and chains he shall break
As Christmas draws near, I found myself listening again to a song that has followed me through so many seasons. O Holy Night has always been a favorite, but this year a single line hit me differently:
“And chains He shall break, for the slave is our brother.”
What a lyric.
What a declaration.
It even made me think of that moment in Talladega Nights when Will Ferrell insists on praying specifically to “sweet little 8-pound, 6-ounce baby Jesus.” It’s a funny scene, but it also reveals something true: we’re often much more comfortable with Jesus as a harmless baby than as the King who came to upend the world.
Because Jesus didn’t come just to be a cute baby in a manger.
He came with intention. With mission. With purpose.
He came to remind us of the greatest commandments:
“Love the Lord your God with all your heart, mind, soul, and strength.”
“And love your neighbor as yourself.”
This is the framework of His Kingdom.
This is the new way of being human that He introduced.
Jesus came to free the captives, to lift the brokenhearted, to bring joy to those who mourn, and to trade ashes for beauty and despair for oil of gladness. He came to restore our relationship with a holy God — but also to tear down the walls of hostility that divide us from one another.
And yet, 2,000 years later…
We still wrestle with division.
We still mistrust those who look different from us.
We still struggle to see each other as equals at the foot of the same cross.
Different in color, yet equal in value.
Different in story, yet made by the same Creator.
Different in background, yet loved by the same God.
The lyric struck me because it’s not only about ancient chains or historical slavery.
It’s about us — right now — and all the ways we still hold one another captive in our assumptions, fears, prejudices, or silence.
Jesus came to break every one of those chains.
Not only the chains that bind our souls…
But the chains that bind us in hostility toward each other.
Until Jesus returns, there will always be a brother or sister still in some form of slavery — spiritual, emotional, social, or physical. And until the restoration of all things, we are called to fight lovingly for one another’s freedom, just as Christ fought for ours.
To stand as family.
To call each other “brother.”
To wait with hope and courage for the King who breaks every chain.
If you want to listen to the version that stirred all this in me, here’s the link:
? Maverick City Music — O Holy Night
https://music.apple.com/us/album/oh-holy-night-feat-lizzie-morgan/1571979029?i=1571979174
“And chains He shall break, for the slave is our brother.”
What a lyric.
What a declaration.
It even made me think of that moment in Talladega Nights when Will Ferrell insists on praying specifically to “sweet little 8-pound, 6-ounce baby Jesus.” It’s a funny scene, but it also reveals something true: we’re often much more comfortable with Jesus as a harmless baby than as the King who came to upend the world.
Because Jesus didn’t come just to be a cute baby in a manger.
He came with intention. With mission. With purpose.
He came to remind us of the greatest commandments:
“Love the Lord your God with all your heart, mind, soul, and strength.”
“And love your neighbor as yourself.”
This is the framework of His Kingdom.
This is the new way of being human that He introduced.
Jesus came to free the captives, to lift the brokenhearted, to bring joy to those who mourn, and to trade ashes for beauty and despair for oil of gladness. He came to restore our relationship with a holy God — but also to tear down the walls of hostility that divide us from one another.
And yet, 2,000 years later…
We still wrestle with division.
We still mistrust those who look different from us.
We still struggle to see each other as equals at the foot of the same cross.
Different in color, yet equal in value.
Different in story, yet made by the same Creator.
Different in background, yet loved by the same God.
The lyric struck me because it’s not only about ancient chains or historical slavery.
It’s about us — right now — and all the ways we still hold one another captive in our assumptions, fears, prejudices, or silence.
Jesus came to break every one of those chains.
Not only the chains that bind our souls…
But the chains that bind us in hostility toward each other.
Until Jesus returns, there will always be a brother or sister still in some form of slavery — spiritual, emotional, social, or physical. And until the restoration of all things, we are called to fight lovingly for one another’s freedom, just as Christ fought for ours.
To stand as family.
To call each other “brother.”
To wait with hope and courage for the King who breaks every chain.
If you want to listen to the version that stirred all this in me, here’s the link:
? Maverick City Music — O Holy Night
https://music.apple.com/us/album/oh-holy-night-feat-lizzie-morgan/1571979029?i=1571979174
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