The World at War and the Peace of Christmas

    This second Christmas hymn I illustrated was similar to the first one in that it was written by an American pastor/writer in the mid 1800's.  Edmund H Sears wrote "It Came Upon the Midnight Clear" in 1849, after the end of the Mexican-American War and amidst the turmoil leading up to the Civil War.  In this hymn, Sears juxtaposes peace on earth with a world being torn apart by violence and suffering.  In the third stanza - the one most often left out of modern hymnals - he calls upon mankind to stop long enough to hear the angels message.                                        

“But with the woes of sin and strife
The world has suffered long;
Beneath the angel-strain have rolled
Two thousand years of wrong;
And man, at war with man, hears not
The love-song, which they bring:
O hush the noise, ye men of strife,
And hear the angels sing!”

    I can't help but feel this sentiment deeply, with the terror, suffering and pain that surrounds us in the world today.  How many people must look for hope...for answers...for peace.  Jesus told us that the world would be this way - in John 16:33 he explained "These things have I spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world."  What does this mean for us today?  Although this physical world is full of strife and sin that will affect our lives, we can have peace within our hearts and minds through Jesus, because we have a sure hope in his gift of eternal life.  

    At Christmas we celebrate the wonderful gift of God incarnate that began the gospel story of redemption and restoration of mankind.  This Christmas season, perhaps some will stop long enough to turn away from the striving of the world; long enough to lay down the burdens they carry, and in the stillness, hear angel song. 

 

It Came Upon the Midnight Clear

         14x10" mixed media, 2016

All scripture from 1611 King James version