No Sacrilege Intended
by Not Sure
22 December 2024
In simplest
terms, Advent is the season of waiting and preparing for, and
celebrating Jesus’ birth and the return of Christ at the Second Coming. The Passion is that short, final period
before Jesus’ death. A dictionary tells
us that ‘passion’ is "the sufferings of Christ on the Cross; the death of
Christ," from Old French passion "Christ's passion, physical
suffering", from Late Latin passionem
(nominative passio) "suffering, enduring,"
from past-participle stem of Latin pati "to
endure, undergo, experience," a word of uncertain origin. The notion is
"that which must be endured."
Today is the
fourth Sunday of Advent, but I was reminded of the Oberammergau Passion Play in
Bavaria which has been running since 1633, when villagers vowed to perform a
play every ten years if God would spare them from the bubonic plague. In 1770, all passion plays in Bavaria were
banned by the Ecclesiastical Council of the Elector, Maximillian Joseph, at the
behest of the Catholic Church. It was
reinstated in 1780, after it was purged of all that was ‘objectionable and
unseemly.’
Since the
1980s, the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) has supervised many revisions of the
play but still finds that its tone is antisemitic. Here is a 2010 headline from the ADL,
“Despite Changes, Oberammergau Continues To Transmit
Negative Stereotypes Of Jews.” This
article states that despite improvements, the ‘production portrays Jews as
bloodthirsty, vengeful, greedy, and as the prime movers of the Crucifixion.’
This week,
the Church of England sent an email to clergy in the Birmingham diocese about
the need to alter Advent hymns so the festive season could be celebrated
‘without causing unnecessary offence.’
“O Come, O Come, Emmanuel” was singled out, as was “Lo, He Comes With Clouds Descending,” said to be a favorite of Queen
Victoria.
I thought it
might be a good exercise to rewrite a hymn or two and see if I could provide
safe, woke, and inclusive lyrics that would be offensive to no one. I fear that I have failed and my offering
will not be pleasing to the CofE or the ADL.
I’ll sign off by wishing you all, on the 25th of December, a
‘nice day.’
O Little Town of Bethlehem:
Re-Envisioned
O little town of Bethlehem
When will our occupiers fly?
Above our fearful, tossing sleep
The silent stars go by
Yet in thy dark streets shineth
An IDF torch so bright
The hopes and plans of all the years
Are dashed right here tonight
In the Talmud a slut named Mary
And a sorcerer from above
While mortals sleep, the sorcerers
keep
Boiling excrement, for Jesus they’ll
shove.
The morning star is Lucifer
He hates this Holy Birth
He sings his praise to earthly kings
No Peace for men on earth.
How silently, how silently
We spurn what’s freely given!
Evil removes from human hearts
Remembrance of His Heaven.
No ear may hear His coming,
But in this world of sin,
Where meek souls will receive him
still,
The dear Christ enters in.
O holy Child of Bethlehem
Descend to us, we pray
Cast out our sin and enter in
Be born to us today
We hear the Christmas angels
The great glad tidings tell
O come to us, abide with us
Our Lord Emmanuel
© Not Sure
Additional
reading/viewing:
Despite Changes, Oberammergau Continues to Transmit Negative Stereotypes of Jews
The Oberammergau Passion Play
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=woVOraMCVgs
O Come, All Ye Wokeful! Now CAROLS are censored by Church of England so they don't upset other faiths