Isaiah 40:1-11
The Grass Withers… BUT
James Sledge December
6, 2020 – Advent 2
Christ the Good Shepherd, 5th century mosaic |
A
notable exception for me is rather different holiday offering from Greg Lake of
Emerson, Lake, and Palmer fame. It was released way back in 1975, but it has
been covered more recently by folks such as U2. Some have said it is an
anti-religious song, but Lake claims it was a protest over the commercialization
of Christmas. Regardless, the lyrics are hardly the typical, cheery, holiday
fare.
They said there'll be snow at Christmas. They said there'll be peace on earth.
But instead it just kept on raining; A veil of tears for the virgin's birth.
They sold me a dream of Christmas. They sold me a silent night.
And they told me a fairy story 'till I believed in the Israelite.
Like I said; not your typical holiday fare, and Lake was surprised when it became something of a hit. He assumed people would think it anti-holiday and reject it, but no.
I don’t know why it was a hit, but I do know why it touched me, why it still touches me. It seems to strip away the manufactured cheer that has become such a big part of the Christmas season. Perhaps it could even be called a rock and roll Advent song. Our culture’s celebration of Christmas works very hard to create warmth and good feelings, but these are usually quite shallow and fleeting. We don’t expect them to last. They’ll be tossed to the curb with the dried up Christmas trees, boxes, and old wrapping paper. Then we’ll have to wait until next December to get that holiday spirit, that Christmas cheer, once more.
But Advent is different. It doesn’t try to hide from the world’s pain or ugliness by covering it in colorful wrapping and holiday glitter or drowning it out in cheerful sounds of the holidays. It takes full stock of how things really are. Then, with eyes of faith, it sees God moving in history. Advent anticipates what God is doing to bring about something truly new.