The Christmas Lyrics You Never Hear

O Holy Night was clearly the climax of Adolphe Adam’s (1803-1856) life. He wrote a ballet, Giselle, in which the heroine stabs herself then dances around for about forty minutes, as I recall. But I doubt there are very many people who have not heard O Holy Night.

But in nearly every case you will hear only the first verse. Maybe you didn’t even know there were three verses. The third verse is, in some ways, the most important. It clearly reveals that Adam intended his song not just for Christmas but as an abolitionist song.

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.

Sweet hymns of joy in grateful chorus raise we,

Let all within us praise His holy name.

Conservative Christians today would fully agree with Adam and all the other abolitionists that slavery was an abomination. But they tend to ignore the ongoing message of liberation from oppression that inevitably accompanies Jesus’ story and message. Conservative Christians adamantly support all rules and systems that keep the poor people of the Earth in economic oppression, barely better than slaves. This time of year they focus on the immediate plot line of the Christmas story without thinking about its larger implications for the people of the Earth. They focus on proclaiming that we Americans are rich because God favors us. They are distinctly uncomfortable with the call for liberation of the people who produce cheap goods for us to consume and who cannot afford enough food because the best crop land is used to raise food for Americans to import, to eat and to feed to their livestock.

Dare we believe that “in His name all oppression shall cease”? Don’t expect God, or Christians, to make this happen. If it is going to happen, people who care (whether religious or not) will have to do it.