Andrew Hotari | The Voice of Zion December 2024 - Column --
When Christmas morn is dawning, in faith I would repair unto the lowly manger; my Saviour lieth there.
Whenever I have sung or heard this familiar Christmas hymn, my eyes and ears have noticed the song writer’s interesting choice of the word: repair. While the dictionary tells me that an archaic meaning would be to “betake” oneself – take oneself to a place, today we use it as to fix something that is broken.
It is a strong and active verb. Many of us today like to tinker and repair items that have suffered damage or become faulty. There is great satisfaction in fixing things and being a successful repairman. I have often wished for a nice shop with bright lights and ample storage where I could tinker, fix and maintain things in comfort and security.
Whatever the songwriter intended, I can consider that the best way to prepare for the coming of Christmas is to be actively mending the one thing that needs constant repair and attention: our life of faith. I often feel that I am so sin-corrupted and faulty – beyond repair. I am an item that no human hands can fix. And yet in that lowly manger, our Saviour lieth there. It was He who was “anointed to preach the gospel to the poor, it was He who was sent to heal the broken hearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised, to preach the acceptable year of the Lord” (Luke 4:18,19). He brought the bright lights of heaven with Him, the spiritual facility to care for the suffering sinner in the comfort and security of His kingdom here upon earth.
I’ve noticed during the sacrament of Holy Communion how the servants of the Word ask the attendees to come forth to the table of the Lord with a believing heart. In similar fashion the songwriter asks me to do the same this Christmas; to put away all sins of the journey so that I can enjoy the true beauty of Christmas as a free grace child!
How kind, O loving Savior, to come from heav’n above; from sin and evil save us, and keep us in Thy love.
I have also noticed that even the most gifted song writers throughout the ages have faced the limitations of earthly languages when they have tried to voice thanks to the heavenly Father for the gift of salvation, Christ Jesus. Here, I find a prayer that I would be preserved in His love. I have found the incomprehensible love of Christ; the hidden treasure of God. As such sinners we are reminded:
We need Thee blessed Jesus; our dearest friend Thou art; forbid that we by sinning should grieve Thy loving heart.
I am like the lowly shepherds on duty in the field unto whom the glory of God was inexplicably revealed. Like them I am often timid, fearful and doubting. In the darkness of the night we hear the message of grace from heaven, “Fear not, little flock; for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom” (Luke 12:32).
I can join the shepherds’ footsteps that approach the lowly manger of our Saviour and behold the salvation of the world. When God has granted the power to believe and the Holy Spirit has revealed to our slow hearts that truly our impossible sin debt has been paid in the innocent blood of the Lamb, then we too have been filled with the joy of salvation.
May God grant us strength to be hearers and doers of His word by staying close to the loving heart of Jesus. May we strive to keep faith and a clean conscience all of our days. He will come again to collect his own, not those sin-defiled and faulty earthly bodies that were in constant need of repairs, but rather the incorruptible glorified new bodies made perfect in the blood of the Lamb.
Andrew Hotari enjoys pausing for a quiet moment to reflect amidst the busyness of life. The Hotari family lives in the Southern Georgian Bay region of Ontario and are members of the Toronto congregation.