Mountains, fields, forests
and trees can’t actually
rejoice, sing or repeat
the sounding joy. But the
truth is that every part
of creation is connected
together in a beautiful
and miraculous way.
The Incarnation is not
just about us but about
the whole world. His
coming affects even the
physical earth itself.
Night.” Both the words and music were
written in the 19th century by people
who loved the Heavenly Doctrines,
and understood this principle. The
hymn describes how Palestine itself
welcomed the Lord’s coming and
responded to the near presence of
heaven when He was born. “The
answering hills of Palestine send back
the glad reply, and greet from all their
holy heights the Dayspring from on
high.”
In one sense the images of the
ancient prophecies are nothing but
ways of describing what really only
happens spiritually in human hearts.
We are told that the Word is about
“such things as belong to heaven, to the
church, and to religious belief.” (Arcana
Coelestia 2) We read: “A field cannot
rejoice and trees in the forest cannot
sing; only something in us can do so, and that something is religious knowledge.”
(Ibid. 368)
At the same time all created things are means of fulfilling the Lord’s
purposes, and there is actual intention and purpose behind everything that
exists and what those things do:
This vast system called the universe is a work connected as one thing from
beginning to end because God had a single purpose in creating it: an angelic heaven
populated by the human race. All the things that make up the world are means of
fulfilling that purpose, because someone who intends an end result also intends the
means to achieve it. (True Christianity 13)
The fields and floods, rocks, hills and plains did not themselves have any
intention of welcoming the Lord, nor did they feel any joy at His birth. But as
instruments of the Lord’s intentions and purposes they are part of the joy of
their fulfillment, and that joy is both real and tangible. They are affected and
become better instruments by His coming.
The best way to understand this may be to grasp what was holy about the
Holy Land, since this is the land that is said to be rejoicing at the Lord’s birth.
Although the truth is that there is no such thing as a holy land, because
holiness does not truly pertain to any physical object, material things do
correspond to heavenly things. This correspondential connection is more
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