I do not like the fact that Christmas music has already started on the radio. I do not like the fact that every single pop and R&B artist has to come out with a new Christmas album every year. I prefer the English hymns and folk instrumentals of the same.
But I found a new favorite Christmas song and it comes "from a heathen and a pagan." I'll highlight my favorite lyrics and a video is below.
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The Rebel Jesus by Jackson Browne
All the streets are filled with laughter and light
And the music of the season
And the merchants' windows are all bright
With the faces of the children
And the families hurrying to their homes
While the sky darkens and freezes
Will be gathering around the hearths and tables
Giving thanks for God's graces
And the birth of the rebel Jesus
Well they call him by 'the Prince of Peace'
And they call him by 'the Savior'
And they pray to him upon the seas
And in every bold endeavor
And they fill his churches with their pride and gold
As their faith in him increases
But they've turned the nature that I worship in
From a temple to a robber's den
In the words of the rebel Jesus
Well we guard our world with locks and guns
And we guard our fine possessions
And once a year when Christmas comes
We give to our relations
And perhaps we give a little to the poor
If the generosity should seize us
But if any one of us should interfere
In the business of why there are poor
They get the same as the rebel Jesus
Now pardon me if I have seemed
To take the tone of judgment
For I've no wish to come between
This day and your enjoyment
In a life of hardship and of earthly toil
There's a need for anything that frees us
So I bid you pleasure
And I bid you cheer
From a heathen and a pagan
On the side of the rebel Jesus
It begs the question as to whether Christians really follow who we say we do and what we are actually remembering. It also reminds me that sometimes those on the outside of the faith get us better than we get ourselves. I'll point this song out next time I hear someone say that non-Christians have no morals...
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