Room

Anyone who has listened even a little bit to the Christmas story from the Bible (it’s in Luke 2:1-21 and Matthew 1:18-2:12 for those who want to re-read the details) have got the general idea: The trip Joseph and Mary had to take to Bethlehem for the Roman census; no room for them in the inn; their alternate living arrangements in a stable; the birth of Jesus, who was laid in a hay trough instead of a crib; the visit of the shepherds who had been told of the event by angels; and later the visit of the wise men from the east, bearing gifts. Nearly every religious Christmas song in existence contains one or more of the details of the account, and these songs are played endlessly on the radio and in stores during the Christmas season each year.

It would be difficult to have not heard the story, unless you have been actively avoiding any mention of the spiritual aspects of the season. And I could pick any of a number of songs to sweetly tell of the coming of Jesus to our world. But I’ve already done that this year, and I’d like to offer a song that tells it … differently.

From the Christian parody group ApologetiX, here is a song from their 1998 album Jesus Christ Morningstar.  It is a parody of Hotel California by the Eagles. Have a smile today as you listen to Hotel Can’t Afford Ya, their clever re-visitation of that classic narrative.

From a dark desert highway
We pulled into the inn
Rome called for a census,
I was from Bethlehem
Up above from a distance
A star was giving me light
My wife was heavy ‘cause her child was due
We had to stop for the night

So I stood in the doorway
Of Bethlehem Hotel
And I was thinking to myself
“I hope to heaven they’ll give me some help”
But they told us “no-can-do”
And they sent me away
“There’s a place around the corner, though
Where you both can stay”

Welcome, but the hotel can’t afford ya
Such a lovely place (such a lovely place)
But we’re out of space
Ran out of room and the hotel can’t afford ya
It’s the time of year (it’s the time of year)
With the census here

My wife was definitely gifted,
That’s what the Lord’s angel said
She was about to have a baby boy
While still virgin
We spent the night in a barnyard,
Cheap slumlord’s rent
Some night to remember
Some night to forget

So because of what happened
I was grieving for my wife
And I said, “They probably haven’t cleaned in here
Since B.C. 65”
Animal voices were calling for straw and hay
Keep you up through the middle of the night
Just as if to say …

Welcome, but the hotel can’t afford ya
Such a lovely place (such a lovely place)
But we’re out of space
Holiday rush and the hotel can’t afford ya
What a nice surprise (what a nice surprise)
For your silent night

He was born that evening
Shepherds came that night
And they said “We’re all just visitors here
Of the Holy Christ”
And in an ass’s manger,
They found the boy asleep
They started getting teary-eyed
So they went back to their sheep

Last thing I remember there were
Wise men at the door
They had a bunch of packages
From the place they were before
“We’re late,” said the wise men
“We had problems Christmas Eve
We’ve been checking out your shiny light
All through the Middle East”

Click here to visit the ApologetiX web site if you want to buy this album

Tags: ApologetiX, Christmas

I heard from somewhere this year that we should not make such a big deal out of it if Christmas doesn’t seem to have Christ in it. The argument, so it goes, is that the holiday has been so commercialized, so secularized, so merchandized, that there already is not much about the holiday that makes people really think about Jesus and His part in it. Furthermore, it was also said, the day that was chosen so long ago to use in celebrating the birth of Jesus was picked to coincide with a Roman holiday or the winter solstice, and so has its origins in pagan customs, rather than being a true religious celebration.

When I heard this argument, I had to grudgingly agree that yes, there seems to be precious little about Jesus that really is stressed this time of year. It does seem to be more about the sales bonanza that is hoped for by the retail industry, as people buy gifts for each other, going into further credit card debt, and thus supposedly helping boost the economy.

And it is amazing to me how much this holiday has an emotionally charged effect on people. It can have the effect of creating and resurrecting the joy they had as children, anticipating the day when they could open amazing gifts of toys from parents and grandparents. And it can have the effect of creating

• terror — “How will I ever get my shopping done in time???”
• depression — “I can’t find the right gifts!!”
• guilt — “Have I let my children/parents/friends down this season if I didn’t have the right party/gifts/decorations?”
• stress — “Arrgh! I hate this season because it means I have all this work to do!!”

Yes, Christmas has unfortunately become all of these things, and more. But just because it has mutated into this seemingly unmanageable monster does not mean that I have to succumb to it and simply give in to the craziness. We are encouraged by Paul in 2nd Timothy 4:2 to “Preach the Word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke, and encourage—with great patience and careful instruction.” Paul goes further to point out that people would eventually choose to turn away from the truth, and follow other teachings that make them more comfortable, turning aside to myths (you can insert “Santa Claus” or “Easter Bunny” here).

We don’t have to wring our hands and worry that Christ is not being properly remembered this Christmas. It will be just as uncomfortable on December 25th for those outside of the Church to remember that this holiday is really about Jesus as it is on any other day of the year. It is as important in the Christmas season as it is on April 5th or July 21st or whenever to make sure that people really know what we believe and why.

Tell your friends about why the birth of Jesus is important to you, and when you do it, make sure you do it in love and not to point out what lousy sinners they are. You have this wonderful hope and joy in life, and Christmas it not a holiday to get all worked up about; it is a perfect time to be that light yet another time, and point someone to Jesus.

