Have You Heard This Song?

We’ve finally put away the last vestige of our Christmas decorations and sang our final traditional carols for another year. If you think about the lyrics of your seasonal favorites, how do they compare to what is known as the Arab world’s favorite carol, called “On Christmas Night” written during the civil war in Lebanon in the 1980s?

Chorus:
On Christmas night, hatred vanishes
On Christmas night, the earth blooms
On Christmas night, war is buried
On Christmas night, love is born

Verse 1:
When we offer a glass of water to a thirsty person, we are in Christmas
When we clothe a naked person with a gown of love, we are in Christmas
When we wipe the tears from weeping eyes, we are in Christmas
When we cushion a hopeless heart with love, we are in Christmas

Verse 2:
When I kiss a friend without hypocrisy, I am in Christmas
When the spirit of revenge dies in me, I am in Christmas
When hardness is gone from my heart, I am in Christmas
When my soul melts in the being of God, I am in Christmas

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You probably noticed a distinct lack of any mention of sleigh bells, presents, reindeer, or even mangers, stars, or shepherds. This carol stands unique as it weighs heavily on how one chooses to live in light of the Light of the world coming into the world and into our hearts and heads.

Hatred vanishes, earth blooms, war is buried, and love is born! Those who embrace the Jesus who arrived in the womb of poor teenager and was delivered in a stable surrounded by farm animals, are the kind of people who care enough to offer a glass of water to the thirsty and wipe the tears of the weeping. They eschew hypocrisy and revenge, and their hearts are free of hardness toward those who are different from them.

Don’t we have a lot to learn from Christians who happen to be Arab (or Asian or African or …)?

On Christmas night, hatred vanishes
On Christmas night, the earth blooms
On Christmas night, war is buried
On Christmas night, love is born

Did any of that happen during Christmas last month or since in your heart? Were you (are you) “in Christmas” still?