“And Then Shall Your Light (Elijah)”,
“Light Dawns on a Weary World”,
“Prepare the Royal Highway”,
“Climb to the Top of the Highest Mountain”,
John 1:1-14, and “Stay With Us”,
These six selections are deeply rooted in Biblical texts, some primarily from the Old Testament (Elijah and “Light Dawns”), some from the New Testament (John 1:1-14 and “Stay With Us”), and some from a combination of the two.
Psalms 97:11 and 107:33-35*
Interestingly, both “And Then Shall Your Light (Elijah)” and “Light Dawns on a Weary World” reference Psalms and Isaiah as their primary Old Testament material. Neither references the New Testament, nor Jesus himself, so they are more on the Jewish side, or Christian Old Testament side of things.
Elijah and “Light Dawns” are expressions of praise and worship of God, not Jesus Christ. For example, although Elijah mentions “Lord”, which could be connected to Jesus in the New Testament, or in Christian eisegesis of the Old Testament, it is clear that its original meaning was God. “Light Dawns” is unusual in that it is rather secular; no references or allusions to God nor Jesus are made on the surface text. However, a recurring theme in “Light Dawns” is the promise of a better day, and the hope of a time of peace and joy. This seems tied closely to Jewish messianic hopes, and the text actually implies relationships with Psalms and Isaiah.
By referencing these two Old Testament books, Elijah and “Light Dawns” focus on the glory of God, and messianic hope. They do not necessarily fit into the program’s Christology, however they do provide the expression of hope and glory to God, two major themes of Christmas Fest.
“Climb to the Top of the Highest Mountain” and “Prepare the Royal Highway” are relatively balanced in their references to both the New and Old Testament. “Climb to the Top” is the first mass choir song we sang, and “Prepare the Royal Highway” the first hymn – both open Christmas Fest with a rich Christology incorporating several different texts.
Both reference the Old Testament, such as Isaiah 40 (in “Climb to the Top) and Psalm 24 (in “Prepare”), as well as the New Testament, such as John 8 and Luke 21:8 respectively. Generally the Christology in these two songs presents Jesus as the fulfillment of Jewish scriptures. For example, in the first, the lyricist takes words of praise of God in the Old Testament such as Isaiah 40 and Genesis 1 and shapes them to refer to Jesus. This is the “good news” or Gospel, that Jesus fulfills all messianic hopes of glory and triumph and salvation. In the second, the line “Hosanna to the Lord, for he fulfills God’s word!” repeats at the end of each of six stanzas, a clear way of proclaiming the message of fulfillment.
Thus, from the very beginning, Jesus is introduced as the Messiah who brings salvation and wonder to the world.
The Gospel reading of John 1:1-14, of course, is 100% taken from the Bible, which is significant because it reinforces the overall portrait of Jesus within Christmas Fest as the Johannine Word and as the Light of the World. These Christological metaphors are common across several songs in the prograym, and after the title Lord, “Word” is the second most common descriptor of Jesus. Based on these metaphors, Jesus is most strongly portrayed as a preexistent being, the Word of God, who brings light to this world, and is present in us.
“Stay With Us” also directly quotes from the Bible – specifically Luke 24:29, and less directly John 1:9. In Luke 24, Jesus was urged to “stay with us” as night fell, with two women who did not recognize him after Resurrection. In the great performance hall of Christmas Fest, however, these words took on a more personal meaning, asking for Jesus to “stay with us” as night fell on Christmas Fest.
Placed at the very end of the program, “Stay With Us” and “Beautiful Savior” were perhaps the most emotional and compelling of the night. Despite the grandeur and strength of previous pieces, these two had the entire room of some 3,000 audience members leaning forward in their seats to hear the hushed sound, and tears was not uncommon – for both the musicians and the audience. It felt, for many people, as though Jesus was present in the room with us for those several minutes. Even for people of different faiths, or without one, “Stay With Us” and “Beautiful Savior” created an incredibly tender, wondrous, and awe-inspiring moment. I know I cried even just at the beautiful lighting design, when the lights went out at the end of “Beautiful Savior” and only the cross and the tree of life were illuminated in the background design. The best moment of each performance of Christmas Fest for me (and many others, I think) was that moment of silence before the applause and darkness before the lights went back on, as the last moment of a truly spiritual and near-God or near-Christ experience before the real world returned. Whatever we may say or write of who Jesus is, or who God is, for me and many others around me, the Christmas Fest experience was the closest we will ever know of God.
Christology in Music 