December 18: Laylat Al-Milad
Fourth Week of Advent: Love
December 18: Laylat Al-Milad (Arabic) - Links & Lyrics Below
Here are a few things that would be on my list:
• The quiet of Christmas Day.
• Singing the favorite Christmas carols.
• The candlelight part of the Christmas Eve service.
I think for many of us, Christmas worship would be on our list in some form.
Not surprising. The warm sentimentality of Christmas Eve touches my heart every year.
And there are times when the prophets remind us that our worship is never for the sake of ourselves and our good feelings, even when the good feelings are true and real.
Read Isaiah 1:10-18 for one of the most blistering indictments of worship that exists for its own sake. (Go ahead. I’ll wait.) Ouch.
Our religious observances —even Christmas worship — are incomplete when worship keeps us comfortable and shut off from the needs of the rest of the world. Worship and prayer put us in touch with the heart of God, and God’s heart is attuned to the broken places of the world. An old saying puts it like this: “Never pray in a room without windows.”
That’s what I love about this new-to-me Christmas carol from our Arab siblings. It reminds me that worship is directed at enacting God’s intentions for the world — for life, not death; for love, not hatred; for peace, not war; for the lifting of up the poor, and the healing of creation.
That big project that God began for the healing of the world began with a baby born in Bethlehem.
Pastor Jim Honig
Shepherd of the Bay Lutheran - Ellison Bay
Refrain
On the night of Christmas, hatred will vanish
On the night of Christmas, the earth blooms
On the night of Christmas, war is buried
On the night of Christmas, love is born
1. When we offer a glass of water to a thirsty person, we are in Christmas
When we clothe a naked person with a gown of love, we are in Christmas
When we wipe the tears from weeping eyes, we are in Christmas
When we cushion a hopeless heart with love, we are in Christmas
2. When I kiss a friend without hypocrisy, I am in Christmas
When the spirit of revenge dies in me, I am in Christmas
When hardness is gone from my heart, I am in Christmas
When my soul melts in the being of God, I am in Christmas
In Arabic:
Laylat al-Milad ... yummahah-l-bughdou
Laylat al-Milad ... tuzhiru-l-ardou
Laylat al-Milad ... tudfanou-l-harbou
Laylat al-Milad ... yanbutou-l-hubbou.
Verse 1
'Indama nusqee 'atshan ka'sa ma' ... nakoonu fi-l-milad
'Indama naksoo 'uryan thaowba hub ... nakoonu fi-l-milad
'Indama nukafkifu-d-dumoo' fi-l-'uyoon ... nakoonu fi-l-milad
'Indama nafrishu-l-qulooba bi-r-raja' ... nakoonu fi-l-milad.
Verse 2
'Indama uqabbilou rafeeqi douna ghush ... akoonu fi-l-milad
'Indama tamootu fiyya roohu-l-intiqam ... akoonu fi -l-milad
'Indama yarqudu fi qalbi-ya-l-jafa ... akoonu fi-l-milad
'Indama tamootu nafsi fi kiyan il-lah ... akoonu fi-l-milad.
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