Why Christmas Music Matters so Much

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Welcome to engaging truth. I'm your host, Matt Popov ITZ. And with me on the show today is singer songwriter recording artist, Melanie Penn, and she's here to talk to us, butter, Christmas albums, and the importance of Christmas music in a time like this. Melanie, welcome to engaging truth. It's great to have you with

Us. It's so nice to be here, Matt.

So Melanie, um, tell us about your, your Christmas album Emmanuel. What's the, what's the, what's the message behind this album and, and what's the story behind the making of this album?

Well, Emmanuel is an original singer songwriter album and it's 10 original songs about the Christmas story from the Bible. And it's all of the songs are written from the first person perspective of a character within the Bible story. So the album starts with the prophet, Isaiah singing a song, and it moves on to the angel Gabriel singing, a song and the Virgin Mary singing a song. And it ends with the in keep who has an opportunity to take in the holy family on Christmas.

So how did this idea come to you? Did you just wake couple in morning and say, I need to write a Christmas album, cuz that's what singer songwriters do or was there a, is there a story of greater inspiration behind this?

Um, well I wrote it, I started writing it in 2016 during the holidays. It was a very difficult year for me and it, it was such a rough year that I actually spent most of the Christmas season in 2016 and solitude. And one day I just started writing a song about following a star. It came about in a really organic way. Like I was writing a song about following a star in the sky and hoping you were headed in the right direction. And then I realized as the song was coming out, that it was about the wise men <affirmative> and hold on, I have to cough.

Hmm. So I realized, I was like, wow, I just wrote a song from the perspective of the wise men following the star of Bethlehem. That's so weird. And then a couple weeks later I wrote another song from the perspective of one of the shepherds being told by the angels that the Christ child had been born. And again, in that mysterious way that sometimes artists encounter, I was like, this is so weird what's happening. And before I knew it, I had written quite a few songs from the Bible Christmas story and decided to record them. So I really don't have any explanation for it. I think the album came as a gift from God and I followed the holy Spirit's inspiration and I'm really grateful that God chose to give the album to me.

So had to summarize the album and it's it's message. And it's meaning in just like a word or two. What, what words might you use?

You mean other than the title of the album Manuel? Well,

Well for the that's great, great, great, well, great point for those who don't know what that word means. What does that word mean?

I think, I think the album, I think it's human. It's a very human album. It's a reminder. The people that we are so familiar with from the Christmas story were human beings like us and they had to encounter Christ for the first time, just like we do. And so it's a very human album and incarnation is another word I would use for it very much about what actually happened when and heaven visited earth and the God of the earth visited earth, uh, in flesh and blood. What did that mean? That's what the albums about.

Well, and, and that's what the title speaks to, right? I mean, because you know, Iman UL means quite literally God with us, God, with, with human beings now, now, so you, the album began in 2016. We, we, we, we now we now find ourselves in 2020, we now find, we now find ourselves in 2020 and, um, 2020 is a very different year than 2016 because of global pandemics and different things. Um, my, my question to you is how is, how is this album important and its message for people who have endured what for some has been the craziest if not most difficult year of their life.

Oh my gosh, Matt, there are so many ways to answer that question. Um, I think one, one way to answer it is we, we have been focused this year on an invisible threat. You know, there's something in the air that could keep us apart and threaten us and make us sick. And on the same side of that, I want people to know that there are also invisible things. God has given us like music. You can't see it, it travels through the air and yet it's so beautifying and can help bring wellness and harmony. And so I hope that music is a little bit of a cultural antidote to all of this, um, all that we've had to deal with in terms of COVID and being afraid. So I would hope that music is sent across the airwaves as a way to give people courage and strength and hope that there is wellness and healing. Um, and I also think just any way to encounter the Christmas story this year, you know, Christ never socially distanced from us. You know, there was absolutely nothing. There was nothing that could have possibly threatened Christ to the extent that he would've distanced himself from us. And so to see all that Christ took on all the threats, all the pain and sorrow, and he still chose to draw near to us. I think that Christmas had as a profound meaning for us. It always does, but even more this year,

That is so beautiful in, in, in a year where we have been encouraged to be distant from one another, uh, for the sake of our safety, we are celebrating in this advent season and Christmas season, we're, we're celebrating a God who refused to be distant from us and who came near to us in order to save us. And, and also I love what you said. We we've been, we've been facing this invisible threat and yet we have this God who is in person and in flesh and became, became visible to the world. Right. Uh, the contrast couldn't be more clear. Um, yeah, yeah, this is, this is the message of hope that we need this year of all years. Um, Melanie, I, I know that this, this next question might be like asking someone to choose like, which of their children is their favorite children. But if you had to choose a song on this album, uh, for those who are listening to this interview right now, and they're currently like scrolling on their phone, looking to, uh, right. Purchase this album or stream it on their favorite streaming platform, which song is the one that if you had to pick just one, you were like, okay, you gotta listen to this one.

Well, I, I do love them all. I must say, I think Isaiah's song, which is the first track of the album is always like a crowd pleaser. It's such a cool, like groovy kind of track. And people really love that one. It's called love coming down. And it's written from the perspective of Isaiah. And then if I could throw another one in there, I really love Joseph's song. It's a song called what child is this? And in that song, know what child is? This is the refrain from a very familiar Christmas Carol, but on Emmanuel, what child is, this is the question that Joseph asks just of, of, you know, of, of himself. He kind of like casted in the air. Like what child is this when Mary's lap asleep? Like what just happened? And that whole song is kind of a meditation of Joseph after the Christ child has been born and kind of trying to take it all in. Hmm.

Melanie, you know, this year has, has been a year of, uh, of difficulty for everybody. Um, you know, knowing you and, and chatting with you. It's, it's, it's been a, it's been a, a difficult year for, for you two, just like everybody else facing this virus and, and all the things that, that it is kind of forced upon our lives. Um, as you head into the advent season and the Christmas season, um, what, what are you hoping to draw out of this season of, uh, of hope and promise, um, as you wrap up your 2020

Gosh, great question. You know, we should, I, I, so often I think Christmas is like the celebration at the end of the year and you get your week off between Christmas and new year's and you finally like settle down and reflect. I can't remember even culturally, I think all of us as a culture are bringing a lot of grief into the Christmas season. And I wonder if that's actually the most appropriate we've ever been coming into advent. Like if you look at the period of time when Christ was born, um, the Israelites were not free. You know, there was so much cultural unrest, there was, uh, so much like threat of war, uh, totally unstable time. And so I think that they probably brought a lot of grief into their Christmas experience. I, I mean, I know that they did so in some ways I hope to identify with, um, the original Christmas or way more than ever, and just look to ultimate hope, which is Christ coming back again for good to, uh, to make everything right again. Yeah,

Yeah. And you know, it, you mentioned that this is, you know, the, the, the end of the year as it, as it pertains to, uh, to our cultural calendar, but when it comes to the church calendar, this, this season, the advent season marks the start of the year. And perhaps for those who are, who are listening, uh, who, who do, who are part of the Christian faith and the Christian tradition, it's a good reminder, but also those who are outside of it, it's a good invitation that, that, that we orient the start of our time of our lives as people of faith around this arrival of Jesus. And so the, the, the arrival of Jesus and also the return of Jesus to, to, to finish off what he started for good and, and, and, and make all things forever new. We, we, we begin our time.

We begin our year oriented around that truth. That that is the beginning for us. And, and, and, and not only the end for us, but, but it is the beginning for us. And, and we frame our time around the promise that Christ has come and Christ has promised to come again and to, and to arrive again, Melanie, um, uh, did you grow up singing Christmas songs? Did you grow up, um, um, making much of, of, uh, the, of the music of the season when, when you were a kid, is this something that, that, uh, has been a part of your life? Um, since the very beginning, did you come from a musical background?

Well, I fun enough the very first time I ever sang in public was as in church, on Christmas Eve, I sang once in Royal David city, I was six years old. It was a solo, the church where I grew up, had a balcony. I stood at the edge of the balcony, and they like shown a spotlight on my little 60 year old self. And I sang at Christmas Carol and the whole congregation had to like turn around and gaze up at the balcony at me singing. And I thought, Ooh, I could get used to this. And I wonder, I wonder if in that moment, actually, God kind of planted the seed. And like, my role as the singer in Christmas would be fundamental not only to me career wise, but to whatever my ministry is to others in music. Um, Christmas has become an anchor point and I love every year going to so many cities and singing the Christmas story. Usually I get to do it live in person, you know? Um, but it's really, it's, it's just my favorite, my favorite time. And I think one of the most important tasks that God has given me as a singer,

Just a reminder that you're listening to engaging truth. I'm your host, Matt Popovits. And with me on the show today is singer songwriter, Melanie Penn. We're talking about her Chris, this album, Manuel, and just the importance and the power of Christmas music, not just any year, but this year in particular, uh, Melanie, where can people go to, to find out more about you and your music or, or perhaps to purchase or, or, or, or stream, uh, your Emmanuel album?

