A new Cornerstone for the Christmas songbook

Easter-inspired song reminds us ‘Christ came to dispel the darkness and show us the path of lasting peace’

“O the stone that the builders rejected became the cornerstone of a whole new world.”

Those are the words of the thrilling choral refrain of Cornerstone, a song by Shawn Kirchner, a composer based in Los Angeles.

It’s funny how certain songs or traditions somehow become part of our Christmas rituals. I fortuitously heard Cornerstone sung by the Trinity Western University choirs at their Christmas at the Chan concert on the first Sunday of Advent this year.

Dr. Joel Tranquilla had just taken the orchestra and choirs through an exciting concert. The dazzling program of Christmas music had included works by Respighi, Tchaikovsky, Berlioz, and Canadian composers David Squires and Timothy Corlis, as well as familiar Christmas carols.

But now Tranquilla stood facing the audience at the Chan Centre for the Performing Arts as they rose to their feet after the last piece (See Amid the Winter’s Snow by John Goss, arranged by Dan Forrest).

Thanking the performers with a standing ovation, the applause continued for a while, but eventually Tranquilla raised his index finger and mouthed the question, “One more?”

There’s something special about hearing an encore, because the printed concert program cannot let you know in advance what it may be. In this case, the unexpected encore was Cornerstone, which was especially surprising, because it isn’t the traditional Christmas carol with which a conductor might conclude.

Nonetheless, if the goal of an encore is to send people on their way with a hummable delight, then Cornerstone is a perfect choice. I know now that I will forever associate this song with Christmas.

If you missed Trinity Western’s wonderful concert at the Chan Centre, I can tell you two things. First, don’t miss it next year. (The concert has long been a tradition at the Chan, taking place on the first Sunday of December.)

Second, you can get a good sense of how uplifting it is to hear a live choir singing Cornerstone by finding the right version on YouTube. I recommend you watch the rendition by Loma Linda Academy, which shows a high school choir entering into the spirit of the song. (Trinity Western’s university students are even better, but that’s why I said you need to make the annual visit to the Chan one of your Christmas rituals.)

Kirchner notes on his website that Cornerstone was conceived as “an inspirational Easter piece in contemporary gospel style.” But, as he also notes, the text of the song “makes it suitable in many settings and throughout the year.”

I myself find the song is particularly fitting at Christmastime. The proclamation of peace and reconciliation is a message we may overlook as just another ornament of Christmas.

But this message is essential. It’s the reason for the season. Cornerstone has a verse that reminds us Christ came to dispel the darkness and to show us the path of lasting peace:

“Never shall our journey fail;
 A little child shall lead the way
 Whose eyes are filled with a shining light,
 To whom the night is bright as day.”

The song reminds me that Jesus was rejected both at the beginning of his life (no room at the inn) and at the end (on the cross). And yet, despite this constant rejection, the truth remains.

Moreover, it is only on the basis of truth that a lasting peace can be multiplied in the world:

“A grain of wheat may be knocked to the ground
 And suffer through the winter’s cold
 Only to rise right up again
 And bear its seed a thousandfold.”

Despite our need for truth as the foundation of peace, there is so much disinformation in the world today. The result is that the truth is crucified again and again.

I see it daily, whether it’s in the unscientific denial of climate change, or in the insane apocalyptic attacks on Pope Francis, or in the conspiracy theories propagated by politicians in order to make citizens surrender to authoritarian solutions.

As the Rand Corporation characterized it (in a 2016 study that is even more relevant today), there is a “firehose of falsehood” at work in the world. One of the best ways to counter this propaganda, they said, is to “find ways to help put raincoats on those at whom the firehose of falsehood is being directed.”

This is British Columbia, so yes, I will literally be wearing a raincoat this December. But, in my pursuit of peace, I will also be humming those songs that sing of the essence of Christmas.