Well, Christmas is now over for 2024. Was your Christmas good and everything went well, or are you glad it’s over? Or, was it good and everything went well, but you’re still glad it’s over?
Back when I was growing up, Momma would start around the first of December saying, “Three more weeks and it will all be over.” Then a few days later, she would say, “Ten more days and it’ll all be over.” She would continue the countdown until Christmas Day. Momma really liked the Christmas season. But I realize now that the countdown for her was more about it being over, with all she had to do during the holiday, than the actual anticipation of the holiday.
There are probably many reading this column who are also glad that Christmas is over. It’s been a difficult time this holiday season. You didn’t really care to hear people talk and sing about “Joy to the world,” and “Peace on earth.” There is not much joy or peace in your life.
It was Christmas, 1863. The bloody Civil War rages on. Henry Wadsworth Longfellow was in the midst of his own difficult holiday time. Less than two years earlier, his wife had died in a tragic fire, leaving Longfellow as a widower with six children. Now he had received word that his eldest son, Charley, had been severely wounded in battle and faced possible paralysis.
On that Christmas Day, Longfellow heard the ringing of church bells and the singing of “peace on earth.” Within himself, there was a personal battle. How could they be singing about peace on earth, with war raging all around? How could he have peace with all he must personally face? He had written in his journal concerning the death of his wife, Fanny, “How inexpressibly sad are all the holidays.” The violence and injustice seemed to mock the words of peace.
It was in that setting that Henry Wadsworth Longfellow wrote the poem, “I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day.” The poem begins with a joyful salute to the holiday. But midway thru it turns dark, as Longfellow ponders the world around him. He wrote. “And in despair I bowed my head; “There is no peace on earth,” I said; “For hate is strong and mock the song, of peace on earth, good will to men!”
But in the last stanza, Longfellow writes of a greater truth that counteracts all the despair that was in his world. He concludes, “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.”
It seems that there hasn’t been much peace around this Christmas. From the recent election turmoil, to the school shootings and crime we see every night on the TV news, peace has often seemed far away this past year. Peace may also appear to be far away in our personal lives. But there can be peace in our lives. The night before his crucifixion, Jesus told his disciples, “My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you.” (John 14:27)
Remember, as Longfellow wrote, God is not dead and He is not sleeping. It is the Christmas story. “And they shall call His name Immanuel, which is translated, God with us.” (Matthew 1:23) Christmas may be over, but He is still here.