"I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day!

As an elementary school-aged boy our family attended a presentation of Handel’s Messiah, presented by the Pershing High School, a public school in Detroit, Michigan. Gloria, my sister, was an alto in the chorus. A love affair with fine music wedded to Scripture was born.

Since that first hearing of Messiah when listening I have anticipated being moved again by the chorus first penned by Isaiah.
"For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counselor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace." (Isaiah 9:6 KJV)
It is as if heaven opens its jaws widely and drops eternities of gracious promise onto the earth! The possibility for peace is poured out in a torrent of mercy and grace.

As I write I am reminded of contractors pouring the foundation of Philadelphia’s newest and tallest skyscraper. Last weekend over 400 transit mix trucks emptied their payloads in one continuous pour of concrete. The task lasted for more than 12 hours. In contrast, God has been pouring out assurances of peace on earth for centuries and sealed his promise by sending the Prince of Peace.

In completing the vocation assigned to me by the Prince of Peace, I wrote more than 40 Christmas Eve candlelight services. We read the salient prophecies, sang traditional music, shared God’s Word and lighted candles while singing robustly "Joy to the World." We also frequently sang Henry Wordsworth Longfellow’s poem, "I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day."
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."
Longfellow’s poem is often overlooked, but deserves careful consideration each Christmas season. Longfellow wrote the memorable words as a twice widowed, sorrowing husband whose son had enlisted in the Union Army and was then mortally wounded. In addition, Longfellow suffered from Neuralgia, a stabbing, burning, and often severe pain that occurs along a damaged nerve. For Longfellow, like us all, peace is elusive.

Two verses of "I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day" are almost always omitted. The stanzas face harsh realities of slavery and war. Longfellow, the news of a son’s death, noisily plowing deep furrows of painful grief into every waking moment wrote:

Then from each black, accursed mouth
The cannon thundered in the South,
And with the sound The carols drowned
Of peace on earth, good-will to men!

It was as if an earthquake rent
The hearth-stones of a continent,
And made forlorn, The households born
Of peace on earth, good-will to men!
Thank you Mister Longfelllow. You remind us that the Prince of Peace has come and the Message of the season trumps cacophonous cannons, dirges of despair, disease and death.

This year we are praying for the families of several friends who are now listening to heavenly choruses. We miss our friends, but not like their children and spouses. My prayer is, "Lord, especially this year, make sure my friends’ families Hear the Bells on Christmas Day! May Isaiah’s prophecy prove powerful and real for those of us who await reunions in heaven." And, let us remind those who need the reinforcement to faith challenged by great loss, "God is not dead, nor doth He sleep!"