Christmas is the unique time of year when you listen to music that you wouldn’t think of listening to in any other season. In fact, even humming or whistling Christmas carols in March or July or September can result in a less than gentle rebuke from your nearest and dearest. Trust me, I know of that which I speak!
Not only is the music catalog of Christmas unique in terms of when it is considered “seemly” to sing, it is also unique in that there is no other kind of music so ancient, yet sung by so many. It’s funny when you think of the archaic songs so many sing this time of year. For example, there are very few songs, whether in pop music or worship, that begin with the word, “Hark.” Or think of the strangeness of singing in King James English, “Thou Didst Leave Thy Throne”? So, a person might ask, why do we sing songs with language so strange? One huge reason is certainly their sentimental significance. In fact, this is true not just of Christmas carols, but of the Christmas songs of pop culture. It’s funny that all, but one, of the most streamed Christmas songs this time of year were written more than a half century ago. (Think “White Christmas.” Don’t ask me how Mariah Carey fits into this group with the likes of Andy Williams and Bing Crosby.) We are sentimental people…and this is certainly a big reason why we love Christmas carols that have been sung for hundreds of years. But I believe there is another significant reason why we love these old hymns…because they speak of timeless truths that are just as relevant today as the day they were written. I think, in particular, of one song that led to more than a little time devoted to internet research this past week: “God Rest you, Merry Gentleman.” The first significant factoid my research produced was regarding it’s ancient roots. I had no idea of the ancient history of this hymn. It’s quoted in George Eliot’s 1861 novel, Silas Marner. An almost identical phrase is found 200 years earlier in Shakespeare’s As You Like It, where we read, “God rest you merry, sir.” But one of the most interesting quotes of this Christmas carol, for me, is in A Christmas Carol, Charles Dickens 1843 novella. Funny thing, I am a big fan of Dickens, having read almost everything he wrote, but I never knew, until this week, that the Christmas carol of A Christmas Carol is “God Rest You, Merry Gentlemen”. Toward the beginning of A Christmas Carol, a caroler is seen to be looking in at Scrooge’s key hole, but just as he begins to sing, “God bless you merry gentlemen may nothing you dismay,” he sees Scrooge grab a stick as if to strike whoever dares to sing such a song. Fear of Scrooge sends the caroler running off into the cold, dark night. Someone has remarked that if Ebenezer Scrooge had listened to this Christmas Carol rather than flying into a rage, he might have avoided those nasty visits from Christmas past, present and future. I think, however, a lot of us can relate much better to Scrooge than we might like to think. Frankly, given all the things going on in our world today, I find myself often tempted these days to say, along with Scrooge, “Bah Humbug.” I’m certain there are many in Kentucky right now who feel that way. But the truth is, even if we aren’t facing the dismal effects of a tornado wiping out our town, we all face things in life that tend to cloud our sunny dispositions. But it is at this point that the message of this carol is most needed, especially if you accept the historical punctuation of this song. If you read it the traditional way, with the comma after the words “God rest you,” followed by “merry gentlemen,” then it may be a little confusing. If these Gentlemen truly are merry, then why do we need to say “God rest you” or “let nothing you dismay”? But if you put the punctuation the way this phrase is found in Shakespeare, so that it says, “God rest you Merry, Gentlemen,” it makes a lot more sense. The song isn’t sung to gentlemen who are already merry, it is sung to gentlemen who are struggling with dismay, who are facing difficulty. The carol, then, becomes a prayer that God will bless these people with joy…“God rest you merry” or “God bless you.” Kind of like Tiny Tim says in A Christmas Carol, “God bless us, everyone!” Isn’t that the message of Christmas? That in spite of life’s troubles, in spite of the very clear evidence that Satan is at work in our world sowing hate and promoting sinful selfishness, that there is a reason for comfort and joy? What is the reason? The good tidings, or good news, that the Son of God is born. This isn’t just good news for a select few, it is good news of great joy, as we read in Luke 2, that is for all people. And it is a message of good news that stretches way back, well beyond the 1st century, all the way back to the first book of the Bible, Genesis, where we see the promise of Eve’s seed crushing the serpent. It is a message that is repeated throughout the Hebrew Old Testament (TaNaK), introduced in the Law (Torah), expanded on in the Prophets (Nevi’im), and brought to prophetic fullness in the Writings (Kethubim; see Luke 24:44; watch Know Your Bible Seminar #2 - "The Story of God"). What is the message? That in view of our sinfulness, God devised a plan for our redemption by sending His one and only Son to be the Savior of the World. Here is the crimson thread running through the tapestry of God’s Word which finds its fulfillment in Luke 2:11, “Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord.” Here is the Good Tidings or Good News of Christmas. It’s not in the Christmas tree or Christmas lights or Christmas presents. These are all wonderful, but they are only symbols of the true source of comfort and joy this Christmas season…that God sent His Son, Jesus the Messiah, who was born as a baby in a manger, who grew up to teach us divine wisdom, who died on a cross to pay for our sin, and who rose from the grave, conquering sin and death, so that all who believe in Him might have the hope of eternal life. Here’s true tidings of comfort and joy. So, this is my prayer for you this Christmas season: God rest you merry! In the face of dark and difficult days, may you know the joy that only comes from living by faith in Jesus Messiah who has crushed the serpent and conquered sin through His death on the cross. The birth of Jesus is the birth of divine hope, joy, love and peace. May you know and share these divine blessings as you celebrate Christmas this week!
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Dan GannonDan has ministered at Renton Bible Church, with his wife Debbie, since 2003. Archives
June 2022
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