And they cried: “Amen, Hallelujah!” Then a voice came from the throne, saying: “Praise our God, all you his servants, you who fear him, both small and great!” Then I heard what sounded like a great multitude, like the roar of rushing waters and like loud peals of thunder, shouting: “Hallelujah! For our Lord God Almighty reigns. Revelation 19:4-6

     Every year it seems that one or two of the characters in the Christmas story grab hold of my heart.  Sometimes it is Mary.  Sometimes it is Joseph  It could be the people of Bethlehem or the Wisemen who traveled so far to get to the side of Jesus.  There exist the “bad guys” of the account: King Herod with his murderous rage or even Caesar Augustus and the Romans with their taxes which forced the journey to Bethlehem of a woman close to giving birth and her frantic husband searching for a place for it to occur. Well this year I thought a lot about the angels.  I thought how the highest of the high spoke the greatest message of all time to the shepherds, probably among the lowest in that world.  Everyone of us can recite the message:  “For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior which is Christ the Lord.”  We may not know what the swaddling clothes are which wrapped the newborn Son of God.  If we hadn’t been exposed to Christmas upon Christmas we probably wouldn’t know what a manger is.  But their hymn of praise, the famous “Gloria in Excelsis” which they sang has inspired song upon song still lists our hearts – and even if we don’t know what a Herald angel is or don’t use the word “Hark” too often anymore in our day to day talk, on one day in the year we do sing out the word “Hark” which all the Herald Angels sang.

            You see, there are a lot of words we use this time of year and a lot of images in our mind’s eye that aren’t used much of rest of the year.  We don’t use the word Manger much from January to November and we don’t shout out the word “Hark” at any other time of year.  And at Christmas as I was inspired by the song of the angels with their very unique language I was drawn to three words that we use a lot as Christians- but again you and I may not even know what these famous Christmas words even mean.  And as a language junkie who has always been fascinated by words and their meanings this year I had the joy of taking a look at them.  They are all Old Testament Words and they all come out of the Hebrew language.  But they are words that we sing and sing again to celebrate something very New Testament:  the birth of Jesus.

            For the first word is “Hallelujah”.  I do not know about you but I still get chills doing down my spine every single time I hear the Hallelujah Chorus from Handel’s Messiah.  In fact, I cannot understand how someone could not hear those majestic words sung to that unbelievably awesome music and not be moved by it.  A week or so ago I had the joy of going to a concert in which many of our Church members sang.  The moment came for the Hallelujah Chorus to be sung.  And I know that in that audience that day were people of different levels of faith, and I would imagine some who had no faith at all but simply loved music or were trying to capture some of that spirit of the holidays.  But when the first note sounded and the first “Hallelujah” rose from the chorales gathered every single person stood up.  It’s one of those Christmas statements that cannot be received sitting down.

            Do you know what “Hallelujah” actually means?  Most people don’t.  In fact, most people would just say, “Well, it means… um …. Hallelujah”.  But it comes from the Hebrew words which are translated into English as “Praise the Lord” or if you like the King James Version better this time of year:  “Praise Ye the Lord”.  It is such a Biblical sounding word that we just take for granted.

            But it is a word that describes what you and I were supposed to do.  One of the reasons God made the human race as our Creator long ago was so that we could praise Him.  Something in the human heart needs to find God – and the response that the human heart is drawn to do is that of praising God.  He is an awesome and wonderful God who created all things to His glory.  A human being by nature wants to sing out with the angels: “Hallelujah!”  But something went wrong – and most people on the earth tonight will not be praising the Lord.

            One of the hymns speaks about Christ Jesus coming: “to save us all from Satan’s power when we were gone astray”.  That’s a word that has to do with sheep.  At Christmas we think of the shepherds guarding their sheep by night when the angel of the Lord appeared to them.  But sheep like to go astray.  And so most voices do not sing “Hallelujah”.  We use other words, words of anger and hatred and revenge.  We use words to hurt one another and instead of asking God to bless someone we are more than likely in our stress and anger to ask God to damn them or to damn something that has ruined our day.  It wasn’t long after God created us that we replaced our Hallelujahs with other words.  “It is the woman You gave me…. It’s her fault….. But I’m not responsible… the serpent forced me to do it.”  And the problem passed into the next generation, ending with one brother in furious rage murdering another brother.  And so it has always been.

            So we need a new word.  And it’s a Christmas word that we speak a lot but again most of us don’t know what it really means.  It is the Hebrew word, “Hosanna”.  “Hosanna to God.  Hosanna in the highest. Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord.”  It is a word of praise just like Hallelujah. But it is really a prayer.  And the best translation of the word “Hosanna” is: “Lord, save us”.  That’s the prayer we need to pray now.  Save us from this sin and death.  “Lord, we cannot save ourselves.  We need You.”

            “Unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior who is Christ the Lord.”  Even before the angel called Him Christ and even before the angel called Him Lord He called Him Savior.  It is what the name “Jesus” means literally.  We cry out “Hosanna”, Lord save us – and Jesus is the answer to that prayer for us all.

            And it is Jesus who really uses the final word we speak at Christmas.  It is a third word that again comes out of the Old Testament and is from the Hebrew language.  It is the word “Amen.”  That’s a word we do use a lot.  It ends every prayer.  It finishes a lot of hymns we sing.  It is our word of approval when we agree with someone as we shout out “Amen.”  But most of us don’t really know what it means.  Again, if we were to answer we would say, “Well, Amen means… um… Amen.”  But what it really means is “It is done.  It is so… It is finished.”  And it is Jesus who used the word best.

            He spoke that final Amen, that final “It is finished” after He had grown up.  It was almost the last word He ever spoke before He died.  He said it on the cross.  And it was His way of saying that the long journey that began in a Bethlehem stable was finally at an end.  He did what He came to do.  He took all our sin and all our wrong away and He gave us back eternal life.  Every Hosanna, every “Lord save us” was answered in that final “It is finished – Amen” that Jesus spoke on a dark day that in some ways was far darker than the midnight sky on the night He was born.  But it is the answer every one of us needs.

            You see, one of the things about being a Pastor at Christmas among the many joys is that I can look out from this pulpit at the people I love. And I can tell you who lost a father this year or a mother.  I know the people  who have had a world of hurt.  I know who has cancer and who worries if this may be the last Christmas on earth for them.  I know the ones whose parents have aged and have given hard decisions to make about their future – and I know the helplessness that so many feel when they face these things. For some folks this Christmas, to quote the words of a sad song I once knew: “Their children hate them for their things they’re not.  They hate themselves for what they are- and yet they drink, they laugh, close the wound, hide the scar.” So many joys and I would never take them away from anyone tonight – but so many hurts too and so many fears.

            And so on this Christmas I turn with you to the One Who said that final “Amen” on the cross for us.  And I know that with all the world’s weariness that may be upon you this means you don’t have to be afraid.  He was the wounded One.  He was the scarred One for you..  But because of Jesus a day is coming when  we will be with the angels singing our “Hallelujahs” with them and on that day there will be no more sorrow or pain or death ever again – and we’ll be together with Jesus and each other forever.  And until that day we have the manger and we have the cross and we have the empty tomb and we have Jesus’ “Amen”.  Nothing can separate us from His love.  Nothing can change His heart of love toward you.  It is the real reason for Christmas.  It is why He came….. to answer every Hosanna spoken by our hearts to Him.  Hallelujah. Amen.