Baby It's Cold Outside

Well, the weather is pretty awful here. There's ice on the roads and our county is in a Winter Weather Advisory. We got a little spoiled in Louisville the last few years, but we're back up further north now and back to the weather we're more used to :) A concert we were going to attend tonight got canceled, so we decided just to stay here tonight, play some cards, watch t.v., read a psalm and pray together, etc.

I continued reading through some Christmas hymns--of which there are tons by the way! Here's one I loved when I read it. It's "I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day."

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.

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."

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 was written by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow in the 1800s. I think he beautifully depicts the story of someone hearing the old Christmas adage derived from the angels' proclamation of "peace on earth, good will to men." At first he just is caught up in the spirit of the music--how "wild and sweet" it is. Then in the third stanza, upon deeper thinking, he despairs that their message might be an empty promise after all--because the world he knows is not one of peace and good will. But as he continues to listen to the music, he is encouraged that God is not dead or sleeping. There might still be injustice and suffering in this life and in our experience, but he remembers to take confidence in God's ultimate justice and the hope for something greater that we have through Christ. Finally, as he realizes this, the dark thoughts turn to brightness as the truth of the angels song sinks into his heart again.

I wish the song more clearly tied our hope of "peace" and "good will" to the life, death, and resurrection of Christ--more than to just "God" in general. As it is written, a believer in any god could resonate with the meaning. But if Longfellow would have somehow communicated the gospel of Christ more clearly, this song would be even better than it already is. All in all though, a great song!