Macaroni and Cheese. Rogers and Hammerstein (or Hart). Ben and Jerry. Batman and Robin. Elizabeth Bennet and Mr. Darcy. Brown and Pink. Chocolate Chips and Cookie Dough. These are just a few of history's dynamic duos, and I think we should add Charles Welsey and Felix Mendelssohn to the list. Wesley's brilliant lyrics and Mendelssohn's gorgeous tune make "Hark! The Herald Angels Sing" one of the greatest hymns of all time. Yet had these genuises had their way, this perfect pairing would never have been.
Wesley wrote the lyrics in 1739 and wanted them coupled with a solemn tune. Mendelssohn wrote the music in 1840 as part of a cantata commemorating Gutenberg and the invention of the printing press and specifically requested that the music not accompany sacred choruses. Thankfully, both men's wishes were ignored, resulting in this fantastic carol.
I'm posting the lyrics once again. Enjoy -particularly the last two verses.
Hark! The herald angels sing, “Glory to the newborn King;
Peace on earth, and mercy mild, God and sinners reconciled!”
Joyful, all ye nations rise, join the triumph of the skies;
With th’angelic host proclaim, “Christ is born in Bethlehem!”
Hark! the herald angels sing, “Glory to the newborn King!”
Christ, by highest Heav’n adored; Christ the everlasting Lord;
Late in time, behold Him come, offspring of a virgin’s womb.
Veiled in flesh the Godhead see; hail th’incarnate Deity,
Pleased with us in flesh to dwell, Jesus our Emmanuel.
Hark! the herald angels sing, “Glory to the newborn King!”
Hail the heav’nly Prince of Peace! Hail the Sun of Righteousness!
Light and life to all He brings, ris’n with healing in His wings.
Mild He lays His glory by, born that man no more may die.
Born to raise the sons of earth, born to give them second birth.
Hark! the herald angels sing, “Glory to the newborn King!”
Come, Desire of nations, come, fix in us Thy humble home;
Rise, the woman’s conqu’ring Seed, bruise in us the serpent’s head.
Now display Thy saving power, ruined nature now restore;
Now in mystic union join Thine to ours, and ours to Thine.
Hark! the herald angels sing, “Glory to the newborn King!”
Adam’s likeness, Lord, efface, stamp Thine image in its place:
Second Adam from above, reinstate us in Thy love.
Let us Thee, though lost, regain, Thee, the Life, the inner man:
O, to all Thyself impart, formed in each believing heart.
Hark! the herald angels sing, “Glory to the newborn King!”
Wednesday, December 19, 2007
Saturday, December 15, 2007
Why Christians Should Take The Christ Out Of Christmas
My freshly watered Christmas tree topiary is currently resting in my sink beneath my handmade apple and cranberry Christmas wreath across from my freshly baked Christmas cookies. As I plug in my Christmas lights and gaze at the gold and cream Christmas ornaments arranged in soda fountain glasses on my bookshelf, I begin to wonder what would happen if Christians decided to take the Christ out of Christmas. By this I mean that Christians stopped treating Christmas as a Christian holiday and simply viewed it as a cultural phenomenon. I’m pondering this for several reasons:
1. Christmas is not an ancient Christian holiday. The Bible never tells us to remember and celebrate Christ’s birth. Many Christmas traditions are rooted in pagan winter festivals. Christians did not celebrate Christmas until the 4th century, when the established Church declared December 25th to be Christ’s birthday. At the time of the Reformation, Protestants refused to celebrate Christmas because they considered it a Catholic holiday. Oliver Cromwell and the Puritans cancelled Christmas in England in 1645 because of the drunken and debauched celebrations. American Puritans outlawed Christmas in Boston from 1659-1681. The celebration of Christmas was not widespread in America until the 19th century.
2. American Christmas traditions have nothing to do with Jesus’ birth. There are easier ways to dwell on the incarnation than decorating trees, making cookies, and wrapping presents.
3. Viewing Christmas as a Christian holiday gives us license to embrace many traditions that aren’t necessarily biblical because the holiday is linked to Jesus. Presents, decorating, parties and the like become almost religious observances.
4. Christmas is full of many fantastical characters (Santa, Rudolph, Frosty, etc.) and we have to work extra hard to explain to children that Jesus was a real person. There are more productive ways to teach this story.
It seems that trying to remember Jesus’ birth in the midst of all these traditions is fighting a losing battle. So what if we just stopped trying? What if we treated Christmas like any other secular holiday (Thanksgiving, Independence Day, New Year’s Day, etc.)? I see the following potential benefits:
1. We use Christmas as an opportunity to show solidarity with our friends and neighbors. Christians no longer worry about the secularization of Christmas or fill their schedule with church activities and pageants. Instead we wholeheartedly embrace community holiday celebrations. We attend office parties, host neighborhood desserts, support Christmas school concerts, and go to city tree lightings and parades, all with the intention of building relationships with our community for the sake of spreading the gospel.
