As a follow-up to one of my
top 20 albums of 2014,
LoveCollide from the sister duo
LoveCollide, Lauren and Brooke DeLeary have released a Christmas EP,
Fa La La Christmas.
"Everything boils down to the cross. The cross is where God's incredible love for us collided with our wretched sin! When you finally understand that kind of love you cannot help but fall more in love with Him," Lauren and Brooke have said of their chosen name, LoveCollide. "When you begin to see how much He loves you, it changes your life forever."
From my first listen, I was totally singing along with these talented sisters during their eponymous album. "Sold Out" for God singing is found throughout their music as the sisters consistently phrase biblical truth in vertically directed songs to encourage and edify listeners to live for God. I had the chance to speak with Brooke and Lauren DeLeary about their original Christmas ballad, "Mother of the Son of God."
Please tell me the personal story behind this song.
Lauren: We wanted to write a song for Christmas, as we had a couple of songs recorded for a Christmas EP and we wanted an original. With all of the Christmas songs out there, it's hard to write another song that doesn't lose the true meaning. We reached out to one of our good friends, Julie, who we've written songs with before. She sent over some of her ideas and things she was working with for Christmas songs, and when we came across this song which she had started with her friend Jenna, immediately Brooke and I responded that we'd love to help edit and finish it because we love what it is saying.
We were so intrigued by the idea of the message of this song written to Mary, the mother of the Son of God, but differently than "Mary Did You Know." We met up with Julie, and finished up and recorded the song for the Christmas EP. We wanted the song to capture Mary going through the different stages of being the mother of the Son of God.
Brooke: I remember whenever we were going through what we should write, meeting with Julie, that we wanted to include the angst of what Mary was going through. That's what the whole verse of the song about watching her Son die on the Cross, that He died for her, is about. I remember getting chills in those moments and thinking that this is not just a Christmas song, it's a worship song that could speak to people, because it speaks to me. It opened my eyes to think of the different aspects of Mary and what she went through, and how she couldn't help her Child. It must have been super difficult. I remember wanting to capture that and put that into a song without bringing it completely down, because it's a Christmas song and we wanted it to also be joyful.
Which Bible verses connect to the message of the song?
Luke 1:26-38 (NKJV): Now in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent by God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth, to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. The virgin's name was Mary. And having come in, the angel said to her, "Rejoice, highly favored one, the Lord is with you; blessed are you among women!" But when she saw him, she was troubled at his saying, and considered what manner of greeting this was. Then the angel said to her, "Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bring forth a Son, and shall call His name Jesus. He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Highest; and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David. And He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of His kingdom there will be no end." Then Mary said to the angel, "How can this be, since I do not know a man?" And the angel answered and said to her, "The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Highest will overshadow you; therefore, also, that Holy One who is to be born will be called the Son of God. Now indeed, Elizabeth your relative has also conceived a son in her old age; and this is now the sixth month for her who was called barren. For with God nothing will be impossible." Then Mary said, "Behold the maidservant of the Lord! Let it be to me according to your word." And the angel departed from her.
Luke 2:7-14 (NKJV): And she brought forth her firstborn Son, and wrapped Him in swaddling cloths, and laid Him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn. Now there were in the same country shepherds living out in the fields, keeping watch over their flock by night. And behold, an angel of the Lord stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were greatly afraid. Then the angel said to them, "Do not be afraid, for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy which will be to all people. For there is born to you this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. And this will be the sign to you: You will find a Babe wrapped in swaddling cloths, lying in a manger." And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying: "Glory to God in the highest, And on earth peace, goodwill toward men!"
Luke 19:38 (NKJV): "Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the Lord! Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!"
What is the takeaway message?
Brooke: When we sing "Gloria" in the bridge, it flowed out of us as we were singing it in the background, and it made so much sense. As the angels were singing over His birth, the peace that He brings-- it's all God's doing. It's all God's work, and it's all God's plan. We are going to glorify Him in all things. This song reminds me of the angels singing "Gloria" and how Jesus brought peace in the chaos of life, the peace through all the things that don't make sense. We are going to glorify Him anyway because He's big and we are small. That Gloria chorus allows people to hear something they know and throw up their hands and see that chorus in a new way, looking at Mary and what she went through as the mother of God.
Lauren: For us personally, we are individuals as well as a duo, and we are daily taking up our cross as we submit to Him and follow Him personally. Some days it's harder than others. A word that's important to me is the Hebrew word "Hineni," which means "Here I am." The meaning is kind of lost in translation. It's what Abraham said to God when God called him to leave everything. It's also what the Hebrew slaves would say to their masters when they were giving over their rights. They would say, "here I am, take all of me, I'm yours."
We can really resonate with Mary saying "I'm scared, I'm nervous, I don't know what this means. I don't know how You are going to use me in this situation, but here I am. I will go where you send me and be used by You, because You are a faithful God." Like Mary, we feel unqualified, but God's going to use us. His strength is made perfect in our weaknesses. God has a plan for us and everyone He creates. We can all give reasons we aren't good enough, but He has shown us through Mary and baby Jesus that He uses the weak to lead the strong.
Lyrics:
In the silence of the night
A long awaited holy cry
Hands that formed the moon and stars
Reached for you and stole your heart
Highly favored you were called
To the hardest job of all
You were only just a girl
To cradle the weight of the world
Glory to God in the highest
Glory to God in the highest
As years went by you freed His hand
You watched your boy become a man
You did your best to keep Him safe
But He was never yours to claim
Glory to God in the highest
Glory to God in the highest
Gloria in excelsis deo
Gloria in excelsis deo
Glory to God in the highest
Glory to God in the highest
Mother of the Son of God
See Your child on a cross
Life you gave Him, now He gives
He was born so you could live
Glory to God in the highest
Glory to God in the highest
His name's adored throughout the earth
But you're the one who loved Him first
I am moved every time I read the Gospel account in Luke of the angels singing "Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, goodwill toward men!" This song perfectly captures that celebratory revering of Jesus. What's amazing is that because of how humbly Jesus came to earth, people didn't recognize Him. The song also takes listeners on Mary's same journey of being highly favored and chosen by God, the angels singing "glory to God in the highest" at Jesus's birth, seeing the people cry out "glory to God in the highest" on Palm Sunday and then seeing her Child die on a Cross.
"Mary carefully observed and thought upon all these things," we read in Luke's Gospel account. We should more fully ponder these things in our hearts. In this song, it is proclaimed in our ears that to us is born a Savior, Christ the Lord, Glory to God in the highest. Women can relate to being Mary in this story, and yet all of us can be challenged devotionally to think about whether we say to God, "Lord, let it be to me according to Your Word."
With this beautiful and moving original Christmas song for the Church, like the shepherds, the angels in Heaven and the Disciples, followers of Jesus can all celebrate God's goodness and holiness. From glory to glory, we can praise Jesus by lifting our eyes, our hands and our voices and singing to Him. The world is still crying out desperately for a Savior, and our job as followers of Jesus is to tell the world that He came, He lived a perfect, sinless life, He died for our sins, and He is risen! As the song sings, "
He was born so you could live." That's cause to celebrate and sing out loudly "
Glory to God in the highest." Amen to that! Merry Christmas!
Watch the music video below:
