Did You Hear the Bells?

“And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying, Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.” (Luke 2:13-14, KJV)

It’s Christmas again, and once more, as in every year at this time, I have been enjoying the old, familiar carols proclaiming and celebrating the birth of our Lord, Jesus Christ. With its abundance of so many carols, this season is like no other, and that’s not even counting the songs about snowmen, Santa Claus, reindeer, grandma’s house, or grandma’s encounter with a reindeer.

A week ago, I was at our church’s senior luncheon (as a guest, since I can’t possibly be old enough to be a member of the group!), and enjoyed joining in the carol sing. We sang out many old favorites, led by one of our pastors who also accompanied us on the piano. He began taking requests from our song sheet, but then called on me. At first I feared he wanted me to sing a solo, but to the relief of everyone there, he just wanted me to pick the next song. One of the tunes popped into my head, and I immediately called out to the group, I Heard The Bells On Christmas Day. And so, we sang it.

I didn’t know why that particular song came to mind; it’s always been okay to me, but it’s never that special or meaningful. Until that day. For the first time, I actually heard the words. For the first time, they touched me, and brought home the power of the Christmas message. Read them right now, aloud to yourself:

Those words hit me like a hammer: the message that even in a world full of sin and hate, where there is no apparent peace, “God is still with us. He is not dead, nor doth he sleep.” That is the message of the Christmas bells as they play the old familiar carols. The message that Christ came into a world full of hate to bring us ultimate peace, true peace that overcomes all that is wrong. For that reason, the bells can chime and ring out joyfully.

I wanted to know more about the song, so I did a little research, and found its story enhanced the meaning of the song.

It was Christmas of 1863, in the midst of the bloodiest year of the Civil War.
The poet, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, was a widower, his wife having died when her dress caught fire. Now, his son had returned from the war, seriously wounded by a rifle bullet on December 1. As he nursed his son’s recovery, he heard the local church’s bells ringing out on Christmas Day, and struggled with the message proclaimed by the angels of peace on earth, goodwill toward men. How could there be peace when thousand were dying in a war that had torn the country apart, and wounded his own son? Where was God and God’s promise in all this? Was God asleep, or even dead?

Longfellow picked up his pen and began to write: “I heard the bells on Christmas Day, their old familiar carols play . . ” He laid out his sadness about the world, but like the ancient psalms, moved from doubt and hurt to an affirmation that God was still with us, and that his promise given to us at Christmas, still holds true. A promise announced by the angels, but fulfilled in the baby born that day in that stable in Bethlehem.

Why did this song affect me so much as we sang it, and again when I read its story? Could it be that the words of the song are just as true today as when they were written? After all, peace in our world, and even in our country, is in short supply. Or is it because that was the case when Christ was born in a country conquered by a foreign empire, ruled by a despot who would murder infants to abort the rise of a rival king, divided by sects and ethnic loyalties, and riddled with poverty and disease? Or because it has always been the case throughout human history, from the first child born on earth becoming a murderer of his own brother, to modern dictators who kill their own people, to religious fanatics who behead people they consider infidels?

The answer is all the above. But what means the most to me is not the despair such evil causes, but the final, triumphant message of the song, that the bells can still ring out joyfully because God has fulfilled his work in his Son, Jesus Christ. Even in the reality of sin and hatred, our God loved us so much that he sent the remedy: his only Son who would bear the penalty of our sins and open the way to a sin-free eternal life. Because of Christmas, (and Good Friday, and Easter), we can have hope – and peace – as promised.

So, I would ask you, “Have you heard the bells on Christmas Day? If so, what do they mean to you? And if you don’t hear actual church bells ringing, have you heard the same proclamation in other ways: on TV, radio, online, in church, or in a blog (I hear there are some good ones out there!)? And most importantly, do you read your Bible, which contains the most definitive and authoritative proclamation of God’s promises and fulfillments?

Have you heard the bells on Christmas Day? Listen for them every day, and rejoice in their joyful proclamation!

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: Psalm 29:11; Matthew 5:9; Luke 2:1-20; Romans 5:1; Romans 14:17-19; Romans 15:13; James 3:16.