The Christmas Carol Conspiracy

You know, just about every popular singer on the planet, past or present, has done some sort of Christmas album. I mean, it's almost unavoidable. Where else are you going to hear Snoop Dogg sing "Santa Claus Goes Straight to the Ghetto" or the heavy metal version of "O Christmas Tree"? (I didn't make those up. They're out there.) But it is almost an indispensable part of the season these days to hear folks like Frank Sinatra (suspected of mob ties) and Barbra Streisand (a Jew) singing lyrics like "He rules the world with truth and grace, And makes the nations prove The glories of His righteousness, And wonders of His love" or "Silent night, holy night, Son of God, love's pure light, Radiant beams from Thy holy face, With the dawn of redeeming grace, Jesus, Lord, at Thy birth"? Now, of course, these folk don't mean what they're singing and they may not even be aware that they're singing it, but it is, nonetheless, being sung, celebrated, recorded, sold, and heard.

Have you ever looked at the theology we've managed to slip into the widely popular Christmas carols everyone has heard? Very clever.

James Chadwick gave us the English version of the French hymn we know as Angels We Have Heard on High which includes, "See Him in a manger laid, Jesus Lord of heaven and earth; Mary, Joseph, lend your aid, With us sing our Savior's birth. Gloria, in excelsis Deo!" And we have popular singers declaring Jesus to be the Lord of heaven and earth and singing, in Latin, "Glory to God in the Highest!"

The traditional Hark! The Herald Angels Sing! gives us "Hail the heaven-born Prince of Peace! Hail the Sun of Righteousness! Light and life to all He brings, risen 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 us second birth. Hark! the herald angels sing, 'Glory to the new born King!'" Did you get that? I mean, truly astounding! This comes straight from Philippians 2's version of "the Christmas Story" where "although He existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant, and being made in the likeness of men. Being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross (Phil 2:6-8). And they're playing it on the store speakers for everyone to hear.

O Holy Night is a perennial favorite composed by Adolphe Adam in 1847. Translated by minister John Dwight, today's pop singers are happy to use it to remind us " O holy night! The stars are brightly shining, It is the night of our dear Saviour's birth. Long lay the world in sin and error pining, ‘Til He appear'd and the soul felt its worth. A thrill of hope the weary world rejoices, For yonder breaks a new and glorious morn. Fall on your knees! O hear the angel voices! O night divine, O night when Christ was born; O night divine, O night, O night Divine." In our current culture, reminding the world of sin is bad ... unless you do it in a cheerful Christmas carol.

A 19th century priest, Phillips Brooks, gave us O Little Town of Bethlehem. We all know that one. Good stuff. So we'll all join in and sing, "How silently, how silently The wondrous gift is given! So God imparts to human hearts The blessings of His heaven. No ear may hear His coming, But in this world of sin, Where meek souls will receive Him still, The dear Christ enters in." And we've admitted the bad news -- "this world of sin" -- and the good news, that those who receive Him can be joined with Christ -- the Gospel over the mall audio system.

One of my all-time favorites is What Child is This?. Written by William Chatterton Dix in 1865 and sung to Greensleeves, there are many variations of the lyrics. Still, in most versions you'll find this verse: "So bring Him incense, gold, and myrrh; Come, peasant, king, to own Him! The King of Kings salvation brings; Let loving hearts enthrone Him! Raise, raise the song on high! The virgin sings her lullaby. Joy! joy! for Christ is born, The babe, the son of Mary!" Nested in this beautiful little poem with its simple tune is a wealth of truth. We have the King of Kings. We have salvation. We have the Virgin Birth. We even have the demand to bow to His Lordship -- "Let loving hearts enthrone Him!" So much very, very good stuff in a song you can pick up on any local radio station playing the music of the season.

Some ... are preaching Christ even from envy and strife, but some also from good will; the latter do it out of love ... the former proclaim Christ out of selfish ambition rather than from pure motives .... What then? Only that in every way, whether in pretense or in truth, Christ is proclaimed; and in this I rejoice. Yes, and I will rejoice (Phil 1:15-18).

No, these secular singers aren't preaching Christ, at least not intentionally. No, they aren't even doing it from envy and strife. Well, yes, probably from selfish ambition. But it in a society increasingly hostile to Christians, the message is going out. When my kids were younger I'd ask them, "Are you paying attention to the words you're hearing?" "No, Dad," they'd tell me, "We just like the tunes." Yeah? Then why is it they were singing along? The words, even without their conscious effort, were sneaking into their brains. And at this time of year from just about every available speaker pop singers and the rest are absentmindedly smuggling God's truth into the minds of unsuspecting listeners, little seeds of the Gospel that God can cause to grow in His time. I think it's kind of cool. "In every way, whether in pretense or in truth, Christ is proclaimed; and in this I rejoice. Yes, and I will rejoice!"