Our InScriber Bruce
Atcheson wrote, “I
remember how amazed I was when I was making cards and my teacher told me how to
spell Christmas. Until I was eight years old, I had no idea that the first
five letters spelled the title of the King of Kings.”
Our theme question this month asks: When has Christ revealed
something about Himself to you at Christmas?
Christ of "The Messiah"
It was a magical dusk
in early December when neighbours dropped by our house on the way to Calgary to
hear The Messiah. I was only a child, but this, my first exposure to the
performance, piqued my interest, and I determined someday to attend The
Messiah.
As a young adult, I attended
two live performance of The Messiah. I had recently experienced a renewal of my
faith, and the message became so meaningful to me. The majesty of the music
covered the grand sweep of Christ's purpose: beginning with God's promises as
spoken by the prophets, His Nativity, Passion, Resurrection and Ascension. It
ended with Christ's glorification in heaven.
As I write this blog, I’m listening to the
beautiful music. I have attended the live performance several times since, and listen
to each Christmas season, including on CBC Radio on Christmas morning.
But the story of its
composition also has deep meaning for me.
*
* *
The year was 1741.
George Frederic Handel was deeply in debt and in poor health, having been prone
to strokes and rheumatism, and nearly blind from cataracts. At fifty-six, he
was nearly a forgotten composer, his music no longer played by the great
orchestras of Europe.
He was deeply depressed
and troubled, with little hope for his future and his music, and was ready to
retire in disgrace.
But then he received a
commission to compose a piece of music for a benefit concert for prisoners and
hospital patients. A friend had an idea for a new oratorio, based on the Old
and New Testament stories of Christ’s redemption.
The challenge inspired
and revived Handel. Locking himself in his study , he feverishly wrote,
sometimes even refusing food.
At one time, a servant
came in to see the weeping Handel who explained, “I did think I did see all
heaven before me, and the great God Himself.” He had just completed writing the
“Hallelujah Chorus.”
Twenty-four days and
260 pages of manuscript later, The Messiah was finished. At the end of his
manuscript, Handel wrote the letters "SDG"—Soli Deo Gloria—“To God
alone the glory".
It became a huge
success. When performed in London, King George II was so moved that he stood
for the “Hallelujah Chorus.” And thus began a tradition we still follow today.
Handel continued to
conduct this piece until his death in 1759, eighteen years after he composed
it. He was buried with honour at Westminster Abbey.
The man who once felt
life had no more to offer him had birthed a piece that has brought many—including
me—closer to an understanding of God’s great plan of salvation through Christ.
