I heard the bells on Christmas Day
Their old familiar carols play,
And wild and sweet
The words repeat, Of 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 doth he sleep!
The wrong shall fail,
The right prevail,
With peace on earth, good-will to men!”
From “Christmas Bells” by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
It was Christmas of 1864, a time when the nation was divided.
The Civil War, which was in no way civil, had brought such suffering to families on both sides of the struggle.
It would be four more months before Robert E. Lee surrendered to Ulysses S. Grant at the Appomattox Courthouse. American poet Henry Wadsworth Longfellow’s heart was heavy as he grieved the state of his country and remembered the way things had been just a few years earlier.
His wife Fanny had lost her life in a tragic fire soon after the war began, and not long after her death, he received the news that his oldest son had been seriously wounded in battle.
These were the words of a faithful man who was in the middle of a not exactly merry Christmas situation.
His poem “Christmas Bells” was later set to music as “I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day.”
It has never really been on my short list of favorites until this year. I have only quoted three of seven verses, but I can just imagine this man remembering the good old days when the future seemed bright, secure, and certain.
It is easy to identify with his sadness and anxiety as I open my newspaper or click the breaking news on my I-pad every morning.
Let’s just be honest about this. Despair is not the emotion we want to display at Christmas.
We want to inject ourselves into those Hallmark movies or Norman Rockwell prints with the snow and mistletoe and smiling faces of those we love arm in arm with us.
We want the “happily ever after romantic experience. You know – chestnuts roasting and sleigh bells ringing.
The truth is pain is never completely absent even as we observe this season that is advertised as peace, joy, and good will.
I love Longfellow’s honesty – the fact that as he perceives the world around him in the present moment he documents it, “Hate is strong and MOCKS the song of Peace on earth, good will to men.”
I get that because I see that, too. It makes me sad in the same way it must have made him sad.
I am maybe the most non-confrontational person you will ever meet. I like peace and harmony in my family, in my relationships, and in my world.
I do not like the division, the vitriol, and the cynicism that screams at me from every news outlet on every digital device I own these days.
Longfellow’s final verses leave me with hope as well as a reminder of God’s truth.
By the way, I have recently heard among the elite media the terms, “My truth” and “Your truth.”
Thanks, but I will just stick with the original definition of the word, the one that is rooted in the Word of God.
We Believers know, but it never hurts to be reminded.
“God is not dead, nor doth he sleep. The wrong shall fail, the right prevail, with peace on earth, good-will to men!”
I believe that completely although I am so not sure what the in-between time may look like..
Christ is Lord. Hallelujah. He shall reign forever and ever.
We can lay our heads on our pillows at night and sleep in total peace knowing that
He is ruling and reigning and that nothing will come to us that He has not allowed.
He will forever supply the divine grace and resources we need to meet every personal challenge – whether it is grief, anxiety, or something else.
And whatever the something else may be – let’s just remember well that it is temporary.
Merry Christmas!