Well, my website is very simple. It's Melanie Penn, the, just my name and on Instagram, I'm also at Melanie Penn and I'm on all the platforms where you find music like apple music and Spotify. There's CDs on my website. Um, yeah, I'm findable online.

So we we've talked about, about your music and I'm, I'm a bit hesitant to, to, to plug other people's music while we're plugging yours. But I have to ask you, like, what, what is your go to other than, you know, the music that you've been inspired to write and sing and record? What is your go to Christmas recording Christmas music that just like fills you with all the feels and, and keeps you encouraged this time of you year?

That's a great question. So I do love Andrew Peterson's behold, the lamb album. Um, that's an album that's now I think in its 26th year of life, I think he wrote it about 26 years ago. Um, or is it 16 years ago? There's either a one or a two in that equation.

It's been a while, no matter what, it's been a while.

Hey, Andrew, you're older than me, so I love Andrew's album. And then I really love like all the old school music from the fifties, like white Christmas, like sing Crosby, all those CROs from the fifties, you did old Christmas music holes, and that'll just get me every time.

What about one of the, uh, is, is there, is there an, uh, a Christmas hymn that you grew up singing in the church that has like, like a particular line or phrase that has some like deep resonance for you that that might be for our listeners, like a good kind of glimpse of the, the hope and the, and the meaning and the, the power of the Christmas message, um, uh, uh, uh, in its entirety. Like, so, so for example, for example, for example, the line that always stands out to me that whenever I think of Christmas music in church, um, uh, is the line of thrill of hope, a weary world, rejoices for yonder break, a new and glorious Mo mourn. I love that line, a thrill of hope and a weary world rejoices. There is, there is celebration for weary people, right? Um, that's what, that's what Christmas is. And Christ then comes. And he says, I'm gonna give rest to your soul. I'm gonna be the fulfillment of Psalm 23. I'm gonna revive souls and lead you to stillwaters and green pastures. Um, that that's what comes to mind for me. Is there, is there a, a particular song of the church and even more so like a particular line phrase idea for one of those songs that really really encapsulates the message, meaning and power of Christmas music for you?

Well, okay. This is a nerdy response. So if you've got any nerdy listeners out there, it's a little bit of an obscure Anglican it's called every stone shall cry. No, it's called a stable lamp is lighted. Okay. So go to YouTube, Google it. And there's all these English choirs singing it. It's not very well known, but some people might be familiar with it if they happen to grow up in the Anglican church. Mm-hmm <affirmative>. But the, the first verse says a stable lamp is lighted. Who's glow shall Pierce the sky. The stars shall bend their voices and every stone shall cry. And it's just the whole Carol kind of is looking ahead, like, doesn't stay in the moment of Christmas. Every single line looks forward to the cross. And so it's, it's like the entire Jesus story, like his entire life bundled into one. Carol.

I love it. That's great. I love it. So, Melanie, this has been, uh, a different Christmas season for you, you know, usually you're, you're, you're touring and, um, you know, playing concerts kind of around the country, uh, helping people's celebrate advent and Christmas, uh, by, uh, by sharing your album with them. Um, this has been, this has been different for you COVID is, has, has really, really kept you away from a lot of those concerts, right? What's that, what's that been like for you?

Yeah, it's hard to not just feel grounded. It's like, so God did you ground you grounded me. Um, I, you know, I, I'm trying to, instead of thinking about things that have been taken away, I'm trying to think about things that I've been given. So like, yes, touring got taken away this year and the kind of fundamental things about my life, like singing for people and gathering people together. My life is built on that, but on the other hand, I was given a lot of time with my parents in quarantine. My dad is, uh, in his eighties and struggling with cancer. So I've been given the moments with him that I don't think I ever would've taken time out to spend so much time with him, uh, as he kind of nears, um, the end of his life. And I've been given time in nature, I've been given so many long walks, so much time to write songs.

So I say this all with an asterisk, because I know, especially my friends with, you know, young kids and they're suddenly like homeschooling all day and life has become a lot more hectic and chaotic. Um, my is a little different my life kind of ground to a stop. So I am trying to see that as a gift, no matter what we think with our natural view, uh, this has God is always giving us gifts. So it's important for us to see with our supernatural eyes, what is God doing? What is God giving to us? What's on the other side of this. And every day I try to root myself in that effort.

