A favorite carol of mine is “I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day” written by a despairing Henry Longfellow. The carol’s third and fourth verses are these words:
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.”
I thought of that carol as I re-read all the Scripture passages, the poems and even the lyrics to our anthems and carols for tonight. God is not dead, nor doth he sleep because Christmas and what it means to us isn’t over by a long shot. When we leave here tonight it isn’t over. When we open presents and eat good food and celebrate, however we celebrate, it isn’t over. And, on December 26 or January 1 or August 1, Christmas isn’t over, not by a long shot.
God is not dead nor doth he sleep. The gift of God’s love through the birth of Jesus is something that happens every day for us if we embrace this love as the gift it truly is. Each piece of the story told tonight highlights that: Jesus is the Word and the life that is the light of all people – a light that cannot be overcome by darkness.
Mary works through her fear of what she is being asked to do and she says Yes! I am your servant, and then she sings a song of what God is doing and what God will do through this baby which in essence is this: those who have no hope, who are hungry, who are oppressed, who are on the margins are seen and will be lifted up and filled with hope. Those who take advantage of them will be cast down off of their throne!
Mary and Joseph will journey to Bethlehem – I love the way Amy Grant frames this in her song “Breath of Heaven”:
I am waiting in a silent prayer
I am frightened by the load I bear
In a world as cold as stone
Must I walk this path alone?
Be with me now
Be with me now
Breath of Heaven
Hold me together
And, that is what God did and still does! When the world fills us with fear, when what God asks us to do fills us with fear, we too can say “Be with me now, hold me together” and there will be an answer. The fear is real, the risk of being on a faith journey is real, and it could have been over right then and there but it wasn’t! Christmas isn’t over!
Then the shepherds! The glorious shepherds minding their own business tending to their sheep and suddenly there is an angel that appears before them and the glory of the Lord shone around them. Put yourself in that field – angels coming in like that are scary – not your nice and wonderful Clarence from It’s a Wonderful Life.
No, these angels shine brightly coming into your field of vision with a bang! I would be terrified and perhaps a Do Not Be Afraid might be a hard sell for me. But the message of this angel and the Lord is one of such hope – there is a baby who is the Messiah – the one you have been waiting for born tonight! Go and see him!
And, then comes a whole multitude of angels – a literal army of angels – sings of peace coming to earth, and that is truly a song of hope. That song isn’t delivered by the Roman empire or their army, it doesn’t come from Herod or his own fear, it isn’t one of violence but of peace. What an amazing message of hope and peace and joy and love that will come from this baby.
I imagine the shepherd’s fear is real and the risk they took in leaving the fields to find Jesus is real, but they did it! They went and found the baby and then they become the first evangelists, spreading the good news to everyone who would listen.
It isn’t over! The good news is not over! It still exists today in us. The good news of God’s love incarnated through Jesus and then made incarnate in us (meaning it fills every pore of our being) comes despite fear and a chaotic world.
The good news of God’s love made flesh in Jesus, the light and life of all people still spreads not through government decrees but through us! We are the ones who return to Bethlehem to see the baby and then leave as evangelists telling the good news!
We are the ones who understand that this baby will transform the world – will change us in ways we didn’t think possible. We are the ones who understand that God’s timing isn’t our timing – that God will not wait for perfect timing but will act through all time. As Madeleine L’Engle frames it: “We cannot wait until the world is sane To raise our songs with joyful voice, For to share our grief, to touch our pain, God came with Love: Rejoice! Rejoice!”
Christmas is never over if we think of Christmas as God pouring love into us through our relationship with God through Jesus. If we think of Christmas as an opportunity to gain courage through hearing the story of Jesus’ birth again, to sing the carols again, to hear the words of poets and theologians and hymn writers again!
My prayer for all of us tonight is that we go from this place into tomorrow and the next day and the next and so on, and be that person who lives like Christmas isn’t over! Who understands that even through our fear, hope abounds.
That despite our fear, we can be the evangelists spreading the good news of peace on earth goodwill towards all through the birth of a baby who grows up to transform the world – and that we can tell that story to any who will listen, but maybe especially tell it to ourselves over and over again. “God is not dead, nor doth he sleep, The wrong shall fail, the right prevail, With peace on earth, good will to men.”
Believe that good news! Believe it can happen every single day! The story, Christmas, the good news – it isn’t over! May we all embrace that tonight. Amen.