Praise the Lord for a new day, indeed a gift from the Lord of Heaven and Earth, the same Lord who orchestrates Christmas and Easter. He blessed us with a beautiful Sunday. It was snowy and windy yet beautiful and blessed. It was a great blessing to be in the House of the Lord this weekend, joining His people around the corner and around the globe in praising, worshipping, witnessing and declaring His majesty and mercy. Our Church hosted a birthday reception for my wife following morning worship. It was all sweet. Alice and I walked Sunday evening. The wind was blowing, foreshadowing the March winds that usher in Spring. It is always exhilarating walking on the fresh snow, at times stepping on the grass beneath the snow. Praise the Lord for the way the days are getting longer, preparing to break the sway of winter. It appears we will have an early January thaw as the temperatures range into the fifties this week. Our church is preparing and planning to host a community wide dinner this coming Wednesday. The dinner will be served starting at 4:30 PM and continuing through 6:00 PM. All neighbors, friends, and family are invited. This is an occasion to share in the love and grace of our Lord Jesus Christ as we enter this new Year with joy and gladness.
I posted a brief video message on FACEBOOk yesterday. I hope that each of you will take time to view it.
I knew a man who was raised in the Traditional style with hymns, liturgies, and observing all the seasons, special days, festivals, and ordinary days of the Church. He loved some majestic hymns that sang the Gospel and declared the essence of Jesus. One of Christmas carols he loved to sing was: "I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day", with words by Longfellow. I read about the background context of the Carol. On Christmas Day, 1864, the Civil War was slowly drawing to a close after four long years. Already 500,000 soldiers had died and many more would die before the war would finally end. On that Christmas Day Henry Wadsworth Longfellow penned a poem that became the 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!
The song culminates with the words, “For hate is strong and mocks the song of peace on earth, good will to men." 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.” Then, 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:
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!”
During every Christmas season in the midst great celebration, jubilation, worship, Satan raises his ugly head, causing bloodshed, violence and the death of innocent people. In fact, soon after the birth of Jesus the butcher of Jerusalem , King Herod, bludgeoned to death the innocent, defenseless, boys of Bethlehem. There was lamentation in the homes and streets of Bethlehem. Although we know that Mary and Joseph were warned so that Jesus might be preserved from Herod’s murderous intentions, what shall we say about the other boys of Bethlehem? Were not those babies precious to the Lord also? Surely the Lord heard the wails that arose from the little town of Bethlehem, but I believe there is mystery in the ways and the purpose of the Lord. God always has a bigger plan.
We know that the Lord cares and that he hears 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). This is God's promise, and millions of people can testify to God’s presence in the midst of the worst pain and the greatest loss. God always has a bigger plan than we can ever imagine. He preserved his Son so that one day his Son could die on the cross for the sins of the world. Recently we have seen the bloody deaths of innocent people in Germany, in the streets of Jerusalem, and in the Airports. I even know a retired Methodist pastor who was at the very place where the airport shooting took place. He posted that he knew one of the people who was killed.
The Good News of Christmas and Easter is that our Lord wins. The Lamb wins. God always wins in the end. Jesus landed at the beachhead of Bethlehem where He launched a mighty counteroffensive that continues to this very day. It all started with a tiny baby boy named Jesus, who was born in a scandalous way, in a barn, to unmarried teenager who was homeless and alone. The world had no idea that night what was happening in Bethlehem. Only in retrospect can we begin to understand. That same battle of evil and good continues to the present moment and will continue into the future until the day when Jesus returns and defeats evil once and for all. Perhaps that thought is what led Longfellow to write one final verse to his poem in answer to his own despair:
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!”
Rightly understood, there is a world of truth in that final verse. At Bethlehem God struck a blow to liberate the world from sin and death. God’s front line soldier was a tiny baby boy, one of the boys of Bethlehem. We should never take Him for granted. There is in this little baby all the strength of Deity. The power of God is in those tiny fists. He has strength which is divine. Whatever he desires, he is able to achieve.
As Luther put it, “He whom the worlds could not enwrap, yonder lies on Mary’s lap." He’s the Lion of the Tribe of Judah, the undefeated Son of God. He’s the leader of the armies of heaven. Because he is who he is, Longfellow was right. Jesus is the undefeated Son of God.
“The wrong shall fail, the right prevail.
With peace on earth, good-will to men.”
We need to remind ourselves in these sad days that the devil will not have the final word. Though he strikes many painful blows, he cannot win because the battle belongs to the Lord. The boys of Bethlehem will be avenged and every enemy will be defeated. Better days are coming. In that confidence let us trust in God and commit ourselves to Jesus Christ now and forever.
In Jesus.
Brown
https://youtu.be/ngSsaSimi8A
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