In The Air


 

"Some of the Pharisees in the crowd said to Jesus, “Teacher, rebuke your disciples!”
“I tell you,” he replied, “if they keep quiet, even the stones will cry out.”
Luke 19:39-40

A few years ago my mother was visiting from New York and we went shopping. Our first stop was a shoe store. We'd been there just a few minutes when Mom touched my arm. “Trish, is this a Christian song?” She asked me. I stopped just idly humming along and actually listened. “Yes it is.” Mom seemed baffled by that but didn't stop to comment as the shoes were too distracting.

Next stop a department store. While the shoe store is regional, as in they don't have them in New York, the department store is national, Mom is very familiar with that store. Once again she stopped. “Trish! This is the same song that was on in the shoe store! It's a Christian song. You said it is.”

Not sure why this needed to be mentioned again, I nodded. Yes, it was the same song. She then went on to express her surprise that it would be playing in the store! Oh right! I live smack dab in the middle of the Bible belt versus her home in Upstate New York! I guess it would seem odd to hear Christian songs mingled in with all the other music or as in the case of the shoe store, the only songs being played.

Today, whether you live in Florida, North Carolina, California or New York you are going to hear the name of Jesus while you're shopping. You're going to hear songs sung about the King, about the heavenly birth. Why? It's the tail end of November and because it is, stores everywhere are playing Christmas/Christian music. I love it!

It's not just about which state you call home either. It's also about who you claim as god, if in fact you claim a god. None of that matters. Christian, Jew, Muslim, Buddhist, agnostic and atheist, we're all hearing the same songs. It is the one time of the year when Jesus is freely and gloriously proclaimed everywhere. Walking through stores I see and hear people singing along and humming along with lyrics like, “let every heart, prepare him room” and “what child is this” along with “go tell it on the mountain, Jesus Christ is born.” Granted those are sandwiched in with “Santa is coming to town” and “let it snow, let it snow” but that's not a problem. It just means that people who rarely, if ever, hear the name of Jesus are hearing it at least for a month or so and maybe sometime in that month they will truly hear it and believe.

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