On Christmas morning of 1863, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow sat and listened to the bells of churches ring out in the traditional celebration of the day.
Some 1800 years had passed since the time of Christ and the Gospel had spread far and wide across the globe. Much had been accomplished. In some places, you could sit and hear the bells of dozens of churches ring out in unison proclaiming, as Longfellow would write, “Peace on the earth, goodwill to men.”
The first two verses of this carol reflect his joy,
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!
But as the poem flows another line of thought which laid heavily on the author’s heart comes through. A stream of sorrow and suffering because of the continued influence and presence of sin.
It was not long since his wife had died due to being fatally burned in an accidental fire. Then, his oldest son secretly joined the Union Army and was badly injured in the Mine Run Campaign. All the while, the civil war raged on, causing death, suffering, and destruction in the young nation.
With his personal and national peace shattered he reflected,
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!
The realities of the world which had so long contained the good news of Jesus Christ just did not measure up to the promises made by the angels, proclamations of “good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people…”
The poem continues,
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!”
The violent, political divide in his nation and his own personal suffering brought despair.
Yet, from the original theme in the carol returns a message of undefeatable hope,
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.”
Christians should rise above the hate and despair that rages in our world and find personal help and hope in Jesus Christ.
We have been redeemed from the law and placed under the rule of grace!
And as we graciously stand for truth, doing so in love, we should shine as beacons of hope and unity in a dark, dying, despairing world.
What can we do? We keep sharing the good news,
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.
* Note: the author’s use of the adjective black has to do with the condition of man’s heart apart from Christ, not skin color.
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