Read on Twitter
If you know me at all, you know that I love Christmas music, but you may not know that my favorite Christmas song of all time is #OHolyNight. I’ve loved it ever since I was a little kid, but I didn’t know the story behind it until a few years ago...
A thread:
A thread:
O Holy Night was originally a poem commissioned by a French priest in 1847, because he wanted something special to read at Christmas Mass. In 1855, a Boston pastor named John Sullivan Dwight found and translated it. He fell in love with it primarily because of verse 3.
Which says...
Truly He taught us to love one another
His law is Love and His gospel is Peace
Chains shall he break, for the slave is our brother
And in his name all oppression shall cease
Truly He taught us to love one another
His law is Love and His gospel is Peace
Chains shall he break, for the slave is our brother
And in his name all oppression shall cease
You see, in addition to being a pastor, John Dwight was also an abolitionist fighting to end slavery in America. He published O Holy Night in his magazine called “Dwight’s Journal of Music” and the song took off - gaining immense popularity in the North during the Civil War.
But not everyone loved it, including many religious leaders. Over half of the published defenses of slavery around the time of the Civil War were written by Christian pastors in the South. As you can imagine, folks like that were not big fans of this song.
Even after the Civil War was over and Oh Holy Night became one of the most well-known Christmas songs around the world, many churches in the South still refused to sing verse 3 or just banned the song it or entirely.
These pastors and parishioners attended church services that were very similar to ours today. They read from the very same Bible we do. With the exception of O Holy Night, they sang many of the same songs we still sing. But...
When they finished their church services, many of them would head home to men, women, and children they considered property, not people.
They knew about Jesus, but they didn’t pursue the way of Jesus. They called themselves “Christians,” but they didn’t follow Christ.
They knew about Jesus, but they didn’t pursue the way of Jesus. They called themselves “Christians,” but they didn’t follow Christ.
And we are still dealing with the consequences of their choices today. In huge ways like racial inequality in almost every sphere of our society, and in small ways like that fact that some of the most popular versions of O Holy Night STILL don’t include verse 3.
Sin, pain, destruction, and death. Those are the effects of claiming to be a Christian without following the way of Jesus. He came to bring fullness of life for all humanity and we are called to be a part of making that a reality for our neighbors.
So when you have a few minutes this Christmas season, put on O Holy Night (a version that includes verse 3) and spend time reflecting on what it means to truly follow Jesus. We need it now more than ever.
