WHILE YOU WERE SLEEPING (Casting Crowns)
Undoubtedly, 'O Little Town of Bethlehem' is one of the most recognizable Christmas carols ever written, but how many of us are familiar with its contemporary counterpart, 'While You Were Sleeping' by Casting Crowns?
Considering I am almost always a traditionalist when it comes to Christmas carols, this brilliant, contemporary adaptation of the original grips my heart every time I hear it and is an integral part of my holiday season every year. Because whether Bethlehem, Jerusalem, or the United States of America, billions of people throughout the ages have simply missed the true meaning of Christmas.
In many ways, While You Were Sleeping is a reality check which reminds us that while we as Christians celebrate the birth of Jesus and the subsequent impact His life, death and resurrection have on our eternal destination, the cold, hard fact remains that souls will be lost as well.
People will die not ever hearing the Gospel message, or hear it and pridefully reject Jesus altogether and the notion they need to be saved from anything at all. Therefore, we need to consider our response when we listen to O Little Town of Bethlehem or While We Were Sleeping, because its eternal implications are far too important to gloss over.
Today, we are bombarded by political correctness which replaces "Merry Christmas" with "Happy Holidays" in order to NOT be offensive to those who do not share our personal faith. Yet how can a baby born in Bethlehem over 2,000 years ago offend anyone unless He was MORE than just a baby?
"For to us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder, and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace" (Isaiah 9:6).
The sad truth is that when someone rejects Jesus as Christ, he/she is communicating a rejection of accountability, help, divinity, authority and peace, for those are the identifiable traits of His character as prophesied by Isaiah. Consider what this passage forces us to wrestle with and reconcile in our hearts:
Christ's humanity - "For to us a child is born"
Christ's deity - "To us a son is given"
Christ's lordship - "And the government shall be upon his shoulder"
Christ's wisdom and discernment - "And his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor"
Christ's supreme authority - "Mighty God"
Christ's loving influence - "Everlasting Father"
Christ's grace, mercy and forgiveness - "Prince of Peace"
In other words, Scripture tells us this child born in Bethlehem was MORE than just a baby, which is why Christmas in many ways has become such a divisive holiday for those who reject Christ's deity altogether. The truth is that God has indeed revealed Himself to mankind through His Son and creation itself so mankind is without excuse.
"For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse" (Romans 1:20).
However, due to free will, mankind has the freedom to accept or reject what the Bible says is true, which ultimately comes with eternal consequences.
For those who reject its validity, the Bible is nothing more than nonsense or a scare tactic to manipulate peoples’ emotions for financial gain and/or power and control. However, for those of us who believe Scripture is the inerrant Word of God, reconciling our position on who Jesus is and what He has done for us is the most important question we will ever answer in our lifetime.
How then does all this apply to our feature song, While You Were Sleeping? Thankfully, Casting Crowns lead singer, Mark Hall, provides the backdrop to the song in his book, Lifestories: Finding God's 'Voice of Truth' Through Everyday Life.
"’While You Were Sleeping’ took me nine years to finish. The year was 1996. I was trying to come up with something new to sing to the Lord for Christmas. I wanted to compose a new arrangement to the famous hymn "O Little Town of Bethlehem." I set out to use the hymn’s original lyrics but to spin them into my own version with different chords. I didn’t even make it to the second verse. I was playing with some chords and realized halfway through the first verse that I was 27 years old and had been singing the song since I was a kid without grasping its meaning. Halfway through the first verse, the whole point of the song hit me: They missed it! Bethlehem missed it. They never knew what happened. They had no idea their Messiah, the Savior of the world, had fulfilled the prophecy of Micah 5:2 and was sleeping in a feeding trough in their very village. They slept through the whole thing."
If we're honest with ourselves, Mark's revelation is probably a new perspective to us as well. Typically, we sing Christmas carols because it's tradition to do so every holiday season, yet how many of us take the time to contemplate lyrics and understand the meaning behind our beloved Christmas carols? That is why I love, While You Were Sleeping, so much, because it forces me to consider the true meaning of Christmas rather than get caught up in the tradition and pageantry of the season.
LYRICS: "Oh little town of Bethlehem, looks like another silent night. Above your deep and dreamless sleep a giant star lights up the sky. And while you're lying in the dark, there shines an everlasting light for the King has left his throne and is sleeping in a manger tonight."
How incredible for the Son of God to relinquish His crown and willingly subject Himself to the trials and temptations of a fallen world for no other reason but love! Yet even more compelling is the fact that He came in the most feeble and lowest of forms, as a baby lying in a farm animal's feeding trough surrounded by the stench and mess of a barn.
LYRICS: "Oh Bethlehem, what you have missed while you were sleeping, for God became a man and stepped into your world today? Oh Bethlehem, you will go down in history as a city with no room for its King while you were sleeping, while you were sleeping."
The most compelling aspect of While You Were Sleeping is that it highlights 3 examples of cities/nations who either literally or figuratively missed the true meaning of Christmas. Scripture states, "But you, O Bethlehem, who are too little to be among the clans of Judah, from you shall come forth for me one who is to be ruler in Israel, whose coming forth is from of old, from ancient days" (Micah 5:2).