2. If Christmas is a secular holiday, there’s no obligation to put up a tree, buy presents, or make cookies. Instead we decide which traditions we want to embrace in light of the whole counsel of Scripture. Decorating your home and throwing parties might stem from a biblical conviction about the importance of hospitality. You may choose not to buy gifts or limit your gift giving based on the Bible’s teaching about good stewardship. You might decorate dozens of cookies with your children because of a biblical conviction about parenting. Instead of trying to push a square peg into a round hole and forcing the story of Jesus’ birth to apply to our traditions, we examine what the Bible says about each tradition and develop convictions about what we should embrace and what we should discard.
3. We use Christmas as a way to teach our children biblical principles that actually relate to our celebrations. For instance, “Mom, why are we buying presents for Grandma?” “Well Sally, buying presents is one way that we can show Grandma we love her. I’m so glad that God has blessed us with such a wonderful family. What do you think are some other ways we can show love to our families?” or “Kids, you are doing such a great job decorating this Christmas tree! Isn’t it fun to have an actual tree in our house? I’m so glad that God made different trees for us to enjoy. And doesn’t this tree smell good? I’m happy that God made so many different smells. God is so creative!”
4. We don’t view the incarnation through the rose colored glasses of Christmas. If we stop connecting Jesus’ birth with family, presents, soft lights, and cinnamon buns, we can read the story more accurately as a scary, harsh, and beautiful piece of history.
5. Pastors don’t have to devote a month of each year to the same story and can focus on the specific needs of their church.
Treating Christmas as a secular holiday does not mean that we forget about Christ’s birth. Perhaps we just choose to celebrate it in different ways. For instance:
1. We listen to and sing music about the birth of Jesus all year long at home and at church. Some of the best hymns ever written are songs about Jesus’ birth.
2. We reflect on Jesus’ birth whenever it comes up in our personal Bible study or a pastor’s sermon series.
3. If we want to focus on the incarnation during December, we refuse to link it with Christmas celebrations and treat it as something separate.
Agree? Disagree? Let me know what you think. I'm going to drink some egg nog and rock around my Christmas topiary (my apartment was really too small for a tree.)
1. Christmas is not an ancient Christian holiday. The Bible never tells us to remember and celebrate Christ’s birth. Many Christmas traditions are rooted in pagan winter festivals. Christians did not celebrate Christmas until the 4th century, when the established Church declared December 25th to be Christ’s birthday. At the time of the Reformation, Protestants refused to celebrate Christmas because they considered it a Catholic holiday. Oliver Cromwell and the Puritans cancelled Christmas in England in 1645 because of the drunken and debauched celebrations. American Puritans outlawed Christmas in Boston from 1659-1681. The celebration of Christmas was not widespread in America until the 19th century.
2. American Christmas traditions have nothing to do with Jesus’ birth. There are easier ways to dwell on the incarnation than decorating trees, making cookies, and wrapping presents.
3. Viewing Christmas as a Christian holiday gives us license to embrace many traditions that aren’t necessarily biblical because the holiday is linked to Jesus. Presents, decorating, parties and the like become almost religious observances.
4. Christmas is full of many fantastical characters (Santa, Rudolph, Frosty, etc.) and we have to work extra hard to explain to children that Jesus was a real person. There are more productive ways to teach this story.
It seems that trying to remember Jesus’ birth in the midst of all these traditions is fighting a losing battle. So what if we just stopped trying? What if we treated Christmas like any other secular holiday (Thanksgiving, Independence Day, New Year’s Day, etc.)? I see the following potential benefits:
1. We use Christmas as an opportunity to show solidarity with our friends and neighbors. Christians no longer worry about the secularization of Christmas or fill their schedule with church activities and pageants. Instead we wholeheartedly embrace community holiday celebrations. We attend office parties, host neighborhood desserts, support Christmas school concerts, and go to city tree lightings and parades, all with the intention of building relationships with our community for the sake of spreading the gospel.
2. If Christmas is a secular holiday, there’s no obligation to put up a tree, buy presents, or make cookies. Instead we decide which traditions we want to embrace in light of the whole counsel of Scripture. Decorating your home and throwing parties might stem from a biblical conviction about the importance of hospitality. You may choose not to buy gifts or limit your gift giving based on the Bible’s teaching about good stewardship. You might decorate dozens of cookies with your children because of a biblical conviction about parenting. Instead of trying to push a square peg into a round hole and forcing the story of Jesus’ birth to apply to our traditions, we examine what the Bible says about each tradition and develop convictions about what we should embrace and what we should discard.