Randy Stonehill’s classic 1976 album, Welcome To Paradise included the song Christmas Song For All Year ‘Round, which expresses my point neatly and concisely. Christmas is about the birth of Jesus, and the birth of Jesus is pointless unless it is an introduction to the Cross.

So, as Randy says, “Merry Christmas”!

I wonder if this Christmas
They’ll begin to understand
The Jesus that they celebrate
Is much more than a man

‘Cause the way the world is
I don’t see How people can deny
The only way to save us
Was for Jesus Christ to die

And I know
That if Saint Nicholas was here
He would agree
That Jesus gave the greatest gift of all
To you and me

They led Him to the slaughter
On a hill called Calvary
And mankind was forgiven
When they nailed Him to the tree

But most of all the children,
They’re the ones I hope will learn
That Jesus is our Savior
And He’s going to return

And Christmas isn’t just a day
And all days aren’t the same
Perhaps they’ll think about the word
And see it spells His name

And I know
That if Saint Nicholas was here
He would agree

That Jesus gave the greatest gift of all
To you and me
They led Him to the slaughter
On a hill called Calvary

And mankind was forgiven
Mankind was forgiven
We were all forgiven
When they nailed Him to the tree

So Merry Christmas
Merry Christmas
Merry Christmas

I wonder if this Christmas
They’ll begin
To understand

© 1976 King Of Hearts Publishing

Tags: Christmas, Randy Stonehill

I almost always am listening to my iPod while I’m driving, so it’s only rarely that I have a radio station turned on. But today I had it tuned to a local station that plays continuous Christmas music during the holiday season. Because I had it on this station, I heard a song that I would probably have never otherwise found.

What was played was a tune that Faith Hill released this year on her Christmas album, Joy To The World. As with many of the songs whose lyrics I post here, I was struck with the truth of the song, A Baby Changes Everything.

It’s so true. Back in Bethlehem, many years ago, a Baby changed everything. Everything. Can’t find more to say than that.

Teenage girl
Much too young
Unprepared for what’s to come
A baby changes everything

Not a ring
On her hand
All her dreams and all her plans
A baby changes everything
A baby changes everything

The man she loves
She’s never touched
How will she keep his trust
A baby changes everything
A baby changes everything

And she cries
Ooo, she cries
Oh …

She has to leave
Go far away
Heaven knows she can’t stay
A baby changes everything

She can feel
It’s coming soon
There’s no place, there’s no room
A baby changes everything
A baby changes everything

And she cries
And she cries
Oh, she cries

Shepherds all (shepherds all)
Gather ’round (they gather ’round)
Up above the star shines down
A baby changes everything

Choir of
Angels say
Glory to the newborn king
A baby changes everything
A baby changes everything

Everything, everything,
Everything
Hallelujah (Hallelujah)
Hallelujah (Hallelujah)
Hallelujah (Hallelujah)
Hallelujah (Hallelujah)

My whole life
Has turned around
I was lost
And now I’m found

A baby changes everything
A baby changes everything

Tags: Christmas, Faith Hill, Jesus

When I was a child, my mother often told me stories of how she and her brothers and sisters played together in their small Nebraska town during the 1930s and 40s. They had very few toys, and had to make up most of the games they played. I always enjoyed the stories, even when she told them again and again.

My dear mother passed away over five years ago. During the last fifteen years of her life, she wrote on and off in a journal, setting on paper some of the stories that she had told us. She was not trying to write a best-seller or something that would ever be published. She just wanted to put on paper information about herself that would endure after she was gone. She claimed that the stories were for her grandchildren, so they would know something about her. But when I was shown this journal after she died, I saw also that what she had written had an impact on me.

I don’t have a video of her telling her stories. I don’t have an audiotape or any other recording of it. I just have her written words. And with what she has written, I have a very real part of her that is still with me, and which will remain with me until we meet again in heaven. It is a special gift that I wish I had known of before she was gone, so I could have asked that she add more to it.

In the same way that this gift of a written journal has kept the memory of my mother more strongly alive, I have also a much more valuable narrative. The words that were left for me in the Old and New Testament tell me of God, and the story of His people through thousands of years, and the way He provided a way for me to know Him here on this earth, before I get to know him forever in the eternity to come. I found that some of what my mother wrote stuck deeply in me; the words and truth of God’s story have done all that and so much more.

Long before I knew of my mother’s written life story, I knew the song Heirlooms, by Amy Grant, from A Christmas Album, released back in 1983. It brought tears to my eyes when I heard that song, and it speaks again to me, as I remember the heirloom gift my mother left for her family, and that my God left for all of us.

(Words and Music by Bob Farrell, Brown Bannister, and Amy Grant)

Up in the attic,
Down on my knees.
Lifetimes of boxes,
Timeless to me.
Letters and photographs,
Yellowed with years,
Some bringing laughter,
Some bringing tears.

Time never changes,
The memories, the faces
Of loved ones, who bring to me,
All that I come from,
And all that I live for,
And all that I’m going to be.
My precious family
Is more than an heirloom to me.

Wise men and shepherds,
Down on their knees,
Bringing their treasures
To lay at His feet.
Who was this wonder,
Baby yet King?
Living and dying;
He gave life to me.

Time never changes,
The memory, the moment
His love first pierced through me,
Telling all that I came from,
And all that I live for,
And all that I’m going to be.
My precious Savior
Is more than an heirloom to me.

My precious Jesus
Is more than an heirloom to me.

Tags: Amy Grant, Christmas, memories