In 1741, Charles Jennens penned the libretto for what he called “the sacred oratorio” and convinced his friend – George Frideric Handel to compose an oratorio for it. In 24 days of back breaking work, the genius – Handel, composed what would become his most known composition, now known simply as Handel’s Messiah.

Nearly 300 years after the first debut of the ever fresh Handel classic in Dublin, different orchestras find the Messiah one of their most loved and appreciated piece of music, greatly used by flash mobs in non-church settings, often leaving their audience in tears, hand raised and standing. It was said that King George II of England stood at the rendition of the oratorio, hence, the common tradition for the audience to stand at the rendition of Handel’s Messiah. Though, it is the Hallelujah chorus that is most commonly sung, the entire oratorio is about four hours long.

Behind and beyond the beauty of this very popular, yet ancient oratorio that reminds us so often of Christmas are the lyrics and claims of the Christian gospel.

Some parts of the lyrics of the chorus are:

Hallelujah! for the Lord God omnipotent reigneth. . . .

the kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord,

and of His Christ: and He shall reign for ever and ever.. . .

KING OF KINGS, LORD OF LORDS.

You can see the entire libretto here. By the way, a libretto is the text of an opera or other long vocal work.

There is a King that came

There are many kings – individuals with influence, you and I. In many ways, we are kings of our lives, Chairmen and CEO of our Life Plc.; the essence of the Christmas celebration is that the king of kings came to our earth. That the God who made the Heavens and the earth, the one who spoke with Abraham, gave Joseph a dream, inspired the psalms and the prophets, gave the ten commandments and sanctioned the judgments of the law; that this same God came to this earth in human form is something beyond wonders. It is the kind of stuff we see in movies, yet that’s the Christian claim and the reason we rejoice at Christmas.

There is a Throne in your heart

Handel sang in his Hallelujah chorus of the Messiah, “He shall reign forever and ever”; “but God already reigns” someone may ask. Yes, He reigns in Heaven and does desire to reign in our lives. He wants to make people of a particular sort; free spirited individuals who would allow Him reign in their lives. This, I must say is where the hard part begins since I am a king too.

I kid you not, I do, like you, do have my nuances, my own way of doing things, passions and expectations, it is not an easy thing to hands off the driving wheel of my life. Also, it is not only that the King of Kings wants to direct my every thought and act by issuing express commands, He does want to put His Spirit in me and make me His son.

Yes, He gives His Spirit to us in measures, yet, the born King – Jesus Christ, had the fullness of the Spirit of God without measure. What He did in Christ, is the same thing He seeks to do in me, in measures. It is true that the manner in which this mortality could contain the fullness of the Spirit of God is beyond comprehension, hence, we do not say that what happened at Christmas was a little thing – it isn’t, it is a miracle. Similarly, I do not always comprehend the notion of how the Holy Spirit of God lives and abides in me apart from the fact that He really does.

The Mind the Made the World

Understanding begins to come when I ponder at the creative genius that God is, with face enlightened by the mystery of His wisdom, my heart knows that it is a small thing for the God who made this universe to put His Spirit in me and in all who so desires. It is like downloading an operating system, to join a community of devices running on His OS; yes, everyone has the full stuff, yet it is in everyone. It is this Holy Spirit that lives in me that makes me the son of God too; the purpose of Christmas is to remind ourselves that the Son came that we too might become sons of God. The He might reign in my life too.

But There is a Virus in Me

I am not perfect, but I can be. This hardware of mine has a virus of sin – that desire to lead myself where God wouldn’t go. But God know it does, and have made a remedy in His Son too. The sacrifice of the cross assures us that the power of this virus has been broken in all who takes on His Spirit. Howbeit hard, anyone, and this includes the chronic sinner and the random sinner, who comes to the grace and mercy of the cross would find an ever-willing God. He can deal with the many sins of our lives.

My Throne, God’s Throne

God wants to reign in my life, He wants to do that with me. He wants to reign in your life too, and He wants to do that with you.

The demand that Christ makes is not that you kill yourself for Christ but that you live as a living sacrifice for Him. Now, the joy is that if the God of the whole universe reigns with me, it would only lead to glory. That, my friends, is the good news, that anyone who would allow this King to have His kingdom in him would partake of the life of the King. Sincerely, I see no better option, because the joy, beauty and wonders of the life of this King begins here on earth, and when in my folly I miss my way, He comes to me in His strength and wisdom, to lead me back to Him.

Merry Christmas my dear friend, please live and reign with the King who must first reign in you.