Each year around Christmas and Easter, I love to relax and listen to my CD of Handel’s Messiah.

One reason is sentimental.

The CD was a gift from my friend of 40+ years. I always remember how her presence strengthened me when I saw her crossing the parking lot at the funeral parlor for my father’s funeral. I had told her she didn’t need to bother to come. But she came anyway. Like a best friend, she wept with me as I wept. (Lighting the World, at 179).

The other reason is that Handel’s Messiah is a masterpiece. When I imagine what music sounds like in heaven, I imagine it sounds like Handel’s Messiah.

I like to listen at one sitting to all of the songs—both those that sing of Christmas and those that sing of Easter.

Why?

Because I believe that Jesus, my best friend, embodies both the Truth of Christmas and the Truth of Easter. Furthermore, I believe that the Truth of Christmas and the Truth of Easter are one and inseparable, now and forever.

In my book Visions of the Church, I explain:

The Truth of Christmas

The truth of Christmas is that Jesus is fully God and fully human. And although this is a mystery that seems impossible, it is nevertheless true. How can it be? Because what is impossible with humans is possible with God. (Luke 18:27).

The truth of Christmas is that Jesus is God Incarnate. One title that the Bible gives Jesus is “Immanuel”, a name that means “God with us” (Matthew 1:22-23). Therefore, the God who spoke the heavens and the earth into being (Genesis Chapter One) is also the Jesus who walked among us blessing children, welcoming sinners, weeping with those who weep, and washing the feet of those in need.

The truth is that God cares about each one of us. God is not merely far away tending the birth of new stars. God is near at hand, tending the birth of each baby.

God is not merely counting the millennia while Humanity gains technological prowess. God is counting the hairs on each person’s head. God is not merely watching as the galaxy turns. God is watching each sparrow that falls (Matthew 10:29-31).

The truth of Christmas is that each person is eternally, infinitely important. [W]hoever welcomes a little child . . . welcomes [Jesus Christ] (Matthew 18:5). There is a “kingdom prepared . . . since the creation of the world for those who give a hungry person something to eat, those who give a thirsty person something to drink, who give shelter to a stranger, who give clothes to a needy person, who look after a sick person, or who visit a prisoner (Matthew 25:41-43,46).

The truth of Christmas is that our lives have meaning. There is a true union between spiritual values and physical reality. Faith, hope and love exist in history, not merely in myth.

The truth of Christmas is that God is a person. That is why God could only be revealed to us by becoming flesh and dwelling among us as a person. And that is why we can only know God perfectly by having a personal relationship with God, our Friend.

We cannot be a friend to a human merely by thinking facts, learning facts, and following rules. We must laugh with our friend. We must weep with our friend. We must hope the best for our friend. We must hug our friend.

Similarly, we cannot be a friend to God merely by thinking thoughts, learning facts, and following rules. Being a friend to God requires the engagement of our whole personality—our laughter, our tears, our hopes, our hugs.

By living among us, Jesus revealed that God is such a person—such a friend to us. Jesus laughed. Jesus wept (John 11:35). Jesus hoped (John 4:35), and Jesus hugged (Matthew 8:1-3; Mark 1:16).

The truth of Christmas (that Christ came in the flesh and that God dwelt among us) brings peace on Earth and peace for all Humanity.

The Truth of Easter

The truth of Easter is that Jesus rose from the dead. And although this historical fact seems impossible, it nevertheless is true. How can it be? Because what is impossible with humans is possible with God.

The truth of Easter is that our sins are forgiven. On the Cross, Jesus bore the punishment for our sins. Now, instead of suffering eternal death, we can enjoy eternal life. And because our sins are forgiven by God and forgotten by God, we can forget what is behind and press on toward what is ahead : “the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 3:13-14, KJV).

The truth of Easter is that we need no longer fear death. We should weep at the tombs of those we love just as Jesus wept at the tomb of Lazarus (John 11:35). However, we should not grieve like those who have no hope (1 Thessalonians 4:13). For we believe that we shall meet again those who have fallen asleep in Jesus. We will laugh with them again. We will hug them again. (1 Thessalonians 4:13-18).

The truth of Easter is that there is always hope (Job 14:7). No matter how much it looks as if we have failed. No matter how much it looks as if evil has triumphed. There is still hope. Therefore, we must still keep the faith. (2 Timothy 4:7). We must still keep loving (Matthew 24:12-13). Because in God’s good time and in God’s good way, God will bring good from evil (Genesis 50:19-20; Exodus 7:3-5), healing from suffering (Job 42:1-6; Isaiah 53:4-5, 10-12), and life from death (Ezekiel 37:1-14; 1 Corinthians 15:12-26). How?

Although this is impossible for humans, it is possible for God. For “in all things God works for the good of those who love him” (Romans 8:28). Nothing “shall separate us from the love of Christ.” Not “trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword” (Romans 8:35). “In all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For . . . neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 8:37-39 ).

The truth of Easter gives joy to the world—joy for all Humanity!

And so, Handel’s Messiah inspires us to say “Hallelujah!” whenever we contemplate the Truth of Christmas and the Truth of Easter that are one and inseparable, now and forever.

BACKGROUND INFO

The phrase “one and inseparable, now and forever” is based on the phrase “Liberty and Union, now and forever, one and inseparable” made famous by Daniel Webster, Abraham Lincoln, and the Republican Party, as described in my book Visions of America, at pages 73-101.

THINGS TO THINK ABOUT

Do you believe the Truth of Christmas? Why?

Do you believe the Truth of Easter? Why?

Why are the Truth of Christmas and the Truth of Easter one and inseparable? How?

In what ways does believing (or not believing) the Truth of Easter and the Truth of Christmas change your life, your family, your nation, and your civilization? Why?

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For related ideas, please read my blogs “Jesus Embodies Hesed—The Vision of Isaiah”, “Jesus Embodies Hesed—Fulfilling the Law of Moses and the Prophets”, “Jesus Embodies Hesed—Sowing the Ideals of the Law of Moses and the Prophets”, and “Jesus Embodies Hesed—Saving Lost Sheep, Lost Coins, and Lost Sons”.