The Thrill Of Hope
It’s been just over two weeks since Christmas and still there is a line from an old Christmas carol echoing in my mind. Four words really, not even an entire verse.
“A thrill of hope.”
I’ve been rolling that phrase around in my head all season. I’ve heard it, sung it hundreds if not thousands of times over the years. Yet for some reason this Christmas, that concept lodged itself in my brain. Thrill of hope. I know hope. I know thrill. I’ve never paired them together before, unsure, at least at first, how they relate.
A little context helped me move closer to comprehension. First from the song itself, “O Holy Night.”
“Long lay the world in sin and error pining
Til He appeared, and the soul felt its worth
A thrill of hope, the weary world rejoices
For yonder breaks a new and glorious morn”
Historical context, which the song itself alludes to, nudged me even closer. From the end of the final book of the Old Testament, Malachi, to beginning of the New Testament there were 400 years of silence from Heaven. No word. No signs. No wonders.
During that time, Israel was under Persian rule. Then Alexander the Great conquered Persia and he and his successors ruled. Then came Rome. During all of that time, no prophet rose up in Israel. Finally, as the New Testament opens, God sent an angel to announce the births of John the Baptist and Jesus.
With that realization, the surety of the hope became quite clear. Yet the thrill aspect was still just beyond my reach. That is, until a line from another song came to mind.
“Then like a hero who takes the stage when we’re
On the edge of our seats saying it’s too late
Well let me introduce you to amazing grace”
And there it was, an understanding of how hope brings that thrill that all is not lost. The savior has arrived, at just the right time. A new and glorious morning is breaking. When we meet Jesus that thrill of hope, of a fresh start, new beginning, clean slate, greets us and inspires us to fall on our knees in wonder and gratitude.
We can know not only that hope but the thrill that accompanies it the year round and by sharing that hope we enable others to experience it as well.
Jerry Williams
