We used to start listening to Christmas
music the day after Thanksgiving.
Then we started listening as soon
as Thanksgiving dinner was over.
This year I started listening
about two weeks before Thanksgiving and amended the Christmas music standard to
playing Christmas music when temperature drops below 40 degrees.
There is no shame in my
game. I love Christmas music. As with any other music, some songs just sound good and feel festive, others resonate deeply in my soul, stop me in my tracks and bring me to my knees.
He Knows, is a spoken word song
by Isaac Wemberly and Folk Angel. The
song is a story of the night that Jesus was born as imagined by the author. Something about the voice, the perfectly chosen words, and the cadence of the song strikes me as so incredibly powerful. This song paints the picture of what Christmas is really about, the darkness that led up to the birth of Christ and the hope that followed because of that momentous night. Often we get wrapped up in all the fun of Christmas and forget the cold and darkness that existed before Christ's birth, we forget that the same darkness still exists for so many.
You can listen to the full song here or on your preferred streaming platform.
I've pulled out a few lines and copied them below.
"I imagine the night being cold...not just cold as determined by the state of the atmosphere but the coldness coming from the mouths of innkeepers knock after knock door after door all with the same response there is no room for you here...I imagine the night being dark. The type of dark where you can't see anything. Where you are so afraid to take a step that you turn your walk into a shuffle....not just darkness as a result of the absence of light but darkness as a result of the weariness in the fight..darkness that marks us even when its not night. Always winter but never Christmas...here they were amongst the hay and dirt trusting in the Lord's faithfulness leaning on his word...as their son finally arrived...overwhelming joy colliding with indescribable peace, son of God, son of Man, Kings of Kings....He's walked in our footsteps he's seen all that we see, he's been tempted, tried, and persecuted, he knows pain and suffering, he's been beaten, spit upon and cursed, betrayed for little cost, accused though innocent, and murdered upon a cross. And because of these things he's able to say the two words.... that sound so beautiful to our ears, two words that instill trust and eliminate fear...I know....he knows your hurt, he knows your pain, he knows your struggle, he knows your name...As he rose from the grave victorious forever more...he knows your battle he knows your every need."
Christmas is when darkness collided with light, when hope was brought to the fight, and when peace overwhelmed the night. Songs that capture this are really worth listening to more than just a few weeks in December.
You can listen to the full song here or on your preferred streaming platform.
I've pulled out a few lines and copied them below.
"I imagine the night being cold...not just cold as determined by the state of the atmosphere but the coldness coming from the mouths of innkeepers knock after knock door after door all with the same response there is no room for you here...I imagine the night being dark. The type of dark where you can't see anything. Where you are so afraid to take a step that you turn your walk into a shuffle....not just darkness as a result of the absence of light but darkness as a result of the weariness in the fight..darkness that marks us even when its not night. Always winter but never Christmas...here they were amongst the hay and dirt trusting in the Lord's faithfulness leaning on his word...as their son finally arrived...overwhelming joy colliding with indescribable peace, son of God, son of Man, Kings of Kings....He's walked in our footsteps he's seen all that we see, he's been tempted, tried, and persecuted, he knows pain and suffering, he's been beaten, spit upon and cursed, betrayed for little cost, accused though innocent, and murdered upon a cross. And because of these things he's able to say the two words.... that sound so beautiful to our ears, two words that instill trust and eliminate fear...I know....he knows your hurt, he knows your pain, he knows your struggle, he knows your name...As he rose from the grave victorious forever more...he knows your battle he knows your every need."
Christmas is when darkness collided with light, when hope was brought to the fight, and when peace overwhelmed the night. Songs that capture this are really worth listening to more than just a few weeks in December.
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