There are two reasons I'm livid that we've already been hearing and singing Christmas carols. One is theological and the other is doxological.
Theologically, Christmas doesn't begin until the Christ-mass tonight. Then it continues for 12 days! (That's why the song counts up, not down.). We've been in the midst of the Church's time to prepare for Jesus' comings -- plural: Second & first. That's why the season has been called "Advent" (coming from the Latin word for "arrival"). Our culture is so accustomed to instant gratification that waiting for anything is painful. It's a sign of the Church's spiritual health how we wait (see 2 Peter 3). The fact that we've been jumping ahead with the caroling isn't cool.
Then, there's the doxological complaint. The way in which our culture sings these carols is all off. We omit the really juicy claims of Christmas carols in order to support a facile worship.
I want to focus on this doxological critique of how we're singing Christmas carols in order to demonstrate that, for Christians, Christmas is a protest.
For the next couple of days, let's look at a couple of carols to see what I mean. Today, Christmas as a protest of deliverance.
O Holy Night -- Cantique de Noël in the original French -- was composed in 1847 by Adolphe Adam. The text of the song came from a poem -- Minuit, chrétiens -- written by Placide Cappeau who had been asked by a parish priest to write a Christmas poem. Later, in 1855, Unitarian minister John Sullivan Dwight created a singing English edition based on Cappeau's French text.
Most of us don't sing the third verse, so here it is, along with the chorus:
Truly He taught us to love one another;When you look the original French poem the themes of emancipation are even stronger. A more literal rendering of the third verse and chorus:
His law is love and His gospel is peace.
Chains shall He break for the slave is our brother;
And in His name all oppression shall cease.
Sweet hymns of joy in grateful chorus raise we,
Let all within us praise His holy name.
Christ is the Lord! O praise His Name forever,
His power and glory evermore proclaim.
His power and glory evermore proclaim.
The Redeemer has overcome every obstacle:Those are some pretty powerful lyrics. What's more, these were political and prophetic lyrics.
The Earth is free, and Heaven is open.
He sees a brother where there was only a slave,
Love unites those that iron had chained.
Who will tell Him of our gratitude,
For all of us He is born, He suffers and dies.
People stand up! Sing of your deliverance,
Christmas, Christmas, sing of the Redeemer,
Christmas, Christmas, sing of the Redeemer!
Remember, this is 1847. The English version is 1855. Six years before the American Civil War. Eight years before the Emancipation Proclamation. Imagine singing this carol then, with the full effect of those words. O Holy Night, it turns out, was a song of political resistance and protest. Imagine Americans singing in the years leading up to the Civil War the lyrics Chains shall He break for the slave is our brother; And in His name all oppression shall cease.
At Christmas, imagine protests of freedom from bondage and deliverance.
This is as it should be, too. Focusing on kith and kin is focusing too narrowly at Christmas. When I put Mary's Song, the Magnificat, in focus, there's a very different message than spending time with loved ones:
"My soul magnifies the Lord,
and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior ...
he has scattered the proud in the thoughts of their hearts;
he has brought down the mighty from their thrones
and exalted those of humble estate;
he has filled the hungry with good things,
and the rich he has sent away empty."