3. We use Christmas as a way to teach our children biblical principles that actually relate to our celebrations. For instance, “Mom, why are we buying presents for Grandma?” “Well Sally, buying presents is one way that we can show Grandma we love her. I’m so glad that God has blessed us with such a wonderful family. What do you think are some other ways we can show love to our families?” or “Kids, you are doing such a great job decorating this Christmas tree! Isn’t it fun to have an actual tree in our house? I’m so glad that God made different trees for us to enjoy. And doesn’t this tree smell good? I’m happy that God made so many different smells. God is so creative!”
4. We don’t view the incarnation through the rose colored glasses of Christmas. If we stop connecting Jesus’ birth with family, presents, soft lights, and cinnamon buns, we can read the story more accurately as a scary, harsh, and beautiful piece of history.
5. Pastors don’t have to devote a month of each year to the same story and can focus on the specific needs of their church.
Treating Christmas as a secular holiday does not mean that we forget about Christ’s birth. Perhaps we just choose to celebrate it in different ways. For instance:
1. We listen to and sing music about the birth of Jesus all year long at home and at church. Some of the best hymns ever written are songs about Jesus’ birth.
2. We reflect on Jesus’ birth whenever it comes up in our personal Bible study or a pastor’s sermon series.
3. If we want to focus on the incarnation during December, we refuse to link it with Christmas celebrations and treat it as something separate.
Agree? Disagree? Let me know what you think. I'm going to drink some egg nog and rock around my Christmas topiary (my apartment was really too small for a tree.)
Thursday, December 13, 2007
About A Boycott
I love going to the movies. I love going with my parents and whispering jokes about the dialogue to my mom. I love going with my friends and discussing the movie over hot chocolate or Coldstone. I even love going by myself occasionally, which can be a deliciously freeing experience. I love giant bags of popcorn. I love medium sized Diet Cokes with a little bit of Cherry Coke at the top. I love watching previews (sometimes more than the actual movie). I love huge multiplexes. I love small independent theaters. I love summer blockbuster season. I love fall art house season. I love holiday Oscar season. I loathe the January-April "let's release films that wrapped three years ago" season, but will still see those films because I love going to the movies.
All that to say, I have a question about movies and I need your help (don't you feel important and affirmed?) As many of you know, "The Golden Compass" is causing a bit of hubbub in the Christian world (my brother just wrote two excellent posts about this film on his blog) and some Christians are encouraging others to boycott. While I don't think that all Christians need to avoid this particular movie, it raises the question if there are any movies that all Christians should avoid. Are there any movies that would be across the board sinful for every Christian to see or does it always depend on the individual's conscience? And if there are indeed movies that no Christian should see, what is the criteria by which we judge these movies?
Once again, I'm forcing you to do the dirty work and help me develop a solid opinion, while I get to sit back and eat Salt and Pepper Kettle Chips. So here are my specific questions to you:
1. Are there any movies that no Christian should see?
2. If so, what criteria would you use to decide whether or not Christians should see that movie?
3. What criteria do you personally use to decide which movies you will or won't see?
Put on those thinking caps and let me know what you think! Meanwhile, I have some television to watch.
All that to say, I have a question about movies and I need your help (don't you feel important and affirmed?) As many of you know, "The Golden Compass" is causing a bit of hubbub in the Christian world (my brother just wrote two excellent posts about this film on his blog) and some Christians are encouraging others to boycott. While I don't think that all Christians need to avoid this particular movie, it raises the question if there are any movies that all Christians should avoid. Are there any movies that would be across the board sinful for every Christian to see or does it always depend on the individual's conscience? And if there are indeed movies that no Christian should see, what is the criteria by which we judge these movies?
Once again, I'm forcing you to do the dirty work and help me develop a solid opinion, while I get to sit back and eat Salt and Pepper Kettle Chips. So here are my specific questions to you:
1. Are there any movies that no Christian should see?
2. If so, what criteria would you use to decide whether or not Christians should see that movie?
3. What criteria do you personally use to decide which movies you will or won't see?
Put on those thinking caps and let me know what you think! Meanwhile, I have some television to watch.
Sunday, December 09, 2007
Well, I Know The Answer's Jesus, But I Still Think It's A Squirrel
I'm currently teaching my Sunday school kids about the Biblical basis behind various Christmas carols and this morning we discussed "God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen."
During our review time I asked, "What country was "God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen" written in?" and one bright eyed little kindergartner immediately responded, "God!"
Sigh.
During our review time I asked, "What country was "God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen" written in?" and one bright eyed little kindergartner immediately responded, "God!"
Sigh.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
