Something different today. It would have to be, with readings about St. John the Baptist. This guy, dressed in camel hair, living on a steady diet of locusts and honey, bursts through our sentimental Christmas images like a rampaging bull. It’s all angels and shepherds and Sweet Mama Mary, and then Bam! Cousin Johnny comes barreling onto the scene, wild and hairy (literally), in you face, uncompromising, upsetting everything. And this rough, wild guy–Bear Grylls crossed with Billy Graham and a healthy dose of Ann Barnhardt– this guy is the herald for the King of Kings. He’s His cousin, even! Rough to sublime indeed.
We don’t have much “Advent” or “Christmas” songs that deal with John. I can think of a very few, none of which are especially . . . inspiring. Not to say they aren’t good, just. . .hm. Not very “Seasonal.”
So I’m going with the spirit, here. The introduction of a bit of roughness into our refined expectations. I first heard this live when the Moorehouse College Glee Club visited Xavier University. There’s not a recording in the world that can capture the live experience, where the drums resound in your core as the men’s voices push your spirit ever higher. What you must do is turn the volume up to eleven– so, you may want to wait until you won’t wake anyone up.
Ladies and Gents, I present the Moorehouse College Glee Club, singing their signature piece, “Bethelehemu”