The Rebel Jesus

All the streets are filled with laughter and light   And the music of the season     And the merchants’ windows are all bright   With the faces of the children   And the families hurrying to their homes   As the sky darkens and freezes      Will be gathering around their hearths and tables   Giving thanks for God’s graces      And the birth of the rebel Jesus.               Well they call him by The Prince of Peace   And they call him by The Savior      And they pray to him upon the seas   And in every bold endeavor   And they fill his churches with their pride and gold   As their faith in him increases         But they’ve turned the nature that I worship in    From a temple to "a robbers’ den"   In the words of the rebel Jesus.   Instrumental We guard our world with locks and guns   And we guard our fine possessions    And once a year when Christmas comes   We give to our relations   And perhaps we give a little to the poor   If the generosity should seize us But if any one of us should interfere   In the business of why they are poor   They get the same as the rebel Jesus.                  But pardon me if I have seemed   To take the tone of judgment   For I’ve no wish to come between   This day and your enjoyment.   In this life of hardship and of earthly toil   There’s a need for anything that frees us      So I bid you pleasure and I bid you cheer From a heathen and a pagan      On the side of the rebel Jesus.   Instrumental