For some reason my favorite Christmas song has always been It Came Upon a Midnight Clear. I’m not really sure why I liked it. I think because it had a serious message and just a bit of a different sound than other Christmas songs. The scene where the angels appear to the shepherds is also one of my favorite parts of the Christmas story, and perhaps that had something to do with it. Shepherds were not highly esteemed, yet it was them to whom God chose to reveal the Messiah through his angel messengers and they were among the first to meet the baby Jesus.

And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord. This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.”

Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying,
“Glory to God in the highest,
and on earth peace to men on whom his favor rests.”

When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let’s go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about.”

So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the manger. When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child, and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them. But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart. The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen, which were just as they had been told. – Luke 2:8-20

There’s now another reason I like this song, though. Last year I read through the lyrics of the various verses and verse three struck me very strongly. I think my fellow RA-warriors will know what I mean when reading the words, so I’ve decided that I’m going to use those words as my Christmas card to the #rheum community:





And if you want to actually listen to the song, I really like this version by Kutless: