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18 DECEMBER FULL OF WONDER Noel Noel Noel Noel Born is the King of Israel! Luke 2:14-20 My nephew, the first of the next generation in our family, was born eight years ago and it seems like yesterday that I took him in my arms and could not help but exclaim, "Wow, wow, wow!" The wonder, the miracle of his existence in the world was almost too much to take in and I found myself just overcome with the sheer delight of it all. His tiny little hands and nose, his little legs stretching out as he settled back into sleep, so vulnerable and small and yet so amazing that this person had come into existence. For days after, I found myself telling anyone who would listen about this little miracle, exclaiming the good news that our family received in his bir th! When we sing, "Noel! Noel! Born is the King of Israel," we are joining the ear th and heavens in declaring the wonder of Jesus' bir th, for His bir th meant that a new king had come to rule, one that would rule with peace, mercy, and justice. The familiar exclamation of "Noel" sung in The First Noel captures this kind of emotion, the song culminating in this repeated chorus for it is the repetition of the good news of bir th, finding its root in the Latin word for "bir th" and the French origins signaling the arrival of good news. Noel! His bir th is good news indeed! The angels could not help themselves except to burst onto the scene with this good news, singing "Glor y to God in the highest heaven, and on ear th peace to those on whom His favor rests" (Luke 2:14). The One for whom all of ear th and heaven had ached had finally arrived, so no wonder the heavens shouted with delight, of sheer amazement that the One promised had finally arrived. As we sing this familiar line, we are joining with the angels, with the great cloud of witnesses, declaring that the Good News has arrived at the bir th of Jesus, the One who is called the king of Israel and the one Promised to bring salvation. Noel! Jesus' bir th is most definitely good news and the shepherds found themselves full of wonder, returning to their town and "glorifying and praising God for all the things they have heard and seen, which were just as they had been told" (Luke 2:20). The good news has burst for th! Kristy McGarvey, MDiv, Dean of Students The First Noel Published by Davies Gilbert (1823), composer unknown