the Messiah.

As the season of Advent continues, I am continually reminded of the importance of this season, and the incredible gift Jesus was and is to this world.

Last night, I saw the Apollo Chorus perform Handel's Messiah.  While I have heard the Hallelujah chorus countless times, I had never heard the masterpiece in its entirety.  Handel wrote the music to the Messiah after Charles Jennens had completed a "libretto" of beautifully interwoven passages of Scripture to celebrate the birth, death, and resurrection of Christ.


Leonard Van Camp described the three parts of Messiah as follows:
I.  Prophecy and Promise of the Redeemer
II.  The Suffering Lamb who Redeems
III.  Thanksgiving for the Defeat of Death

This compilation of verses is extensive and includes scores of prophetic passages as well as the fulfillment of those prophecies from the New Testament, presenting a complete story of Christ's .  A stunning combination of words and music, choral and instrumental parts, and the most incredible lyrics (as expected, considering they come straight from the Bible).

It was phenomenal.  Go see a performance of Handel's Messiah if you ever have a chance.

On a related note, the pastor at my church has been preaching a short series called Rediscovering Christmas.  Last week the sermon focused on the historical context of Jesus' birth.  The reason Caesar Augustus is specifically mentioned in Luke 2, is because he is a significant part of the day's culture.  Caesar Augustus was a tyrant who brought what the Romans called "peace" by ravaging scores of villages.  He killed thousands, enslaved many more, and wrought fear in all the rest.  He expanded his empire by paying his military to rebuild the infrastructure and he paid them by taxing the population.  He called this particular census in order to count the people in his empire so that he could tax them.  Caesar demanded their loyalty by enforcing titles such as "Savior", "Son of God", and "Redeemer."  Do those sound familiar?

The people in Israel were terrified of the Romans.  They sought, waited, and hoped for someone to save them from this empire.  When Mary, in her Magnificat (Luke 1:46-55), says, "My soul glorifies the Lord and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior" (vv. 46-47), she does not just recognize Jesus as Lord and Savior.  No, Mary basically says, "Screw you, Caesar.  God is the one who will have the last word, not you!"  Her statement was radical.

Jesus was not just a meek and mild child in a stable.  No.  He was the living, breathing flesh of God!  He came into the REAL world to deal with REAL problems, not to help us escape this world to get to heaven.

Let us rejoice in this truth. :)