Fred Hutchison
Risen with healing in His wings
By Fred Hutchison
Christ by highest heaven adored;
Christ the everlasting Lord!
Late in time behold him come,
Offspring of the Virgin's womb.
Veiled in flesh the Godhead see;
Hail th' incarnate Deity!
Pleased as man with men to dwell,
Jesus our Emanuel.
Hark, the herald angels sing,
Glory to the newborn king!
(Hark the Herald Angels, stanza 2, Lyrics, Charles Wesley, Arranged by George Whitfield, tune by Mendelssohn)
Seldom has the Doctrine of the Incarnation been so fitly described in so few words as this single stanza from a great Christmas Carol. The wonder of it is the lines are as poetic as a verse from the King James Bible and musical enough to sung to a tune by the great composer Mendelssohn. The song was written by Charles Wesley, the greatest of Christian hymn writers and brother of John Wesley, founder of Methodism. it was arranged by George Whitfield, the greatest preacher of the Great Awakening.
In the third verse, "Risen with Healing in His Wings," stands out as a memorable, mystical, poetic and prophetic statement. The resurrection of Christ somehow unleashes the power of the incarnation. During Christ's earthly life, he was God incarnate as a man with a mortal body. Christ who now sits on the right hand of the Father, is God incarnate in the immortal glorified body of a resurrected man. The resurrection and reign of the man who is God incarnate has a healing power. He is risen with "healing in His wings."
"And what is the exceeding greatness of His power towards us who believe, according to the working of his mighty power, which He wrought in Christ, when He raised Him from the dead, and set Him at His right hand in heavenly places, Far above all principality, power, and might, and dominion, and every name which is named, not only in this age, but also that which is to come." (Ephesians 1:19 – 21)
Christ incarnate, risen and enthroned in majesty has ultimate power over the nations. One aspect of that power is the healing of the nations. In the New Jerusalem, next to crystalline river of life, will be tree of life, which bears twelve kinds of fruit. "The leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations." (Revelation 21: 2)
We know that the nations are not yet healed. But wherever the teaching of the Incarnation and the Resurrection of Christ has gone out into the world, there has been a partial healing. The celebration of Christmas, which tell about the Incarnation and Easter, which tells about the Resurrection have a healing effect on society and culture. There is a compelling logic to this vital truth. Let us consider some parts of life which are reconciled by the Incarnation and the Resurrection.
Forgiveness
Saint Anselm (1033 – 1109), Archbishop of Canterbury, perfected the doctrine of the Atonement. He explained with exquisite clarity that without the Incarnation of Christ, the work of Atonement which Christ performed on the cross would have no effect. If Christ were not fully God, the value of His suffering and death on the cross would be inadequate to atone for all the sins of the world. If Christ were not fully man, He could not be our substitute as man and receive the punishment we deserve. We could not identify by faith with His death if he was an angel or some species other than man. If there is no incarnation there is no release from the power of sin through the power of the cross. The death of the incarnate Christ delivers us from Divine judgement, brings to us a perfect forgiveness for our sins, and opens a door to freedom from the power of sin.
Receiving forgiveness heals us from guilt, shame, and alienation from God and man. Receiving forgiveness empowers us to forgive others. Forgiveness heals families and relationships. As forgiveness spreads through society, some of the wounds and divisions might be reconciled and some of the rips in the social fabric might be healed.
As we ponder the Christ child laying in the manger, his miraculous incarnation should work in our hearts so as to allow us to forgive, and sense a new harmony with the world.
Alienation
The Muslim religion denies the Trinity and the Incarnation of Christ. Partly for this reason, Islam has a tendency to induce a queer kind of social alienation. Nancy Pearcey, author of Total Truth: Liberating Christianity from its Cultural Captivity, said that Muslims worship an impersonal God. She attributed this to the influence of Persian Neoplatonism which has pantheistic elements. An impersonal God produces a feeling of alienation and a low view of man. She thinks this low view is what has led to the mechanical nature of Muslim prayer, the prescriptive cookbook approach to piety, and a reluctance to disavow terrorism and evil dictators.
Christianity has a remarkably personal God. God is a Trinity with the three divine persons in a perfect communion of love and a perfect oneness of being. There is no alienation within the Trinity. There is perfect harmony. God the Son became a man to save a lost humanity and to bring him into an eternal relationship with God in the harmony of the Trinity. Jesus bridged the transcendent gap between infinite God and finite man. As He entered the world of men he overcame our alienation. He is here and he cares and He wants us to know He cares. He is prepared to guide us, protect us and comfort us with His presence if we will trust in Him. We need not feel lost and alone in a frowning alien world, if the Creator of the world is with us. His light shall guide us through the darkness.
