Here’s an interesting blog post about N.T. Wright’s take on Christmas based on the hymns we sing during the season. I came across it thanks to a number of RT’s on Twitter. It’s by Peter Leithart at the CREDENDAagenda blog. A really good read. I couldn’t agree with Wright (and Leithart) more.  You can read his post here. Here’s the punchline for me if you don’t have time to read the whole thing:

What does Simeon sing about?  When he takes the infant Jesus into his arms, he blessed God: “Let your servant depart in peace, according to Your word; for my eyes have seen Your salvation.”  And what is that?  Access to heaven?  Forgiveness of sins?  No: “the light of revelation to the Gentiles, and the glory of Your people Israel.”

The angelic hymn to the shepherds should be understood in that context.  Peace on earth is not some lefty pipe dream.  It’s the promise of peace for Israel, and therefore peace for the nations.

Now, those sound like our Advent hymns, not our Christmas hymns.  And they sound like the kind of Christmas hymns that N. T. Wright might have written.  As it turns out, Wright is no Grinch.  He didn’t steal Christmas.  What he stole was a false Christmas, a de-contextualized and apolitical Christmas.  But we shouldn’t have bought that Christmas in the first place, and should have been embarrassed to display it so proudly on the mantle.  Good riddance, and Bah humbug.

I suggest a moratorium on new Christmas hymns, until we all learn the Magnificat and the Benedictus and the Nunc Dimittis so much by heart that they seep out our fingers at the keyboard, until we instinctively sing of Jesus’ birth like Mary, like Zecharias, like Simeon.

- Peter Leithhart, Did N.T. Wright Steal Christmas?