Christmas 2016
It Came Upon the Midnight Clear was written on a cold wintry day in December, 1849, by Dr Edmund H. Sears. As Dr. Sears – who was then pastor of the Unitarian Church in Wayland, Massachusetts – sat by the fire in his study and watched the snow come down, the words of the carol came to him.
It came upon the midnight clear,
That glorious song of old,
From angels bending near the earth,
To touch their harps of gold:
“Peace on earth, good will to men,
From heaven’s all-gracious King”:
The world in solemn stillness lay,
To hear the angels sing.
To hear the angels sing, “Peace on earth, good will to men,” must have expressed the deepest longings of this sensitive man’s heart. For like today, the age in which he lived was one of extraordinary unrest. It was the age of the Fugitive Slave Law and the California gold rush, the age of sweat shops and Indian massacres. But most characteristic of this age was abounding fear caused by the threat of a nation at war with itself. The song spoke to those fears, instilling hope by reminding them that humankind’s deepest and constant longings are one with God’s longing for God’s creatures: that justice and peace are God’s ultimate plan for all nations, all people.
Today, many years later, the song is more valid than ever. Confronted by the evils of natural disasters and political unrest, economic uncertainties and the ever-growing threat of violence, we, too, need to hear the angels sing the eternal desires of God’s heart: “Peace on earth, good will to men”.
Christmas, then, becomes a time in our lives to reflect on the deepest desires of our heart, and to realize that those desires are God’s own; how God took the deepest desires of God’s own heart and shaped them into humanity’s image and likeness so that we might recognize that God’s desires are our desires, and our desires are God’s desires. What a wonderful and loving God we have. May we then respond this Christmas by giving back to God the song resounding in our hearts, “Which now the angels sing” (fourth stanza).
From Harriet and myself, we pray that the deepest desires of Abba! be realized in your lives this Christmas and always. And we pray that Jesus – Emmanuel – open your hearts to receive his life and increase your vision to see his light, that your lives may be filled with his glory and peace, and above all, his love.
Peace in the risen Christ,
Fr. Matt and Harriet