“Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord God Almighty, Who was and is and is to come!”

Revelation 4:8b ESV

Sometimes in our lives there seems to be the repetition of a thing, event, wise counsel, or even a concept. As strange as it may seem, the concept of holy has been in my life as long as I can remember. As a small child, I was brought to church where we sang the hymn, “Holy, Holy, Holy” I liked that hymn, to say the word though I did not have any understanding of its meaning. My daddy and I even used to laugh about the Holy Ghost; it sounded kind of scary but intriguing to me. Later, I heard about how the Holy Spirit is as the breath of God who comforts me, and that felt very personal.

My favorite Christmas song has always been “O Holy Night.” It makes me want to be quiet and still. Then I read from Revelation about the creatures around the throne of God saying without ceasing, “Holy, holy, holy….” I wonder at the sight. At the beginning of each year, I ask God to give me a word to contemplate. This year, for the third year, the word is “holy.” I struggle to understand its meaning which can be translated several ways throughout the holy scripture. And now as I have begun a Centering Prayer class here at church, it has become clear to me that my sacred word as I acknowledge God is “holy.” I speak it and wait and know I am in the holy presence of Almighty God. I gaze upon Him in holy reverence and know calm and peace and godlikeness as never before.

This Christmas, pause as you sing “O Holy Night” and worship on that holy night and experience the unexplainable character of the Holy One.

Father, I fall on my knees and cry “HOLY!” Amen.

Give yourself away to the world each day. After a while, there will be less of you and more of Christ for others to see.