Friendship is at the heart of Christmas. On that first Christmas night, angels declared it to be a time of “peace [and] good will” (Luke 2:14). That spirit has persisted to this day. At Christmastime, we tend to think of others a little more kindly; we feel more generosity and compassion toward neighbors and strangers. As Charles Dickens wrote in his beloved story A Christmas Carol, “I have always thought of Christmas time … as a good time; a kind, forgiving, charitable, pleasant time; the only time I know of, in the long calendar of the year, when men and women seem by one consent to open their shut-up hearts freely, and to think of people … as if they really were fellow-passengers.”[1]
Every journey is more enjoyable with good company. So perhaps Christmas is a good time to try to be better traveling companions, better “fellow passengers” for each other. The Savior, whose birth we celebrate this season, made friendship a cornerstone of His life. He taught, “Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends” (John 15:13) and “A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another. By this shall [everyone] know that ye are my disciples” (John 13:34–35). He is our Friend. And He wants His disciples, His followers, to be friends to others.
The Savior of the world came to earth as the babe in a manger. But it’s His life and teachings, not just His birth, that make Christmas a season of peace and goodwill. It’s more than a time for merrymaking and exchanging gifts. It’s a time to contemplate eternal things and higher purposes, like brotherly love and friendship. It’s a time to follow Jesus’s counsel to do unto others as we would have them do to us.[2] If we can try that—if we can just open our hearts enough for “the dear Christ [to enter] in,”[3] He can fill us with a spirit of love that will extend to all of our fellow passengers. That kind of friendship is at the heart of Christmas.
Song: “O Little Town of Bethlehem”
[1] Charles Dickens, A Christmas Carol (1843), 14.
[2] See Matthew 7:12.
[3] “O Little Town of Bethlehem,” Hymns, no. 208.
December 03, 2023
Broadcast Number 4,916
The Tabernacle Choir
Orchestra at Temple Square
Conductor
Mack Wilberg
Organist
Brian Mathias
Host
Lloyd Newell
The Tabernacle Choir
Orchestra at Temple Square
Conductors
Mack Wilberg
Organist
Brian Mathias
Host
Lloyd Newell
Ding! Dong! Merrily On High
French carol; Arr. Mack Wilberg
O Come, Little Children
Johann A. P. Schulz; Arr. Mack Wilberg
Il le ne, Le Divin Enfant
French carol; Arr. Brian Mathias
Peace Be Mine
Mack Wilberg
Vom Himmel hoch
Felix Mendelssohn
The First Noel
English carol; Arr. Mack Wilberg
Hark! The Herald Angels Sing
Felix Mendelssohn; Arr. Mack Wilberg