I heard the bells on Christmas Day

This Advent I have found the act of lament so helpful – of intentionally acknowledging, and leaning into, the cosmic ache that we see and feel in so many ways…of expressing our deep, wordless desire for things to be made right. It is so true…we must face the darkness before we celebrate the dawn.

And our lament must continue.

We lament the evil we read about in Sydney.

We lament the ongoing injustice of the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

We lament how Christmas carols can be used by a political group with racist under-tones.

We lament this and so much more.

And whilst I lament, and at times, question God as to Why? and How much longer? And That’s not fair! my hope remains in the One who stepped into the darkness…the brokenness…in Bethlehem. As the gospel-writer, John, puts it: In Jesus was life and that life was the light of all mankind. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.

He is the One, who at the Cross, triumphed over all that is bad and evil and dark – He is the One who defeated death and brought in a new Creation. He is the One….who Scripture tells us…will return and make all things new.

He is the One whom I cling to….whom I yearn for.

In the 1800s American poet, Henry Wadsworth-Longfellow write a poem called Christmas Bells. In it, he describes how each year the Christmas bells ring out reminding him of the Christmas message about the One who brings peace. But, he writes against the backdrop of the American Civil War, and poetically describes how the sound of the cannons drown out the sound of the bells and their song. He expresses despair; declares that there is no peace, and laments how hate seems so strong.

But the last verse…..I love it…

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.”

He hears the bells again…and he is convinced that the message their notes convey is true. Despite what rages around us, God will bring peace….that God’s righteousness will triumph over wrong.

And whilst we wait….whilst we yearn…and groan…and lean into the cosmic ache…we trust in the Prince of Peace who will one day make all things new. And whilst we wait and trust and look to the Prince of Peace, we must become peace-bearers ourselves…agents of reconciliation as Paul writes in 2 Corinthians….we must embody and declare God’s message of peace in Christ. We must model and extend and contend for God’s peace in our relationships with others and in our relationship all of creation.

Open yourself to the peace-bringing work of the Prince of Peace, and hear afresh His commission to you – to be agents of reconciliation into the people and places He sends you.