The Heart of Christmas Carols

WITH proper intention, the Advent and Christmas seasons can serve as a kind of crash course in theology. Due to life circumstances, most of us simply don’t have the time to take courses in theology, but if we’ll only pay attention to the lyrics of our favorite Christmas carols, there’s a real opportunity to grow in the faith this Christmas. The theological truth woven into these classic songs is profound, their enduring legacy an invitation to conversion. To benefit the most from this season, however, it’s important to be intentional. Don’t just let the Christmas carols wash over you without giving them much thought; really take the time to reflect on them. If it helps, write some of the lyrics down in your journal and sit with those words for a while, even outside of church. The lyrics of the Christmas carols can be a catalyst for conversion, but as with any area of growth, it’s important that we do our part.

With that pep talk out of the way, let’s jump right in. Here are a few of my favorite carols with some brief thoughts on their meaning and significance:

Silent Night

By way of confession, Silent Night has never been at the very top of my list. The melody for the song is just a bit too saccharine for my taste. Nevertheless, this carol – perhaps more than any other – captures the paradox of the Incarnation. When the King of Kings came into the world, he was not born in an ornate palace with the pomp and circumstance normally reserved for royalty. Rather, he arrived as a “holy infant so tender and mild” and was laid in a manger. Amid the chaos and violence of the world, a tiny baby was born in a backwater village to no acclaim at all. That seemingly insignificant event, however, changed the course of human history, because the newborn child was truly Lord, whose birth signaled “the dawn of redeeming grace.” This classic carol profoundly expresses how on that first Christmas the grace of God interrupted the noise and hectic pace of a world burdened by sin. If we’ll open our hearts at Christmas time, God’s grace can do the same in your life and mine. The Son of God is, as the song confesses, “love’s pure light,” so let us take time to contemplate the “radiant beams” that stream from his “holy face.”

O Come, All Ye Faithful

This well-known carol is a resounding call to action. If the Christ child has been born – as Silent Night announced – the only proper response is “to come and adore him.” The Christmas season can be a tough time of year for many of us, as we recall with grief the friends and family members who have passed from this life to the next. It’s okay to grieve; that’s healthy. O Come, All Ye Faithful, however, reminds us not to remain in that place, but to march ahead “joyful and triumphant.” The power of Advent and Christmas is that the liturgical calendar makes room for the full range of human emotions, including both sadness and celebration. The key, more than anything else, is to “sing glory to God,” who loved us so much that He sent His only Son. It’s particularly inspiring to recall, as the song reminds us, that when we praise our Savior, our voices join with “choirs of angels” who forever “sing in exultation” before the throne of God. If this carol does not lift your spirits, you might be hard pressed to find any song that will.

O Holy Night

This beautifully composed song moves me every time I hear it. The lyrics come from a French poem (Minuit, chrétiens) written by Placide Cappeau. In just a few brief verses, Cappeau provides a snapshot of the entire arc of salvation history. At the time of Christ’s birth, “long lay the world in sin and error pining.” That was the spiritual state of the world, in a nutshell – “until Christ appeared and the soul felt its worth.” After narrating this past history, the lyrics then dramatically break into the present tense: “A thrill of hope the weary world rejoices, for yonder breaks a new and glorious morn!” In light of this history, we’re presented in the here and now with a clear command: “fall on your knees; O hear the Angel voices.” It’s a command, yes, but in another sense: What else could we do but fall on our knees in the face of such a profound mystery? The beauty of hearing this song as a Catholic is that when it reaches our ears, kneelers are situated right there in front of us. The Church, in her great wisdom, has built kneeling into the very celebration of the liturgy. There’s no more appropriate time than this “night divine” (i.e., Christmas Eve) to “behold our king” and “before him lowly bend.”

Joy to the World

Christmas Day Masses often conclude with Joy to the World, as there are few pieces that better capture the exuberant joy of celebrating Christ’s birth. The majority of us are probably most familiar with the first verse, which like O Come, All Ye Faithful triumphally proclaims the advent of Christ the King. Less familiar perhaps, but equally rich in meaning is the second verse with its cosmic overtones. As St. Paul reminds us, the whole creation was “groaning as in the pains of childbirth” as it awaited the fulfillment of God’s promise to redeem the world. At Christmas time, “heaven and nature sing” together in joyful celebration of Christ’s birth. Because the Savior reigns, “let men their songs employ while fields and floods, rocks, hills and plains repeat the sounding joy.” In Luke 19, some of the Pharisees say to Jesus, “Teacher, rebuke your disciples,” because they were bothered by Christ’s followers calling him a king. Jesus replies to the Pharisees that, “if [my disciples] were to keep quiet, even the stones would cry out” in praise. Joy to the World reminds us of this same truth, and once you hear it at Christmas time, it’s tough to get the famous tune – and that foundational truth – out of your head. That’s a good thing.

Hark! The Herald Angels Sing

This memorable carol has all that one could really want from a Christmas song, weaving together several themes that we have explored above. First, there is a grand announcement of Christ’s birth set against the backdrop of angels singing “glory to the newborn King.” This triumphal cry of praise is intermingled with a reminder reminiscent of Silent Night’s message: a holy infant brought “peace on earth” and came in “mercy mild” so that “God and sinners [could be] reconciled.” The good news of the Savior’s birth was not reserved only for the people of Israel, but was intended by God to bless all the peoples of the earth. This most precious of gifts, however, requires a response on our part: “Joyful, all ye nations, rise,” the lyrics admonish, “join the triumph of the skies.” This is followed by another stirring charge: “With th’angelic hosts proclaim, ‘Christ is born in Bethlehem!’”

That line sounds a lot like O Come, All Ye Faithful, and it also reminds us that Christmas is not only about celebrating Christ’s birth on a personal, individualistic level. Rather, we are called to share the good news with others, so that they too can experience the love and mercy of God. To borrow wording from another well-known Christmas carol, Go, Tell it on the Mountain, which then continues with the words, “over the hills and ev’rywhere.” Tell what? “That Jesus Christ is born.” And why? For “how can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them? And how can anyone preach unless they are sent? As it is written: ‘How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!’” That last quote is lifted from Romans 10, which confirms, as we’ve been writing throughout, just how biblically based the classic Christmas carols really are. So take in these songs this December, meditate on their profound truths, then go and share those truths with everyone you meet.