Even the Rockstars will Cry Out

On my way to church this morning I was listening to NPR Weekend Edition, and an interview with the punk rock band Bad Religion took place concerning their new Christmas album:

(Full Transcript)

This particular back and forth with host Rachel Martin and band members Greg Graffin and Brett Gurewitz really grabbed my attention:

MARTIN: There's a little humor and irony in doing a Christmas album. I mean it's like that old standby that, you know, every musician who has been around the block a few times comes out with a Christmas album. This is something that you're doing a little tongue-in-cheek.

GRAFFIN: Oh, absolutely. The band's name is Bad Religion and we have a long history of questioning religion and social norms and being skeptics and so forth. So we thought that that would make it a really fun thing to do.

MARTIN: And these are not secular songs, we should point out though. You could've done, you know, "Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree." These are religious Christmas hymns.

GUREWITZ: I would disagree. I think that all of these songs are secular. Even though they have their roots in the pulpit or in the church setting, virtually everyone who celebrates Christmas has heard these songs. And so, it's not Bad Religion that has made them ironic. It's kind of a secular society that's made Christmas ironic.

The band admits that they recorded this album as a joke; to mock the songs and to keep with the tradition of secularizing the sacred Christmas holiday.  Their album covers eight classic Christmas Carols (six of which are found in most if not all Christian hymnals).  As much as they had fun making fun of Christians with this album, ultimately the joke is on them.  They produced a quality album for a people group that would not normally listen to these songs willingly, and the message of these songs (at least for the six songs excluding White Christmas and Little Drummer Boy) is the Gospel!

Hark! The Herald Angels Sing

Hark! The herald angels sing,
“Glory to the newborn King;
Peace on earth, and mercy mild,
God and sinners reconciled!”
Joyful, all ye nations rise,
Join the triumph of the skies;
With th’angelic host proclaim,
“Christ is born in Bethlehem!”
Hark! the herald angels sing,
“Glory to the newborn King!”

Christ, by highest heaven adored;
Christ, the everlasting Lord;
late in time behold him come,
offspring of a virgin's womb.
Veiled in flesh the Godhead see;
hail th' incarnate Deity,
pleased as man with men to dwell,
Jesus, our Emmanuel.
Hark! the herald angels sing,
"Glory to the new born King!"

Hail the heaven-born Prince of Peace!
Hail the Sun of Righteousness!
Light and life to all he brings,
risen with healing in his wings.
Mild he lays his glory by,
born that we no more may die,
born to raise us from the earth,
born to give us second birth.
Hark! the herald angels sing,
"Glory to the new born King!"

In this song, they claim that Jesus is God, that he came to live as man, and that he came to as a reconciliation for sinners.

O Come All Ye Faithful

O come, all ye faithful, joyful and triumphant,
O come ye, O come ye, to Bethlehem.
Come and behold Him, born the King of angels;

O come, let us adore Him,
O come, let us adore Him,
O come, let us adore Him,
Christ the Lord.

Sing, choir of angels, sing in exultation;
O sing, all that hear in heaven God's holy Word!
Give to our Father glory in the Highest;

All Hail! Lord, we greet Thee, Born this happy morning,
O Jesus! for evermore be Thy name adored.
Word of the Father, now in flesh appearing;

In this song, they claim that Christ is Lord and that Father deserves all glory.

O Come, O Come Emmanuel

O come, O come, Emmanuel
And ransom captive Israel
That mourns in lonely exile here
Until the Son of God appear
Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel
Shall come to thee, O Israel.

O come, Thou Rod of Jesse, free
Thine own from Satan's tyranny
From depths of Hell Thy people save
And give them victory o'er the grave
Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel
Shall come to thee, O Israel.

O come, O come, Thou Lord of might,
Who to Thy tribes, on Sinai's height,
In ancient times did'st give the Law,
In cloud, and majesty and awe.
Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel
Shall come to thee, O Israel.

In this song, they call for Jesus to come and save his people from exile and hell; and they claim that God in his majesty gave us the Law.

God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen

God rest ye merry, gentlemen
Let nothing you dismay
Remember, Christ, our Savior
Was born on Christmas day
To save us all from Satan's power
When we were gone astray
O tidings of comfort and joy,
Comfort and joy
O tidings of comfort and joy

In Bethlehem, in Israel,
This blessed Babe was born
And laid within a manger
Upon this blessed morn
The which His Mother Mary
Did nothing take in scorn
O tidings of comfort and joy,
Comfort and joy
O tidings of comfort and joy

From God our Heavenly Father
A blessed Angel came;
And unto certain Shepherds
Brought tidings of the same:
How that in Bethlehem was born
The Son of God by Name.
O tidings of comfort and joy,
Comfort and joy
O tidings of comfort and joy

In this song, they admit that we have gone astray, and they claim that Jesus came to save us from Satan for that very reason.

What Child is This?

What Child is this who, laid to rest
On Mary’s lap is sleeping?
Whom angels greet with anthems sweet,
While shepherds watch are keeping?
This, this is Christ the King,
Whom shepherds guard and angels sing;
Haste, haste, to bring Him laud,
The Babe, the Son of Mary.

Why lies He in such mean estate,
Where ox and ass are feeding?
Good Christians, 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.

In this song, they claim that Jesus pleads for sinners, and that he died on the cross for them.

Angels We Have Heard on High

Angels we have heard on high
Sweetly singing o’er the plains,
And the mountains in reply
Echoing their joyous strains.

Gloria, in excelsis Deo!
Gloria, in excelsis Deo!

Shepherds, why this jubilee?
Why your joyous strains prolong?
What the gladsome tidings be
Which inspire your heavenly song?

Come to Bethlehem and see
Christ Whose birth the angels sing;
Come, adore on bended knee,
Christ the Lord, the newborn King.

In this song, they proclaim "Glory to God in the Highest!"

(I won't go into these two, but they are included on the album as well)
White Christmas
Little Drummer Boy

Throughout the album, they claim that we are sinners in need of reconciliation with God, that Jesus who is God came to earth to die for sinners, and that through his death we can be saved from hell and reunited with God.  Furthermore, many people will buy this album, enjoy the "joke", and be presented with the Gospel message whether they realize it or not.

In Philippians 1:15-18 (ESV) is says:

Some indeed preach Christ from envy and rivalry, but others from good will. The latter do it out of love, knowing that I am put here for the defense of the gospel. The former proclaim Christ out of selfish ambition, not sincerely but thinking to afflict me in my imprisonment. What then? Only that in every way, whether in pretense or in truth, Christ is proclaimed, and in that I rejoice.

In this passage, Paul states that the preaching of the Gospel for any reason, selfish or otherwise, is something to rejoice over.  This holiday season, through this band as well as many other secular bands, the Gospel will be preached.  As Christians, we should pray for the ears of the lost to be opened to the Good News that is Christ Jesus and his arrival on Christmas day.