REDEEMING THE SEASON

I understand that 2016 was not a banner year for most people. It was a year of trials and troubles. A time when we watched our country divide politically and racially as never before. A time where we watched terrorists here and abroad seeking to destroy our sense of peace and our well-being. A time that has left many without hope.

But consider this true story:

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow was filled with sorrow at the tragic death of his wife in a fire in 1861. The Civil War broke out that same year, and it seemed this was an additional punishment. Two years later, Longfellow was again saddened to hear that his own son had been seriously wounded as a Lieutenant in the Union Army of the Potomac. Sitting down to his desk that following Christmas Day, he heard the church bells ringing and ringing. It was in that setting he wrote:

 "I heard the bells on Christmas Day,
Their old familiar carols play,
And wild and sweet the words repeat
Of peace on earth, goodwill 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"

Hope is not lost. Hope was born on Christmas Day, and the hope of Jesus continues to ring out in our land today!

Do not despair, my friends, but listen for the bells, for the sound of the heavenly choir, for the jubilant praises of the faithful!

Take hope and heart in the presence of Jesus today, and carry that hope with you through Christmas and into the new year!