Part of our alienation is an alienation from ourselves. In my last essay I described how postmodern liberals are split into two airtight chambers. They are alienated from themselves and therefore feel perpetually alienated from society. However, all men are sinners, and therefore, all men are to some degree divided against themselves. Even the Apostle Paul faced an internal civil war. His strong desire to do good was thwarted by his sin nature which was in rebellion against doing good. He cried, "O wretched man that I am! Who shall deliver me from the body of this death?" This is the cry of alienation. The incarnate, resurrected Christ, the Tree of Life, can heal a man inwardly and bring the alienated inner parts together. The River of life flowing at His feet is the Holy Spirit, which indwells the innermost being of the believer, quenching the thirst of alienation, and imparting life. We shall have our wholeness and our soundness in the Triune God, and in none other..
Destiny
Edmund Burke (1729 – 1797), the father of modern Conservatism, based his view of society on certain ideas drawn from his theology. Like most Christian men of faith, he believed that God had a purpose for his life. He also believed that God has a destiny for each society. He brings a civilization and a culture into existence to serve those ends appointed by him. He is able to heal and renew a society when it pleases Him.
"The leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations." The tree of life is the Incarnate Christ, risen and healing the nations. According to the text the tree is "on either side" of the river of life. Christ, the tree has two giant legs and stands astride the river like a colossus. The river of life comes to us through Him.
Until a culture has fulfilled his destiny, God sustains it. When it has run its course, he withholds his hand and it collapses. Burke noticed that the social fabric is delicate, fragile, intricate and exquisitely wrought. It has tiny golden threads woven through it which is the handiwork of God working through millions of human lives. When reforms are necessary, they must be done with a light touch and the utmost delicacy, for fear the golden threads be snapped. The real purpose of reform is the preservation of the social fabric. Corruption and injustice must be dealt with and changed circumstances must be considered. But politically sponsored change must be slow and exceeding careful lest the social fabric be rent. But most of the healing of the society must come through God as the Incarnation and the Resurrection weave their golden threads to bind up the gashes and rents in the social fabric.
How shall we help to heal our broken society? Celebrate Christmas! Let the miracle of the Incarnation open our wondering eyes. Allow the babe of Bethlehem find a place in our hearts. And allow the golden threads of renovation weave our lives and our families together. But do not shut the joy up into your private hearth. Go out into your world rejoicing and allow the joy and comfort of the Christ child who lives in your heart to lift the faltering hearts of your alienated fellows.
Hail the heaven born Pince of Peace!
Hail the sun of righteousness!
Light and life to all He brings,
Risen with healing in His wings.
Mild He lays His glory by,
Born that man no more may die,
Born to raise the sons of earth,
Born to give them seconf birth.
Hark the herald angels sing,
Glory to the newborn king!
© Fred Hutchison
Christ by highest heaven adored;
Christ the everlasting Lord!
Late in time behold him come,
Offspring of the Virgin's womb.
Veiled in flesh the Godhead see;
Hail th' incarnate Deity!
Pleased as man with men to dwell,
Jesus our Emanuel.
Hark, the herald angels sing,
Glory to the newborn king!
(Hark the Herald Angels, stanza 2, Lyrics, Charles Wesley, Arranged by George Whitfield, tune by Mendelssohn)
Seldom has the Doctrine of the Incarnation been so fitly described in so few words as this single stanza from a great Christmas Carol. The wonder of it is the lines are as poetic as a verse from the King James Bible and musical enough to sung to a tune by the great composer Mendelssohn. The song was written by Charles Wesley, the greatest of Christian hymn writers and brother of John Wesley, founder of Methodism. it was arranged by George Whitfield, the greatest preacher of the Great Awakening.
In the third verse, "Risen with Healing in His Wings," stands out as a memorable, mystical, poetic and prophetic statement. The resurrection of Christ somehow unleashes the power of the incarnation. During Christ's earthly life, he was God incarnate as a man with a mortal body. Christ who now sits on the right hand of the Father, is God incarnate in the immortal glorified body of a resurrected man. The resurrection and reign of the man who is God incarnate has a healing power. He is risen with "healing in His wings."
"And what is the exceeding greatness of His power towards us who believe, according to the working of his mighty power, which He wrought in Christ, when He raised Him from the dead, and set Him at His right hand in heavenly places, Far above all principality, power, and might, and dominion, and every name which is named, not only in this age, but also that which is to come." (Ephesians 1:19 – 21)
Christ incarnate, risen and enthroned in majesty has ultimate power over the nations. One aspect of that power is the healing of the nations. In the New Jerusalem, next to crystalline river of life, will be tree of life, which bears twelve kinds of fruit. "The leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations." (Revelation 21: 2)
We know that the nations are not yet healed. But wherever the teaching of the Incarnation and the Resurrection of Christ has gone out into the world, there has been a partial healing. The celebration of Christmas, which tell about the Incarnation and Easter, which tells about the Resurrection have a healing effect on society and culture. There is a compelling logic to this vital truth. Let us consider some parts of life which are reconciled by the Incarnation and the Resurrection.
