December 2, 2022

Dear Road Church Friends,

One of the most beloved of the many Christmas carols we sing during Advent, also has the strangest, or most unexpected line of them all: “THERE IS NO PEACE ON EARTH I SAID.” This is meant to be a rejection of what the angels sang after announcing the birth of Jesus in Bethlehem, “Peace on earth goodwill to men.” This line in a poem that was soon put to music was written at the height of the Civil war and was an honest challenge to the Christmas hope and promise that the Messiah would make peace on earth a reality. The title of the poem is, “I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day, and its author is Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, who in his lifetime was celebrated as America’s greatest scholar, author and poet. He is fondly remembered for such favorites as, The Song of Hiawatha; The Courtship of Miles Standish, Paul Revere’s Ride, and many others. His poem about Christmas Bells was put to music and quickly embraced by the public in Europe and America as an instant Christmas classic. The story behind this carol helps us to appreciate it even more. That story will be the subject of this week’s Advent message. Gather with us Sunday morning to hear the rest of the story.

SCRIPTURE: Luke 2:8-14

SERMON: The Story Behind  “I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day” 

In that region there were shepherds keeping watch over their flock at night, when an angel appeared beside them and said, I am bringing you good news:—Today in Bethlehem the Messiah has been born. You will know it’s him when you find a child wrapped in a blanket and lying in a manger.  Suddenly they saw a choir of angels singing, “Glory to God in the highest heaven. Let there be peace on earth and goodwill among people everywhere.”

PERPETUAL CHRISTMAS

The bells their Christmas message send o’er earth,

The message of our blessed Savior’s birth.

For one fair day all thoughts of war are drowned

As songs of peace throughout the world resound.

Ah, that throughout the year those bells might ring

In every realm of human trafficking!

That every day in every heart might be

Our thought: Good will to all,—and charity!

by Gordon Field     

Blessings to all,

Pastor Norm

This service on YouTube: https://youtu.be/_pI5CxU5gTo