My favourite Christmas carol is ‘Noel’ by Major Joy Webb, with its upbeat rhythm and the bell-like polyphony of the chorus. I particularly associate this song with good memories of Christmases at Ilford Corps where I grew up.
If I’m really honest, it just makes me want to dance! It’s such a joyful song and fits the joy of Christmas perfectly for me. The fun of this song reflects the fact that it started out as a singing company song.
As often with these songs that appear simple on the surface, they contain important messages. This carol reminds us of what Christmas is all about and shows us how to truly celebrate Christmas.
Unsurprisingly, the focus of the song is on the birth of Jesus! It might sound clichéd but so often Jesus gets lost among all the things we have added to Christmas.
We get so busy shopping for gifts, so tied up preparing to have the family over on Christmas day. That’s without counting the various carol services and carolling events we have to attend.
We all get so excited about seeing family and friends and opening our Christmas’s gifts that the real reason for the season often gets put to one side.
Christmas is indeed an exciting and joyous time not because of everything I have mentioned but because it’s time that we celebrate the birth of our Lord Jesus Christ. This is what the carol ‘Noel’ is all about. The focus is firmly on Jesus.
However, this joyous and, perhaps simple, song also comes with a challenge for each of us. We are to let people know that it is Christmastime, a time to celebrate the birth of baby who came to show God’s love and bring peace to all mankind.
This Christmas amid all that we must do in preparation to welcome our Lord, I wonder what are you going to do let world know that it is Christmastime?
How can your living, and the choices you make, show ‘that long ago a baby came God’s love to show’? How would you to let people know about ‘the peace the holy child can bring’ to each one of us this year? How can you 'shine, shine, shine’ this Christmastime?
