“May the peace of God which passes all understanding guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.” Philippians 4:7
During this “most wonderful time of the year” many of us, sadly, relate with these words of Charlie Brown in the TV classic, “A Charlie Brown Christmas” ....
"I think there must be something wrong with me, Linus. Christmas is coming,
but I’m not happy. I don’t feel the way I’m supposed to feel. I just don’t
understand Christmas, I guess. I like getting presents, and sending Christmas
cards, and decorating trees and all, but I’m still not happy. I always end up
feeling depressed."
If I’m being completely honest, my feelings often concur with our good ol’ friend, Charlie. I see so many who are suffering deeply and I ask the same question Charlie asks after finding that no one sent him a Christmas card and thinking that no one likes him – “Why do we need a holiday season to emphasize it?”
Why? Why did my young, newlywed friend suddenly lose her husband? Why is another friend dealing with a broken marriage? And why is another friend’s mother in the hospital on her deathbed? Why am I barely making ends meet? And on Christmas? Why, God?
Many times as those questions riddle our minds, it seems as though God remains distant and silent. Meanwhile, the lights and trees and stockings remind us of a season that is supposed to feel joyful. Then we often feel frustrated that we can’t recreate the holiday warm fuzzies we had when we were young and carefree.
American poet, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, was well acquainted with such frustration at Christmastime. In 1861, he lost his beloved wife of 18 years in an accidental fire. On Christmas day of 1863, his son was away fighting with the Union Army during the Civil War. Upon hearing the sound of Christmas bells that day, he penned these now famous words sung every year around this time...
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!"
The words, “peace on earth, good-will to men” come from Luke 2:14 when the glorious hosts of angels declared to the shepherds the Saviour’s birth. I have myself wondered, like Longfellow, why that peace and good-will seem non-existent most of the time because of the pain and hatred I see all around me. But maybe the God who asks us to walk by faith and not by sight had something different in mind. Isaiah prophesied the coming of Jesus, saying that he would be….
"….despised and rejected by mankind, a man of suffering, and familiar with
pain...surely he took up our pain and bore our suffering...he was pierced for
our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that
brought us peace was on him, and by his wounds we are healed. All we like
sheep have gone astray; we have turned—every one—to his own way; and the
Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all.” (Isaiah 3a, 4a, 5-6).
I once heard a preacher tell this story… “An art contest was held to find “the perfect picture of peace.” The challenge stirred the imagination of artists everywhere, and paintings arrived from far and wide. Finally, the great day of revelation arrived, and the field had been narrowed down to just two paintings.
As a judge pulled the cover from the first one, a hush fell over the crowd. A mirror-smooth lake reflected lacy, green birches under the soft blush of the evening sky. Along the grassy shore, a flock of sheep grazed undisturbed.
Surely this was the winner! But when the second painting was uncovered, the crowd gasped in surprise. A tumultuous waterfall cascaded down a rocky precipice; the crowd could almost feel its cold, penetrating spray. Stormy-gray clouds threatened to explode with lightning, wind, and rain. In the midst of the thundering noises and bitter chill, a spindly tree clung to the rocks at the edge of the falls. But in that tree, a little bird had built a nest. Content and undisturbed in her stormy surroundings, she rested on her eggs. With her eyes closed and her wings ready to cover her little ones, she manifested peace that transcends all earthly turmoil.
Perhaps today, you’ve been guilty of searching for the kind of peace in the first picture. But the problem is that IT JUST DOESN’T EXIST. Real peace—the kind in the second picture—is one that’s ready and available to you when you take shelter in the arms of the Savior.” *
Turns out, God’s promise of peace was not that we would be exempt from pain. His promise was that Jesus, Immanuel, God with us–theman who suffered the ultimate pain for humankind–would never leave us or forsake us. He understands our pain, and he offers his perfect peace that passes understanding to those who cast their cares upon him.
It’s not the lights and frills of Christmastime that bring us joy. It’s who they point to. Jesus, Light of the World.
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."
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