Noel. It’s a pretty name. You might know some people with that name. It’s also a French word for Christmas. The song, “The First Noel,” is designed to narrate some parts of the first Christmas. Putting the Christmas tradition into song form was an important way to pass it along from one generation to the next, especially among largely illiterate people who didn’t have bibles at their fingertips like we do. Singing would help you remember. “The First Noel” is a way to recount what we would read in the New Testament books of Matthew and Luke.

It’s a pretty plain song. Repetitive. 9 stanzas originally. We don’t sing most of them. It’s not very dynamic or evocative--at least at first. 

So what is this song doing? What is it communicating? If you were going to drop the stylus into the groove of this record, where is it going to take you? How is it going to move you? Why does it belong on your Christmas Playlist?

Click here to view the video version of the message from this week.