Forgiveness
Saint Anselm (1033 – 1109), Archbishop of Canterbury, perfected the doctrine of the Atonement. He explained with exquisite clarity that without the Incarnation of Christ, the work of Atonement which Christ performed on the cross would have no effect. If Christ were not fully God, the value of His suffering and death on the cross would be inadequate to atone for all the sins of the world. If Christ were not fully man, He could not be our substitute as man and receive the punishment we deserve. We could not identify by faith with His death if he was an angel or some species other than man. If there is no incarnation there is no release from the power of sin through the power of the cross. The death of the incarnate Christ delivers us from Divine judgement, brings to us a perfect forgiveness for our sins, and opens a door to freedom from the power of sin.
Receiving forgiveness heals us from guilt, shame, and alienation from God and man. Receiving forgiveness empowers us to forgive others. Forgiveness heals families and relationships. As forgiveness spreads through society, some of the wounds and divisions might be reconciled and some of the rips in the social fabric might be healed.
As we ponder the Christ child laying in the manger, his miraculous incarnation should work in our hearts so as to allow us to forgive, and sense a new harmony with the world.
Alienation
The Muslim religion denies the Trinity and the Incarnation of Christ. Partly for this reason, Islam has a tendency to induce a queer kind of social alienation. Nancy Pearcey, author of Total Truth: Liberating Christianity from its Cultural Captivity, said that Muslims worship an impersonal God. She attributed this to the influence of Persian Neoplatonism which has pantheistic elements. An impersonal God produces a feeling of alienation and a low view of man. She thinks this low view is what has led to the mechanical nature of Muslim prayer, the prescriptive cookbook approach to piety, and a reluctance to disavow terrorism and evil dictators.
Christianity has a remarkably personal God. God is a Trinity with the three divine persons in a perfect communion of love and a perfect oneness of being. There is no alienation within the Trinity. There is perfect harmony. God the Son became a man to save a lost humanity and to bring him into an eternal relationship with God in the harmony of the Trinity. Jesus bridged the transcendent gap between infinite God and finite man. As He entered the world of men he overcame our alienation. He is here and he cares and He wants us to know He cares. He is prepared to guide us, protect us and comfort us with His presence if we will trust in Him. We need not feel lost and alone in a frowning alien world, if the Creator of the world is with us. His light shall guide us through the darkness.
Part of our alienation is an alienation from ourselves. In my last essay I described how postmodern liberals are split into two airtight chambers. They are alienated from themselves and therefore feel perpetually alienated from society. However, all men are sinners, and therefore, all men are to some degree divided against themselves. Even the Apostle Paul faced an internal civil war. His strong desire to do good was thwarted by his sin nature which was in rebellion against doing good. He cried, "O wretched man that I am! Who shall deliver me from the body of this death?" This is the cry of alienation. The incarnate, resurrected Christ, the Tree of Life, can heal a man inwardly and bring the alienated inner parts together. The River of life flowing at His feet is the Holy Spirit, which indwells the innermost being of the believer, quenching the thirst of alienation, and imparting life. We shall have our wholeness and our soundness in the Triune God, and in none other..
Destiny
Edmund Burke (1729 – 1797), the father of modern Conservatism, based his view of society on certain ideas drawn from his theology. Like most Christian men of faith, he believed that God had a purpose for his life. He also believed that God has a destiny for each society. He brings a civilization and a culture into existence to serve those ends appointed by him. He is able to heal and renew a society when it pleases Him.
"The leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations." The tree of life is the Incarnate Christ, risen and healing the nations. According to the text the tree is "on either side" of the river of life. Christ, the tree has two giant legs and stands astride the river like a colossus. The river of life comes to us through Him.
Until a culture has fulfilled his destiny, God sustains it. When it has run its course, he withholds his hand and it collapses. Burke noticed that the social fabric is delicate, fragile, intricate and exquisitely wrought. It has tiny golden threads woven through it which is the handiwork of God working through millions of human lives. When reforms are necessary, they must be done with a light touch and the utmost delicacy, for fear the golden threads be snapped. The real purpose of reform is the preservation of the social fabric. Corruption and injustice must be dealt with and changed circumstances must be considered. But politically sponsored change must be slow and exceeding careful lest the social fabric be rent. But most of the healing of the society must come through God as the Incarnation and the Resurrection weave their golden threads to bind up the gashes and rents in the social fabric.
How shall we help to heal our broken society? Celebrate Christmas! Let the miracle of the Incarnation open our wondering eyes. Allow the babe of Bethlehem find a place in our hearts. And allow the golden threads of renovation weave our lives and our families together. But do not shut the joy up into your private hearth. Go out into your world rejoicing and allow the joy and comfort of the Christ child who lives in your heart to lift the faltering hearts of your alienated fellows.
Hail the heaven born Pince of Peace!
Hail the sun of righteousness!
Light and life to all He brings,
Risen with healing in His wings.
Mild He lays His glory by,
Born that man no more may die,
Born to raise the sons of earth,
Born to give them seconf birth.
Hark the herald angels sing,
Glory to the newborn king!
© Fred Hutchison
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