So here comes one you don’t expect from me, a rendition of a Basque Christmas carol by the rock singer Sting.

The text is the story of the annunciation. The Angel Gabriel comes to tell Mary that she will be the mother of Jesus.

The Angel Gabriel from Heaven came
His wings as drifted snow
His eyes as flame
“All Hail!” said he, “thou lowly maiden Mary,
Most Highly Favoured Lady,”
Gloria!

I have always found this carol haunting, and I guess so did Sting. He considers himself an agnostic, one who does not know of there is a God or not. Yet he admits an openness to what is beyond. He wrote, “I’ve chosen to live my life without the ‘certainties’ of faith, but I do maintain a great reverence for the mystery and wonder of our existence.” Some religious scholars have noted the way religious images, symbols, and stories influence his music. That was certainly true in his 2009 album “If on a Winter’s Night” which includes a number of Christmas carols.

I am always amazed at the way music, art, and storytelling can get deep messages across in a way that lecturing people or bossing them around or threatening them leaves them unmoved. The few times I have been transported to realms beyond ordinary existence, it has been through music. You never know how God is going to communicate. After all, one day an angel spoke to a young woman named Mary who replied, “To me be as it pleaseth God.”

Gloria!

Read Luke 1:26-38 and remember: God loves YOU unconditionally.

Wayne