‘What Child Is This?’

OPINION:

“What Child Is This?” is one of my favorite Christmas carols. The lyrics were written in 1865 by a Brit named William Chatterton Dix. The words are set to the tune of “Greensleeves,” a song many of us remember from our childhood and our first piano lessons.

It is a very simple hymn built upon a very basic question: What are we to make of Christmas?

Is the tale of Bethlehem merely a feel-good fable for those who prefer fairy tales to reality?

Is the story of Christ just another example of our psychological need for conquering knights and rescuing heroes, simply another Beowulf or Sir Galahad?

If Jesus existed at all, was he anything other than a moral exemplar, a wise teacher, a prophet or a sage?

In other words, is the Christmas story the stuff of fantasy and fabrication, or could it be something else; is it possible the tale of shepherds, a star and a savior is really true?

The answer is overwhelming. History brooks no dissent; the earliest creeds of Scripture and the Church are crystal clear.

Thomas declared the risen Christ to be “my Lord and my God.”

Paul proclaimed Jesus “was in the very nature God” and that “all things were created through him and for him, and that he is before all things and in him, all things hold together.”

Peter was unequivocal: “You are the Christ, the Messiah, the son of the living God.”

John follows suit with equal boldness. “Jesus,” he wrote, “is God made flesh and dwelling among us; and apart from him not one thing was made that was made.”

The Apostles’ Creed affirms that Jesus was “conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died, and was buried,” and that “on the third day he rose again and ascended into heaven and now sits on the right hand of the Father.”

The Nicene Creed adds that Jesus Christ is “God from God, Light from Light, true God from true God, begotten, not made, one in being with the Father,” and that “he will come again in glory to judge the living and the dead, and that His kingdom will never end.”

The Athanasian Creed says that Jesus is the second Person of the Trinity, that he is “co-eternal,” “incomprehensible,” “uncreated” and “almighty,” and that it is “necessary … to believe rightly … that our Lord Jesus Christ is Perfect God and perfect Man” to whom “all will give account,” at the end of days.

Volumes have been written to answer the question “What Child is this?” Millions have given their lives and offered their deaths in response. “Jesus is not only real, but he’s righteous,” they shouted from the Coliseum floor. “He’s not just our leader; he’s our Lord,” they cried from the pikes upon which they were impaled. “Kill our bodies if you must,” they sang, “but we will rise and reign with him in eternity. ’Of his government, there will be no end’; he is the mighty God!”

Christmas tells us the Creator of the universe condescended; he was cradled in a manger, crucified on a cross, but today he lives and is coming again!

What Child is this?

“This, this is Christ the King, whom shepherds guard and angels sing!” Jesus is the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end, the Lion of Judah, the Son of Man, the Son of Mary; the Son of God.

He is the Word made flesh and dwelling among us! He is the heir of all things. Without him was not anything made that was made! He upholds the universe by the power of his word. He is the Holy and True One! His eyes are like a flame of fire. His voice is like the roar of many waters. His face is like the sun shining in full strength. He is the one with a sharp two-edged award. He is the Prince of Peace, the Living One, who died and is alive forevermore!

What Child is this? “Haste, haste, to bring him laud, the babe, the son of Mary. The King of kings salvation brings; Let loving hearts enthrone him!” He is Emmanuel: God with us! In him, all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell! For unto us was born this day in the City of David, a savior who is Christ the Lord! For us and our salvation, he came down from Heaven, was incarnate, and became fully human, and he has promised the gates of hell will not prevail against His Church!

“Christianity, if false, is of no importance, and if true, of infinite importance; the only thing it cannot be is moderately important.” — C.S. Lewis

• Everett Piper (dreverettpiper.com, @dreverettpiper), a columnist for The Washington Times, is a former university president and radio host.