Let Every Heart Sing Part 3

For Unto Us a Child is Born from Handel's Messiah

Most likely, you have heard Handel’s Messiah—or at least parts of it—as choirs and symphonies all over the Western world perform it around Christmas or Easter. The Hallelujah Chorus is from Handel’s Messiah and is so thrilling that even people who aren’t into classical music love it.

I have performed it three times with my choir, and I think I have seen it five times as an audience member, but it never gets old. I don’t think it ever will get old for me. In fact each time I see it or perform it, I love it all the more. My choir performed it again this past Sunday. My best friend in the choir is thirty years older than me and has lost count of how many times she has performed it. But as we walked off the stage together after Sunday’s performance, we were both thrilled anew by it, and wondered how there can possibly be people who don’t believe in God, as only God could inspire the composition of something so beautiful.

But for those readers less enthusiastic about sitting through this two hour composition, maybe guys whose wives made them attend because culture is good for you, I get it. (If performed in its entirety, it is closer to three hours, but most choirs these days sing an abbreviated version because apparently people these days can sit for a three hour movie or sporting event, but not a beautiful classical work. Okay, I’m done ranting.) But even my full appreciation of this piece had to be acquired. For one thing, the piece is loaded with melismas—a musical term for one word stretched out over several notes—and this, combined with just the operatic style of singing can make it difficult to understand what the soloists are singing. But I found this awesome resource that gives the lyrics for each movement, and the Bible verses they are drawn from. I can also empathize with modern Americans not having the attention span to appreciate such a long composition, especially given that each movement is a repetition of one or two verses multiple times over. But if you listen closely, you will notice that Handel’s Messiah is a dramatization of the entire redemption story, from the prophecy foretelling the coming of the Messiah, to Christ’s redemption of humanity through his death on the cross, to Christ’s resurrection which destroys the power of death. Each movement consists of only a few words repeated multiple times, but behind each repetition is emotion. Behind the music, you can hear the comfort that the ancient Israelites must have felt when Isaiah foretold the coming of the Messiah in a period of warfare and spiritual darkness, the sorrow felt by Jesus when he is rejected, and the joy of singing, and knowing, that He shall reign forever and ever, and if we accept his sacrifice for our sins and do our best to follow Him, we will also be resurrected to dwell with him. In 1742 when this work was first performed, before there was television and movies with sophisticated special effects that dulled our minds and shortened our attention spans, this musical dramatization of the redemption story was their equivalent to a movie.

For my part, I think, and feel closer to God in song than when I am just reading Scripture or praying on my own. I have tried, and had a terrible time cultivating the spiritual discipline of daily Scripture reading and prayer. But I love listening to Christian music while I work or write, especially artists like Marty Goetz, who draws many of his songs from the psalms, and sometimes, I sense God speaking to me while I listen to this music, even though I am not consciously devoting myself to prayer. So for me, Handel’s Messiah is not only a masterful composition of classical music. It is one long, beautiful, contemplative prayer set to music.

So I hope all you readers might set aside time this season to appreciate Handel’s Messiah in its entirety. But if you are unable to, at least make a point of finding a recording of For Unto Us a Child is Born. The lyrics for this movement are drawn from Isaiah 9:6: “For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace” (NIV).  (Handel’s Messiah, and most choral works for that matter, use the King James Bible because the old English translations lend themselves more beautifully to singing). This verse is often read during advent at church, but George Frideric Handel brings out the joyful implications of this verse in a way that is difficult to fully appreciate when merely reading it. And I think part of the problem for the American church these days is that we—both conservative and liberal Christians—don’t fully believe or trust in the powerful implications of this verse. As Russel Moore observed in his book Losing Our Religion, “Some are panicked about rising secularism and what they fear will be hostility to the church, but act in ways that tie the witness of the church to forms of power that actually fuel secularization” (Page 24). This is a hallmark of Christian Nationalism, a fear-driven philosophy that in 1980 caused evangelicals to reject one of their own (Jimmy Carter) in favor of Ronald Reagan because they believed Christianity was in peril and needed a president who would project strength. In 2016, this same fear would lead 81 percent of evangelicals to support Donald Trump. But those of us who oppose Donald Trump and the powerful influence of Christian Nationalism that got him elected are also on some level operating from a place of fear that Christianity won’t survive the scandals, the hypocrisy, the loss of credibility that Christian Nationalism has caused. This song is a gentle, joyful reminder that we have nothing to fear. While we as Christians have a responsibility to champion social justice, which I believe entails electing leaders of good character, with a consistent prolife ethic, we can all find solace in knowing that no matter the outcome of the 2024 election, Jesus said that nothing, not even the gates of hell would prevail against his church (Matthew 16:13-20), and while earthly governments are necessary, even ordained by God in this current world to maintain order, all forms of earthly government are imperfect but only temporary. One day, the government will be on Christ’s shoulders. We will call him Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of (real) peace, not the fragile peace powerful countries attain by projecting military strength. And as this movement dramatizes so masterfully, this should bring us abundant Christmas joy every day of the year.