Hmm. That, that is a, that is a really important reminder that in, in every, if God is sovereign overall things, uh, meaning if, if he is the, the one in charge of all the things, uh, that, that, that means that even in the bad things, he's in charge. And if he's also good, it means that even in the bad things, he's working good and there's there there's gifts to be seen. Right. Um, yeah. Yeah. And one of the things, you know, as, uh, as a pastor, one of the things that, that I have to remind myself, but then also remind my people is, you know, we always talk about, and we, and we pray for, you know, Lord, you know, help us make the most of this life that we've been given by you and, and to, to live, you could say even an interesting life.

Well, the things that make a life interesting, the things that give us the characteristics we ultimately want to have, and, and the things that, that, that make it, the page Turner we wanna be are the things we'd never choose to go through. Right. Mm sounds true. And, and we, we can't say Lord, help me to see all the blessings and help me to have the Christlike and help me to make the most of this one life you've given me before enter eternity, um, without also embracing all the things that we would never choose on our own, that, that actually make all those other things possible. You know? And so as we, as we go through difficult things like this year, we have to, we have to look and find Lord, what might you be doing? And creating and, and bringing about through all this stuff. That, that to me looks like pain. And to me looks like only turmoil,

Right? That's right. That's right. I mean, I think, you know, Jesus and the disciples in the boat when the storm comes and Jesus is like, and what we think about in that story is Jesus calming the storm. And now we're in a storm and all we want is for Jesus to like, bring peace to it, please calm the storm. But if you see that story through Jesus and the disciples are actually going somewhere, when they get to the other side, when they get to the shore, all these people get healed. All these people get delivered. Jesus raises a girl from the dead and it's like, okay, we're in the storm. This is the resistance to where we are going. They all have a lot of God's work to do on the other side. And so we just have to endure and hold on,

Melanie, what might you say to the person who's listening right now, uh, for whom, you know, the Christian faith, uh, maybe isn't a big part of their life. Um, you know, they, they perhaps don't even consider themselves a Christian. Maybe they kind of grew up nominally Christian, but, but they like Christmas <laugh> and you know, they're gonna be attentive to all the things of Christmas, especially, you know, the songs and the gifts and all those things. Um, if you, if you couldn't encourage them to, to have their, their heart or mind open to any other aspect of Christmas this year, um, so that, so that they might experience the fullness of it, um, what might you encourage them to be looking for or listening for this time of year?

I think I would encourage anyone to just stop and ask why. So here we are 2000 years later talking about a very obscure birth that happened in a very remote part of the world. And there's really nowhere. You can go on earth that someone is not familiar with this story, even, even cultures that aren't really predominantly Christian, uh, they know what Christmas is. And so I would just encourage anyone. Who's never really stopped to think about it. It's like, why are we still talking about it 2000 years later? It must be true. It must be because it's true because lives don't actually last that long. And so I would just encourage someone to ask why has it stood the test of time? Um, and what is the plausibility of it not being true and, and lasting that long? Hmm. Yeah. Like it doesn't, it doesn't get smaller. It grows. So <laugh>, I think, uh, I think I'd want any skeptic to just stop and wonder about that and then see what happens next. Yeah.

Yeah. Why has this story endured? Why does it resonate so deeply? And, and what does it mean for me if this is not just a great story to rehearse and celebrate, but a story that's actually true? What are the implications for me? Am I really that loved? Does God really care that much? Did God really come this close? And if he did, then maybe he deserves just a little bit more of my time and my intention and my devotion and my heart. Maybe, maybe Melanie, we've got just, just about 30 seconds left. So, um, and so I, I'm just gonna throw one last little question at you. Um, what is your favorite Christmas song of all time?

Oh, there's no question. Uh, blue Christmas by Elvis, really blue Christmas. I mean, I, I know I just kind of did a 180 talking about the beauty of the Christmas story. Uh, but I mean, I just think blue Christmas is a great song, so I hope that's okay.

It's it's anything by Elvis is okay. I'm a big Elvis fan. That's great. That's great. I'm just, I'm just, I'm just a bit surprised. That's awesome.

Cause of it. And of course, joy to the world. I mean, joy to the world you quoted, oh, holy night. When you talked about wine, I, I did, but joy to the world. This is why I don't know if many people know that joy to the world is actually a hymn about the second coming.

Yes. Yes. It's not technically a Christmas song.

No. Yeah, but we sing Christmas. And so it's almost like the best Christmas song because it's reminding us that, uh, there's gonna be another Christmas. Uh, and we don't know when. Awesome.

Well, Melanie Penn, I hope you, I hope you do not have a blue Christmas, but instead that, that you have a, a joyful one and I'm so thankful that you joined us here on engaging truth.

Thank you so much for having me. God bless everybody.

And thank you for listening. We hope you'll join us next time. Right here. Same time, same channel on engaging truth.

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