Christmas Hymns

Christmas music has been on heavy rotation around these parts, pretty much since Thanksgiving was over. Records spinning at home, Sufjan Stevens at work, 24/7 Christmas radio in the car. So I thought I'd share a couple of my favorite Advent/Christmas hymns.

I love hymns in general, but I really like Christmas hymns. I think that's because there's so much crappy/cheesy/awful Christmas music. So when you find the good ones it's like treasure.

My #1 favorite is "Hark the Herald Angels Sing." It was written by Charles Wesley and is theologically so spot-on. Like, there are some hymns and church songs that I like, but have to kind of cringe through because of their eschatology or christology or gendered pronouns, but NOT THIS ONE. This hymn has like fist-pumping in the pews theology. Love it.

"Come Thou Long Expected Jesus" is another good one. Also by Charles Wesley.

What are your favorite Christmas songs or hymns? And what makes a good one, anyway? Please share in the comments!

Happy New Year!

Today is the first day of Advent, which means it is the first day of the Christian calendar.

Happy New Year!

I am looking forward to this season of anticipation and meditation on the incarnation, and I hope you are too!

This evening I'll be participating in an advent dinner at my church, so I hope to write a bit more about that and how it goes this week. I think it will be a very special time. There is so much about this season that is contrary to the busy-ness and harried-ness of this time of year, and it's fascinating to try and hold the patience and waiting in tension with the go-go, gimme-gimme tendencies we all experience.