An Advent Mixtape
Note: This was originally published in the Dec. 8 edition of Woodmont Christian Church’s newsletter InSpire
In the whirling dervish that is Christmas season, music is one of the main things that ground me. I spend a lot of time in late November making different Christmas mixtapes (technically they are playlists but “mixtapes” sounds cooler) for different moods.
My Advent playlist is a little different from the others. It still features carols but it also dips outside to non-Christmas music songs that capture the longing, the tension, and the hope for light in the darkness that marks this time of waiting. Since we are in the midst of that season, I figured that I would share the songs from this mixtape with you.
1. “What Child is This?” by Vince Guaraldi Trio
Truthfully, the whole playlist could be the soundtrack from A Charlie Brown Christmas. It perfectly captures that wistfulness, melancholy, and quiet hope of this season.
2. “Come Thou Long Expected Jesus” by Future of Forestry
What I love about this version of the beautiful Advent hymn is the way that it sounds so cinematic. We hear the Christmas story so much that we forget what a sweeping and epic tale it is.
3. “My Hope is You” by Third Day
This is where we begin to get into the four themes of Advent. This is a simple praise chorus from when I was in youth group that still resonates with me. “My hope is You / Show me Your ways / Guide me in truth / In all my days.”
4. “Your Peace Will Make Us One” by Audrey Assad
Assad takes the tune of “Battle Hymn of the Republic” and subverts it with prophetic lyrics about God’s coming peace. “Mine eyes have seen the glory of the coming of the Lord / You are speaking truth to power / You are laying down our swords / Replanting every vineyard / ’Til a brand new wine is poured / Your peace will make us one.”
5. “Sigh No More” by Mumford and Sons
“Love, it will not betray you / Dismay or enslave you / It will set you free / Be more like the man you were made to be.”
6. “Joyful, Joyful” by The Brilliance
Ah, I just love this song. Also if you want to kick the joy up another notch, you can slot in the version from the Sister Act 2: Back in the Habit soundtrack.
7. “O Come, O Come Emmanuel” by Sufjan Stevens
Stevens probably has about a half dozen version of this Advent carol. The version on my present mix is a haunting piano instrumental that takes us to the mix’s back half.
8. “Breath of Heaven (Mary’s Song)” by Amy Grant
Growing up, my mom often sang this examination of Mary grappling with the great responsibility of carrying the Christ child and it just wrecks me every time. “Help me be strong / Help me be / Help me.”
9. “The Earth Stood Still” by Future of Forestry
Again, back to the epic scope of what the Incarnation meant to creation. “The hope of the world and a baby boy / I remember him well like I was there that night / My heart was there and I felt the chill / When love came down and the earth stood still.”
10. “13 (There is a Light)” by U2
A lullaby of a song that reminds us that “darkness always gathers around the light” and we should never let that light go out.
11. “May You Find a Light (Reprise)” by The Brilliance
“Lost and weary traveler / Searching for the way to go / Stranger, heavy-hearted / Longing for someone you know / May you find a light / May you find a light to guide you home.”
12. “Hark! The Herald Angels Sing” by Vince Guaraldi Trio
My favorite thing about the final scene of A Charlie Brown Christmas is the way that the characters all have their eyes completely craned to the heavens so you can only see their mouths proclaiming glory to the newborn king. May our focus similarly be on the God who came to be with us. Merry Advent!
