loudandclear

Confession: For most of my life I have truly not cared for most Christmas music.  I find a lot of it sentimental…mushy…boring….over done….and mostly detached from real life.

The radio is drenched with songs about chesnuts roasting…frosty the snowman…Rudolph…Santa.

Even the more traditional Christmas hymns have left me unfulfilled for most of my life.  A lot of them are songs of defiant joy not really connecting with peoples’ day to day brokenness and realities.  There are many songs about angels singing….announcements of good will to men…and drummer boys offering to drop a beat for King Jesus.

I know I am being a Debbie Downer, but Christmas music has always been a struggle for me.

This was before I was exposed to an incredible Christmas hymn called “I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day” at my wife’s Grandparents Anglican Church last Christmas Eve.

The lyrics of this song are unreal good and connect with me for many reasons. I thank God for Henry Wadsworth Longfellow who wrote this song in 1867.

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.”

 What I learn from this song:

1. It is not detached from reality.  It places the powerful Christmas announcement of “peace on earth and good will to men” in real tension to the way that we see our broken world right now.  Things aren’t right in the world at the moment…it is broken… with war, divorce, greed, poverty, pride, and selfishness.  Its easy to see that there is not complete peace on earth, today.

2. The last verse still gives me goosebumps as I read it, hear it, or sing it.  Even though we see the world as broken today…we put our hope in King Jesus, believing that one day He will right all the wrongs…He will redeem this planet..He will bring ultimate justice…He will renew all things.  “Wrong will fail and good prevail.”

3. This completely re-frames the Christmas season for me.  I admit that the world is a broken place, but when Jesus entered into our story on this weary planet…He started bringing peace on earth and good will to men with his life, death, and resurrection.  He started the restoration party that is still going on today every time He reigns in a person’s life.  So until Heaven comes down to Earth to make the New Heavens and New Earth and He comes back to set up His Kingdom here—the Church (Followers of Jesus) has work to do.  We admit that the world is broken—but because of Christmas we start working for peace on earth and good will to men RIGHT NOW…today.  We start aiming for His Kingdom or His rule on earth as it is in Heaven RIGHT NOW.

Let’s remember the announcement of Christmas as the beginning of God’s restoration party that we participate in today until God ultimately rights all the wrongs here on our planet.