Month: December 2025

Peace On Earth?

As we began our preparations for this year’s Christmas celebration,  I set up our traditional Manger Scene (or Nativity). Although we have collected a number of nativities over the years, the most meaningful one – and the first one we set up each Christmas – is the one I made out of balsa wood for our first Christmas together. (A half century ago, during the last millennium).

As I looked at it, I was struck by how peaceful the scene is: Mary and Joseph watch over the newborn Jesus, who is lying (asleep) in the manger. The shepherds are to the right side of the scene, one kneeling quietly, the other peacefully watching the also-peaceful sheep. Even the cow (too dark to see in the photo) is at ease, lying peacefully in its stall. On the other side, the Wise Men are watching or bowing  peacefully, unaware that they are there two years too early, before the infant Jesus will be in a house with his mother (Matthew 2:11). The excitement of the angel and the heavenly host has passed, and now a peaceful night has returned. (Note that there is no angel present.)

We usually think of Jesus’s birth as a peaceful one, as portrayed in nativities and songs. After all, the prophecy about Jesus’ birth promised the arrival of the “Prince of Peace” (Isaiah 9:6). And the angel that night proclaimed, “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased!” (Luke 2:14).

For example, these classic songs speak of peace:

      • “Silent Night” – Mentions “sleep in heavenly peace.”
      • “It Came Upon the Midnight Clear” – Describes “peace on the earth, goodwill to men.”
      • “I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day” – Includes the line “peace on earth, goodwill to men.”
      • “Hark! The Herald Angels Sing” – Refers to “peace on earth, and mercy mild.”
      • “O Little Town of Bethlehem” – Mentions “the hopes and fears of all the years are met in thee tonight” and references peace thematically.

That’s how I always pictured Christmas, because in my experience, people seemed a little nicer and a little happier; they greeted each other with smiles and small acts of kindness, and with the words “Merry Christmas!”

But, then three things happened. First, I grew up, and became aware that not everyone was happier, more jolly, nor even a Christian. Second, I became aware of the news, of political division in our country, and of the reports of conflicts and wars across the globe (46 currently), or as Jesus put it, “wars and rumors of wars” (Mark 13:7). And then the third thing was, I actually paid attention to the words of one of the hymns that mentions “peace on earth.”

That song was I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day. I had always sung (and heard) just the first verse of the song:

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.

That sounds like a normal, upbeat, jolly, Christmas carol. But then the radio played the rest of the song. The jolliness faded:

I 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.

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.”

What? What happened to the “visions of sugar plums dancing in our heads?” How does a song with such a downer message become popular? I looked up the history of the song and found it was written by the poet Henry Wadsworth Longfellow during the Civil War.* He saw the carnage that was bleeding our country, made personal when his own son returned home from the war with a serious bullet wound. While tending to his son’s injury, he heard church bells and wrote the lyrics to the song.

But whether in the song, or in the violent world around us, we must not stop with “For hate is strong and mocks the song Of peace on earth, good will to men.” Our God did promise that Jesus is the Prince of peace, and that his birth would bring peace to the earth. Why has that not been realized, even after the 2000 years since Christ was born? The song answers that in the next verses:

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.”

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!

This assurance is proclaimed in Colossians 1:19-20, “For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of his cross.”

It was through a violent, “non-peaceful” act, the crucifixion, that God solved the problem of sin and reconciled to himself everything, in heaven and earth, to himself, making “peace by the blood of his cross.” This is the ultimate peace, greater than any peace treaty, truce, or armistice that people can contrive (and break). It is not a temporary cease-fire, but an eternal peace with the God who created and loves us. This divine peace will ultimately bring reconciliation to mankind as well:

“to be put into effect when the times reach their fulfillment—to bring unity to all things in heaven and on earth under Christ” (Ephesians 1:10).

The fulfillment of this promise has not yet happened, so in the meantime our Lord commands us to be peacemakers:

“Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God” (Matthew 5:9).

And, to be reconcilers:

“and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation” (2 Corinthians 5:19). 

By this, we may become instruments of peace:

“Make every effort to live in peace with everyone and to be holy; without holiness no one will see the Lord” (Hebrews 12:14).

The message of peace at Christ’s birth was not an empty promise nor a cruel joke. He who promised will deliver; right now in reconciled relationships with his people, and ultimately with all creation. That is the promise of Christmas!

Now may the Lord bless you and keep you, the Lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you, the Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you PEACE! Amen.

Read: Luke 2, Matthew 2, Colossians 1:20.

* For the full story of this song, see the archives in the column to the right of this blog: December 25, 2021, titled, “Did You Hear the Bells?.”

 

The Adventure Begins

The Adventure has begun! That is, the Advent-ure has begun, because the special time of the Church year known as Advent is now underway. It began last Sunday – the fourth Sunday before Christmas – and continues up to Christmas Eve. Advent means “coming” and refers to someone or something that is approaching us or arriving.

This is the season we anticipate the coming of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. The season of Advent is a time of preparation, prayer, and pondering about Jesus’ birth and why he came to earth to become one of us. It is a time to consider what his coming means for our lives, both here now on earth, and in eternity.

