Praise the Lord
for this wonderful Wednesday. We plan to gather at 6 PM for a light
supper, followed by Bible study at 6:30 PM. The Lord has blanketed the
area with a fresh and beautiful layer of snow. The whole landscape
looks brilliant. Snow removal equipment have been going to and fro,
clearing the roads for the morning commute. Last evening, while the snow was
softly tumbling down, Alice and I went down to the school to watch as the
Varsity girls basketball team took on Southern Cayuga. I was
reminded of my High School days when I was playing soccer... so many years
ago...It was in the last century. WOW!
A couple of weeks ago a handsome and beautiful son, a young boy of a very
prominent citizen of one of our neighboring towns died suddenly. The
family and friends were shattered and shocked by the massive loss and
fathomless grief. For the boy's funeral the whole school
district closed. The boy was so loved by the family and the community.
I was asked how would we respond to such loss and pain. There is a
mystery about pain and suffering. Why did Lord allow the boys of
Bethlehem to be slaughtered by king Herod? We do not have a simplistic
answer.
Let’s shift the scene for a moment to Christmas Day 1864. After four bloody years, the Civil War was slowly drawing to close. Already 500,000 soldiers had died. Many more would die before the war would finally end. On that Christmas Day Henry Wadsworth Longfellow penned a poem that became a beloved Christmas carol called I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day. It starts with these hopeful words:
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!
“For hate is strong and mocks the song"
There is a story behind this poem that most people don’t know. Shortly after the war began, Longfellow’s beloved wife Fanny died after being terribly burned in a household accident. Her death threw Longfellow into despair. In his journal for December 25, 1862, he recorded, “’A merry Christmas’ say the children, but that is no more for me.” In 1863 his eldest son Charles was severely wounded and crippled in battle. Out of his own sadness and in response to the carnage of war, he wrote this pessimistic verse:
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!”
Lately those words have seemed all too true. Hate is strong. We know that the Lord does care and that he does hear the cries of those who hurt so deeply. “The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit.” (Psalm 34:18). God has promised to do that. Millions of people can testify to God’s presence in the midst of the worst pain and the greatest loss. This truth, as wonderful as it is, does not cancel our very real pain and it does not reverse the loss. Yet, this much we know for certain: God always has a bigger plan than we can ever see from where we sit.
In Christ,
Brown
https://youtu.be/e8HgAVenbUU
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