I almost forgot about my resolution to post the lyrics of amazing Christmas carols. Good thing I am so narcissistic and enjoy reading my old blogs over and over again. Phew!

Anyway, ok, I guess Oh Little Town of Bethlehem is pretty amazing!

Oh little town of Bethlehem,
how still we see thee lie.
Above thy deep and dreamless sleep,
the silent stars go by.
Yet in thy dark streets shineth
the everlasting light,
the hopes and fears of all the years
are met in thee tonight.

How silently, how silently,
the wondrous gift is given,
how God imparts to human hearts
the blessings of his heaven.
No ear may hear him coming,
but in this world of sin,
where meek souls will receive him still
the dear Christ enters in.

This song is amazing because it's about how God chooses small and weak things to do his will. Like for instance Bethlehem and us. How he does things quietly and doesn't need make a big show about it in order for it to mean something big. It's just that there was this small quiet little town called Bethlehem and one night God was born there. That's all. So simple and yet so profound. Also this song has a really great melody that must have some minor chords or something that makes it sound so dark and beautiful. When I hear this song I feel like for a few minutes, I understand.

If the ice caps are really melting,
I would like to climb to the top of the world
and take a slide
down the slippery side
maybe hitch a ride
on a shard of ice
and ride the wave to California.

If the sun is really exploding,
I would like to climb to the top of a building
and take some shades
off the top of my head
and watch and feel
and drink the red
of the best-ever sunset.

If God is really coming,
I would like to crawl into a moldy basement
and hide beneath the cardboard
and my dog's old bed
and shudder and sputter
and hold my head
and try to be sorry enough.

-Anonymous

It's amazing that after all these years, 20 to be exact, of hearing the very same songs every December, I am still often blown away by the depth and and beauty of certain Christmas carols. There is more to them than just warm fuzzies and a manger scene, and I don't think people usually stop to think about the radical theological claims being made, or the dark imagery, or even just the creepy tunes that many of them have. Also, isn't it incredible how old they are? Some of these songs that we are still singing today are hundreds of years old, a lot of them have been translated form French and German and Latin and other stuff. Like, how cool is that? Can we just take a moment and consider what that says about Christianity, or rather, the power of music to hold an incredibly large bunch of people together, if only ever so slightly? Doesn't the very idea of some 16th century german peasant singing Silent Night (that is, Stille Nacht) give you an incredible feeling of hope? Well, it does for me. Thus, in my attempt to share some of my appreciation for traditional Christmas carols with my own small corner of the world, I have decided to start posting the lyrics of certain songs that strike my fancy here. Ahem:

[(the best)parts of] What Child is This?
(creepy tune courtesy of Greensleeves)

Why lies He in such mean estate,
Where ox and ass are feeding?
Good Christian fear, for sinners here
The silent Word is pleading.

Nails, spear shall pierce Him through,
The cross be borne for me, for you.
Hail, hail the Word made flesh,
The Babe, the Son of Mary.

Raise, raise a song on high,
The virgin sings her lullaby,
Joy, joy for Christ is born,
The Babe, the Son of Mary.

dang homie, what up?

"Do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own."

I will try, I will try, I will try.