The season has been observed at least since the Middle Ages, when it was treated as a somber season of repentance before Christmas, the way Lent is before Easter.

Today, Advent is a season with its own special traditions: special songs and hymns like “Oh Come, Oh Come, Emmanuel,” the Advent wreath, special wall banners, Advent calendars to mark off the days until Christmas, and in some churches, midweek Advent services. Advent is not just four weeks to get through before the real celebration of Christmas.

At the Eddy home, we have a few Advent traditions. We hang an Advent buzzard, either a full-size one made of black cloth and a white sock with buttons for the eyes, or two miniature ones I made out of paper, which we hide on the Christmas tree for people to find. The tradition calls for striking the buzzard as you walk past, saying with force and determination: “I renounce the powers of darkness, and put on the armor of light!” (Romans 13:12). Then there’s the beautiful wooden Advent calendar Karen gave me one year, with little doors hiding scriptural quotes and tiny gifts. This year, we are opening an online advent calendar.

Unfortunately, in our culture around us, Advent has totally disappeared and been replaced by the season of “Let’s shop and party and get stuff.” To our society, the Twelve Days of Christmas are the last twelve shopping days before Christmas, rather than the real twelve days that begin on Christmas and last until January 6, the Epiphany,  when we celebrate the arrival of the Wise Men. Even in many churches, Advent is squeezed out as they move straight from Thanksgiving to Christmas in decorations, song choices, and programs. (And yes, we do some of that, too!)

Advent is an important time for Christians because we know that the true meaning of Christmas is more than parties, decorations, gifts, and songs about grandmas getting run over by reindeer. It is about more than even the sentimental “family-discovers-the-true-meaning-of-Christmas” TV specials this time of year (none of which actually gets around to mentioning the name of Jesus!). Advent reminds us each year of just who Jesus is and why we needed him to come to us. We are reminded of the prophecies that foretold His birth and sacrifice for our forgiveness. It truly prepares us to celebrate His birth with our eyes and hearts and minds wide open to the wonderful life-giving miracle of God becoming man.

Advent is about more than just pre-Christmas preparation, because during Advent we recognize that Christmas is only one of three ways that Jesus comes to us. There are actually three Advents:

  1. Advent #1 – Christmas, the birth of Jesus of Nazareth, when the eternal Son of God took on flesh and became one of us. We call this miracle of God becoming man the Incarnation. It was essential for our salvation that the eternal Son of God came to earth in order to live a sinless life and become the pure sacrifice for our sins. By his death our sins were paid for, and our punishment canceled. Paul tells us in Romans 5:19, “For as by the one man’s (Adam’s) disobedience the many were made sinners, so by the one man’s (Jesus’) obedience the many will be made righteous.”

Jesus became true man, able to suffer thirst, hunger, pain, sorrow, and death; he also remained true God, able to forgive sins, do miracles by divine power, and provide a sacrifice great enough to atone for all the sins of every human being. As Martin Luther stated in his explanation of the Second Article of the Apostles’ Creed: “I believe that Jesus Christ, true God, Son of the Father from eternity and true man, born of the Virgin Mary, is my Lord.”

  1. Advent #2 – the Return of Christ. Christ’s return is sometimes called the Parousia, which is the word used in the Greek New Testament for his Second Coming. Our word advent (actually, adventum) is the Latin translation of that word.

But, whatever you call it, the Bible clearly teaches that Jesus is coming back, visibly and physically. As our Creed states, “He will come again to judge the living and the dead.”

Christ will come with a shout, descending to us in heavenly glory from the clouds. He will bring with him all who have died in him, and at his return resurrect them. We who are still on earth at that moment, will be changed and receive our resurrection bodies. And we will be with him forever.

Christ’s return will set all things right. All authorities will be deposed and all evil and wickedness removed. Those who are in Christ will rejoice and receive their rewards, while the unrepentant unbelievers will face everlasting judgment. All prophecies of Christ’s return will be gloriously fulfilled,

  1. Advent #3 – Christ Comes to Us Personally. Besides the other two Advents which have world-wide, even cosmic impacts which affect everyone, there is an Advent in which Jesus comes to us personally to redeem, forgive, indwell, and give us new life. Christ comes to us in the written words of Scripture, when his Spirit moves us to believe and draws us to God. He gives you and me new life in the waters of baptism, and he nourishes us spiritually by his own true body and blood given in, with, and under the bread and wine of Holy Communion. He comes to us daily through prayer and works to change our lives that we might be transformed to become more and more like him. This is the individual Advent each of us needs.

In Revelation 22:20, the Apostle John wrote about Christ, “He who testifies to these things says, ‘Surely I am coming soon.’.” Then John added, “Amen. Come, Lord Jesus!”

We join that chorus and say, “Amen! Come Lord Jesus to us at your birth, at your triumphant return, and to each of us personally through your means of grace.” And to all of you I say, “May Christ come to you powerfully this Advent season.” That is the adventure we have begun! Amen and Amen!

And now, may the Lord bless you and keep you, the Lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you, the Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace. Amen.

Read: 1 Corinthians 15:51-58, Matthew 28:16-20