Bethlehem was prophesied to be the birthplace of the Savior, yet only a group of shepherds and three wise men recognized the moment and seized the opportunity to witness the Savior's birth. In contrast, Jerusalem was a different story altogether for it was the epicenter of Judaism and as such, became the location where Christ's ultimate sacrifice was made for the sins of mankind.
Therefore, while Bethlehem represents the birth of Jesus and subsequent coming of the Messiah, Jerusalem constitutes the nation of Israel known for ultimately rejecting Jesus as their own and sentencing Him to death.
Perhaps that is why Jesus once lamented, "O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to it! How often would I have gathered your children together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you were not willing! See, your house is left to you desolate. For I tell you, you will not see me again, until you say, ‘Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord"(Matthew 23:37–39).
Despite 3-years of preaching and teaching, miracles and healing, Jesus knew nonetheless that many would reject Him as Messiah and shout, "Crucify Him!" rather than open their hearts to receive His Gospel of salvation.
LYRICS: "Oh little town of Jerusalem, looks like another silent night. The Father gave his only Son, the Way, the Truth, the Life had come, but there was no room for Him in the world he came to save. Jerusalem, what you have missed while you were sleeping? The Savior of the world is dying on your cross today. Jerusalem, you will go down in history as a city with no room for its King while you were sleeping, while you were sleeping."
What then is our response, we who lie comfortably in our beds? The sad truth is that over 2,000-years have passed since Jesus came into this world and still, millions willingly choose to reject Him as Savior. Rather than relinquish personal control, people hedge their bets on self-fulfillment or some other form of false religion which cannot save a man's soul whatsoever.
Make no mistake, geographical location does not guarantee souls will embrace Jesus as Messiah. Despite being one of the most Christian countries on the planet, the United States suffers mightily from self-preservation and cultural confusion. Consider Mark Hall's piercing accusation as a fellow, proud American:
LYRICS: "United States of America, looks like another silent night. As we're sung to sleep by philosophies that save the trees and kill the children. And while we're lying in the dark, there's a shout heard 'cross the eastern sky. For the Bridegroom has returned and has carried His bride away in the night. America, what will we miss while we are sleeping? Will Jesus come again and leave us slumbering where we lay? America will we go down in history as a nation with no room for its King? Will we be sleeping? Will we be sleeping?"
Notice the shift within the song from past to present to future tense. The greatest sign of spiritual maturity is recognizing whether we've learned from our mistakes, and in many cases, our nation is becoming more atheistic by the minute. Yet how can this be? Are we not more privileged than our distant ancestors to know the full story of God's redemptive plan?
Do we not have complete freedom as Americans to worship without fear of persecution or death compared to hostile areas in the world where Christians are persecuted, imprisoned, or even martyred for their faith in Christ? The clear takeaway is that we have been given an incredible gift, PRICELESS in fact, yet many of us have lost sight of what's most important.
We've watered down our faith in fear of cultural opposition and embraced political correctness over absolute truth. Granted, nowhere in the Bible does it say, "Thou shalt not say, 'Happy Holidays' in place of 'Merry Christmas,'" but the Bible does have a lot to say regarding topics like abortion, which our culture would describe as controversial, wrong, or up for debate.
Make no mistake, there are hot-button, cultural issues which God's Word does not apologize for its firm position nor bend to appease the opposition, and abortion is one of them.
Therefore, when Mark Hall challenges us (in a Christmas carol, nevertheless) to consider whether our nation places more emphasis on the preservation of trees than the preservation of life, we must stop and reflect whether we have actually been lulled to sleep by post-modernistic thinking which aims to shift our personal truth from absolute to relative.
Do we believe the Bible allows for abortion even under unfortunate circumstances?
Does the Bible truly say marriage is intended for 1 man and 1 woman?
Is premarital sex really a sin if the two people love each other and intend one day to marry?
There are an infinite amount of questions we could propose which force us to weigh our theology very carefully, yet ultimately we are held accountable for what we believe is true and false.
Therefore, as we listen to O Little Town of Bethlehem or While You Were Sleeping, may we be reminded of a parable Jesus once taught which epitomizes why it is so important we remember to spiritually stay awake, well prepared, and on guard so as not to miss the forest through the trees this Christmas season, both literally and figuratively.
"Then the kingdom of heaven will be like ten virgins who took their lamps and went to meet the bridegroom. Five of them were foolish, and five were wise. For when the foolish took their lamps, they took no oil with them, but the wise took flasks of oil with their lamps. As the bridegroom was delayed, they all became drowsy and slept. But at midnight there was a cry, ‘Here is the bridegroom! Come out to meet him.’ Then all those virgins rose and trimmed their lamps. And the foolish said to the wise, ‘Give us some of your oil, for our lamps are going out.’ But the wise answered, saying, ‘Since there will not be enough for us and for you, go rather to the dealers and buy for yourselves.’ And while they were going to buy, the bridegroom came, and those who were ready went in with him to the marriage feast, and the door was shut. Afterward the other virgins came also, saying, ‘Lord, lord, open to us.’ But he answered, ‘Truly, I say to you, I do not know you.’ Watch therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour" (Matthew 25:1–13).
