I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day

Artwork:
Guerilla Warfare by Albert Bierstadt, (1862) is an oil on canvas in the Luminist style. Marked by a certain rendering of light as a uniform glow that infuses the entire scene, Bierstadt depicts the soldiers’ readiness in the foreground in juxtaposition to the peaceful landscape in the background.

Carol Text: Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, 1863;
Carol Melody: John Calkin, 1872
Piano accompaniment by Lezlie Taguding

I heard the bells on Christmas day
Their old familiar carols play;
In music sweet the tones repeat,
“There’s peace on earth, good will to men.”

And in despair I bowed my head:
“There is no peace on earth,” I said,
“For hate is strong, and mocks the song
Of peace on earth, good will to men.”

Then pealed the bells more loud and deep:
“God is not dead, nor does He sleep,
For Christ is here; His Spirit near
Brings peace on earth, good will to men.”

When men repent and turn from sin
The Prince of Peace then enters in,
And grace imparts within their hearts
His peace on earth, good will to men.

“I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.”

- John 16:33

Advent Devotional


Peace on earth, good will to men, this was the message given by angels to the shepherds in Luke 2:14 (KJV) upon the birth of Christ. Yet as poet Henry Wordsworth Longfellow bemoaned in his 1863 poem, I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day, “peace on earth, goodwill to men,” appeared to be a fanciful dream.  

The American Civil War was raging, a war in which more Americans would die than all other American wars combined. As well, Longfellow himself mourned the tragic death of his wife two years earlier in a house fire and the fact that his son had recently been severely wounded in battle. Where was the “peace” proclaimed by the angels of Bethlehem?

But God entered into Long- fellow’s despair as he heard the ringing of the church bells on Christmas Day and was reminded of the message of hope that comes from the Prince of Peace. It was Jesus Christ the realist who stated, “In this world you will have trouble,” yet who also proclaimed, “But take heart; I have overcome the world!” and “in Me you will have peace.” (John 16:33).

Longfellow responded to the gentle reminder of the bells by writing, “God is not dead, nor does He sleep, For Christ is here; His Spirit near… When men repent and turn from sin The Prince of Peace then enters in. And grace imparts within their hearts His peace on earth, good will to men.”

Are you discouraged by the conflict in the world, the hatred in our society or personal losses and disappointment? If so, listen for the bells of Christmas and take heart, for the One who loved us enough to enter into our world of pain and suffering has overcome the world!

Prayer

Dear Jesus,
in the midst of a fallen and
broken world,
thank You for
entering into my life with
Your grace and peace.

Help me to pass that
peace and goodwill to others
during this season of Advent.

Amen


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Joel Woodruff

Joel Woodruff, President, C.S. Lewis Institute, has worked in higher education, “tent-making,” nonprofit administration, and pastoral ministries in Alaska, Israel, Hungary, France, and Northern Virginia. He served as Dean of Students, Chaplain, and Professor of Bible & Theology at European Bible Institute, where he helped train Europeans both for professional ministry and to be Christian leaders in the marketplace. Prior to joining the Institute, he was on the leadership team of Oakwood Services International, a nonprofit educational and humanitarian organization. He is a graduate of Wheaton College, earned his M.Div. from Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary, and has a doctorate in Organizational Leadership from Nova Southeastern University. As a Parish-Pulpit Fellow, he studied Biblical Backgrounds & Archaeology in Israel for a year.

 
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