It seems dark and cold most of the time.

It’s also a paradoxical season, for classical musicians. Our talents are in demand at churches and concert venues. We spend hours, beginning in August, preparing music for this dark, cold season. We may complain about the lack of time to get our own holiday preparations under way, but bringing joy to concertgoers makes it worthwhile.

This year seems to have been a year for Handel’s “Messiah” oratorio. While you may be familiar with the “Hallelujah” Chorus, the entire oratorio is the account of Jesus’ birth, ministry, death and resurrection. It has been performed in at least half a dozen venues in Colorado Springs alone.

There are two songs, performed one after the other, where one can hear the contrast of darkness and light. The first, “The People That Walked in Darkness” is usually sung with a deep bass voice, moaning about the darkness. The viola and bass play a tune that conjures the image of people, weighed by the sorrows of the world, plodding through life.

The next song, “For Unto Us A Child Is Born,” couldn’t be more juxtaposed. The angelic voices of the soprano section, accompanied by the dancing of the violins’ melody, proclaim the great light come to earth!

“For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.”
Isaiah 9:6 King James Version

The Christ Child comes to us in the darkest of seasons. He comes to us as a baby because he wants us to approach him.

There was no place for him to be born but in a stable.

There is no place for us but in the stable, in awe at how the mighty God comes to our lives, as a baby.

Come to the stable.

He is called Wonderful.

Copyright Holy Cross Lutheran Church, Colorado Springs, Colorado