The Christmas celebration has come to an end and if you live in the north you are looking forward to several weeks of abbreviated frosty days and seemingly endless cold, dark nights. There is one bright spot as we look to the dreary days of January, the obnoxious "Christmas" songs ore gone for a another year. I am not speaking of the traditional hymns or even some of the new celebration songs surrounding the Christ child. There is always room for another composition of adoration for the new born King and Messiah of Israel. I am speaking primarily of those songs that have invaded the season and are broadcast from so many radio stations and plague your sensibilities in every retail outlet and shopping mall. Songs with horrible messages that wound the spirit and suck life out of one's soul. It is done so covertly we barely take notice. It appears the years of exposure have left us immune or insensitive to the attack. We simply absorb the lyrics without considering the messages of the pseudo Christmas songs. I am beginning to think "Santa Baby" is a conspiratorial plot to penetrate our cerebral cortex leaving us with the odd desire to add "get a lobotomy" to our Christmas wish list.
These holiday songs carry a quiet message of destruction. Take the Rudolf song. A song to teach our children that you must fit the norm to be accepted. Any abnormality means no one will play with you. Your only hope of acceptance is if your "handicap" is now of benefit to the collective. And then it is what you can do for them that they love, not for you or for who you are. Welcome years of therapy or a life time of trying to earn acceptance. Frosty the Snowman teaches our kids the valuable lesson that you better be quick to play with a friend for in a few short weeks they will be dead. All you have left is a puddle, an old silk hat and a corn cob pipe you should not be smoking. Yes, my child, death awaits when the sun comes out. What a happy Christmas thought. Speaking of therapy, What of the child who sees his mother having and affair with Santa Claus? There she is making out with Santa under the mistletoe while dad is away. Wink, wink, nod, nod, we are to assume that Santa really is dad but how do we know? The child certainly does not. What a traumatic thing for a child to deal with, thinking his mom is unfaithful, and at Christmas time.
Having brought up Santa, does it bother you that at any other time of year a jolly fat guy with a white beard would be charged with breaking and entering but now we leave him cookies? Like he needs the calories. Then there is the warning that Santa is coming to town and he doesn't like people who cry, so come on kids, suppress those emotions. Santa also seeing you when you are sleeping, so what about the shower? That is down right creepy. He also has conditional love so if you fall into the naughty list, no presents for you. And what makes you naughty? This determination comes from a guy who sneaks a peek at you while you are sleeping. Is it any wonder the kid just gives up and boldly declares, "I'm gettin nothin for Christmas, caus I ain't been nottin but bad." Why try when you might end up on the arbitrary naughty list and get nothing anyway? Inspiring messages to our children indeed. Oh, and don't forget Santa's snow dependence. If it doesn't snow on Christmas, how will Santa ever get to us. No wounder Bing was dreaming of a white Christmas. No snow, no Santa. It appears Santa only comes to the northern hemisphere. Wish all you want, there is no snow coming to Kenya, Sao Paulo, or Sydney. So, apparently no Santa either.
Just a couple of more thoughts as we learn that Elvis will have a Blue Christmas and another lonely soul will be home for Christmas, but "only in my dreams". How is that for depressing? Christmas is a time to highlight being abandoned, alone, and isolated. Add to this the "Christmas Shoes" song. One of those songs that would make Mr. Scrooge and the Grinch share a hanky. The song of a dying mom and a devoted son who leaves her bedside to go buy her shoes. Why? So she will look pretty for Jesus. Add in the heartless retail villain who won't cut the kid a break as the boy pours out every bit of change he owns to get the shoes. Love that Christmas spirit. Should someone tell the kid shoes nether get you to glory nor can they go with you? Still a stranger comes to the rescue and mom gets the shoes. And I get as teary eyed as I do when Linus recites Luke Chapter 2. Not a bad story, just a bit weepy, with a heartless guy, and some odd theology that troubles me a bit.
I conclude my Christmas song rant with a song that simply confuses me."Do you hear what I hear" has more questions than one would ever want to deal with at Christmas time. We simply sing it with our brains in neutral. We begin with the "Night Wind" talking to the little lamb. If you accept that the word for wind in both Greek and Hebrew can mean "spirit" we have a message from the Spirit concerning the birth of the Child. This is a reasonable thought, however, why is He talking to a lamb? Is there no one else who will listen? From there we go to the lamb talking to the shepherd boy. I guess this is like that Baalm and the donkey story where the donkey speaks. Here the shepherd boy has a conversation with a sheep and that is normal? How long has this been going on? The shepherd boy believes the little sheep and bounds off to the mighty king living in a palace warm. We are to believe that a shepherd boy with a message from a sheep has immediate access to the mighty king. How likely is that, really? The message from the shepherd boy is that the child "shivers in the cold". What does that say about Joseph and Mary? Give the kid some covers, throw a log on the fire, pick Him up and cuddle Him to your chest. What kind of parents are these? The shepherd's solution to avoid hypothermia? A wool blanket, a fleece? No, tuck some silver and gold around the shivering baby. A bunch of mettle will raise his body temperature I am sure. Hearing the news that the Child shivers in the cold, the mighty king, in his palace warm, says, "Pray for peace people everywhere!" How helpful is that? It is a reflection of James 2:16, "Be warmed and filled" as you walk away and do nothing to help. This wonderful Christmas song tells us Joseph, Mary, a shepherd boy, who knows what it is like to be out in the night watching sheep, have no clue as how to keep a child warm and the mighty king sits in his warm palace and does nothing to help. What a message. Kind of makes you feel warm all over, doesn't it?
Perhaps, I would be better off to just mindlessly sing the songs and suppress the teacher that lies within. I would write a little more but with warm weather on its way. Frosty will soon be puddling on his death bed so I'd best go play while I can.
Have a Happy New Year!
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