O Holy Night

This is a special guest post from my wonderful wife, Arianna. She is a former religion major, a youth minster, and an all-world vocalist. She posted this on Facebook, but it needs a wider audience. Enjoy.

What is that special song that you long to hear each year? That song that is so holy that you dare not think of it until Thanksgiving is past? For me, it has always been "O Holy Night". It is that sweeping melody, simple and beautiful in its verses and knee-casting in its chorus, that gives me chills every time. 

I make a mental note of the first time I hear "O Holy Night" each Christmas season (as if it has some sort of implication about my year past?) My first year of college, it was in a McDonald's parking lot while devouring a 10 piece nugget meal. This year, it was at Hobby Lobby while shopping for decorations for Julian's first birthday. It was muzac. (Does that mean I was cheezy this past year?!)

Okay, I'm kind of obsessed with this song.

My favorite version? John Rutter's arrangement, always beautifully performed by the Boston Avenue United Methodist Church youth choir. The "King's College, Cambridge" rendition is exceptional as well.

Some more great versions: Celtic Woman is always amazing, and never disappoints. Celine Dion's is incredible as well.

My criteria for determining whether or not I like any given version of the song is pretty simple. It must:

1) Be sincere and heart-felt
2) Be in tune
3) Include a choir or ensemble

and MOST importantly:

Include this verse--

Truly He taught us to love one another,
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.

I cringe when I hear versions of the song without this verse. Mariah Carey's is one, Carrie Underwood's is another--there are many. I guess they just want to sing "Fall on Your Knees" twice. I suppose that's what the producers think people want to hear. We are all about the "feel good" part of religion, aren't we?

I know, I'm being snarky.

But seriously. That verse, that beautiful verse, IS what Christmas is all about. Christmas is about God coming to earth, making God's self human in form, and turning the tables on the Roman Empire, and on those whose religion clouded their view of the Holy. Our world indeed is broken, but we have this incredible example of a man who was so in tune with God that he had the audacity to boldly oppose the religious leaders of the day. He had the nerve to tell us that our presuppositions about God and the people in God’s world were incomplete at best.

I’ve been asking people this question lately: What example of oppression in our world makes you angry?

The interesting thing is, most people can’t answer that question.

What if we are to embody the Christ child in all we do? What if we are to be the light of the world, the hope of the world? What if there’s more to Christmas than celebrating the birth of Jesus—what if we ask God for new eyes to see what Jesus saw, and for the courage that we’ll need to propel us into action?

So this Christmas, Let all within us praise God's Holy name by identifying oppression in our world and DOING SOMETHING ABOUT IT.

Jesus did.