O Holy Night

Buenos Aires
(image from Lonely Planet)

I was thinking of taking today off, but decided instead to take tomorrow off since this is the last weekday I'll be in a stable place for over a week, and I needed to get some "weekday" things done: I had questions for LifeWind and I also wanted the Arizona Secretary of State's office to place an apostille on some documents for my visa application. Turns out one of the notaries stamped several of my documents incorrectly, so I only was able to get the apostille on one of them. Plans for a hike were scrapped since the weather was scary (40-mile an hour winds) and I wanted to get to the bank before closing to see if the notary I'd used was still at work to correct the documents.

Driving through downtown Phoenix today I started getting excited about living in a city again. And what a city: the population of Buenos Aires is over 12 million! For some reason, cities feel more real to me than suburbs. I don't know exactly why that is, since obviously real people with real problems and real joys live in the suburbs, too. As an adult, the only time I've lived in suburbs has been these past three years, and maybe I just haven't gotten rid of the stereotyping. Maybe I'm just dramatic. In Phoenix today I saw billboards of people whose faces and teeth were ravaged by meth addictions. But statistics show that there are people addicted to meth living in rural areas and suburbs, too.

This Sunday I will be giving the communion meditation. I just found out that communion comes after singing "O Holy Night:"

O holy night,
the stars are brightly shining;
It is the night of
our dear Savior's birth!
Long lay the world
in sin and error pining,
Till He appeared
and the soul felt its worth.
A thrill of hope,
the weary world rejoices,
For yonder breaks
a new and glorious morn.
Fall on your knees,
O hear the angel voices!
O night divine,
O night when Christ was born!
O night divine, O night,
O night divine!

Led by the light of Faith
serenely beaming,
With glowing hearts
by His cradle we stand.
So led by light of a star
sweetly gleaming,
Here came the wise men
from Orient land.
The King of Kings lay thus
in lowly manger,
In all our trials
born to be our Friend!
He knows our need,
To our weakness no stranger;
Behold your King!
Before the lowly bend!
Behold your King! your King!
before Him bend.

Truly He taught us
to love one another;
His law is love and
His gospel is peace.
Chains shall He break
for the slave is our brother
And in His name
all oppression shall cease.
Sweet hymns of joy in
grateful chorus raise we,
Let all within us
praise His holy name!
Christ is the Lord,
Oh praise His name forever,
His pow'r and glory evermore proclaim
His pow'r and glory
evermore proclaim.

I love so much about this song, and when not done in a cheesy way it's my favorite Christmas song. Today I noticed for the first time the line, "Till he appeared and the soul felt its worth." Wow. All of us, suburbanites, urbanites, meth addicts, government employees -- our souls are amazingly valuable. So valuable that "the King of kings lay thus in a lowly manger" in the Middle East, lived in a tumultuous time, was misunderstood by his friends, suffered, and died for our souls.