A Post for Christmas

One of my favorite Christmas carols is "I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day." It goes like this:

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 thought how, as the day had come,
The belfries of all Christendom
Had rolled along the unbroken song
Of peace on earth, good will to men.

Till ringing, singing on its way
The world revolved from night to day,
A voice, a chime, a chant sublime
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.”

I love it because it's sort of melancholy and sad. It doesn't seem like most Christmas carols, and, according to my uncle, part of the reason for that is that it was written during the Civil War, a time when peace seemed so far from us all, a time when fear must have been the most prevalent feeling.

I know we don't often think of it this way, but fear is really a big part of Christmas. The fear of the shepherds, the wisemen, Mary and Joseph. Our own fear in confronting the thought of God taking on human form, the Word made flesh. That thought, that thought alone is enough to cause fear.

Though there is great strength in the coming of the Savior and the possibility of forgiveness, there is also fear. The shepherds knew about that kind of fear. As I learned in church yesterday, the Greek translation says they were "afraid with a great fear."

How fearful is that? Afraid with a great fear. Just to say it makes me feel for them, how scared they must have been. Afraid while standing in the presence of angels who were surrounded by the glory of God.

And yet, that is not the whole story. The whole story is that the angels brought glad tidings of joy. The whole story is that the shepherds, though fearful, were about to encounter the only thing that would bring them true and lasting peace, as they chose to venture away from their fields to seek Jesus.

I understand their fear and often have it myself. And yet, I know that there is peace, everlasting peace, peace that passes all understanding.

And it is that peace I pray for this Christmas Eve.

Merry Christmas.