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PEACE ON EARTH.
One of the things which I enjoy most about Christmas is listening to and singing Christmas Carols. Recently I attended a Carol Service and one of the carols we sang is a particular favourite of mine and it is called “It fell upon the midnight clear.” Although I have sung it many times and know the words well, this time I was particularly struck by their relevance to the situation in our world today.
Researching the carol on the internet I discovered it was written by the Rev. Edmund Hamilton Sears, an American Unitarian Parish Minister who was born in 1810. He was an author who wrote a number of theological works but he is best remembered for the words of his carol “It came upon the Midnight clear.” He wrote it on a cold December day in 1849 and it was first performed in Wayland, Massachusetts where he was the pastor of the Unitarian Church. What makes the carol different from other carols is that unlike them it does not speak of Bethlehem or stress the nativity and birth of Jesus Christ. Instead it concentrates on the theme of “Peace on Earth.” These words, written by the Rev. Sears, reflect his feelings about a recent war between Mexico and the USA and his strong feelings about Slavery. He writes of angels playing heavenly music to “a weary world” and of the world suffering 2000 years of wrong from the sins of woe and strife caused by man at war with man.
But with the woes of sin and strife
The world has suffered long;
Beneath the angel-strain have rolled
Two thousand years of wrong;
And man, at war with man, hears not
The love song which they bring; -
Oh hush the noise, ye men of strife,
And hear the angels sing!
As I sang these words I thought we could be talking about today’s world! Peace on earth? It doesn’t look like it. The world is full of conflict. Since the angels announcement we have seen an endless string of wars. In 2000 years there has been war after war. The Church is obsessed with telling us about the birth of Jesus and of how He came into the world to “save us from our sins.” The world we live in is obsessed with materialism and the greed is for evermore money and possessions. What are we doing to maintain peace in our corner of the world? There are not just big wars in the world to be stopped but smaller family disagreements. The most famous family in the UK is presently experiencing this! Can you mend bridges with your next door neighbour over that garden dispute? Committees, including church committees often break up because members fail to reach agreements. Look at all the strikes that our country is presently experiencing and the disruption and heartbreak they are causing in the lives of ordinary people.
The Bible has a lot to say about peace and Jesus Himself said “Blessed are the Peacemakers. A peacemaker is someone who brings peace to others. We are shortly approaching a new year, a time of new beginnings. Let us all do our very best to obey the angels’ song of bringing peace to the earth and goodwill to all mankind. As the Dalai Lama has expressed it
“Just as ripples spread out when a single pebble is dropped into water, the actions of individuals can have far-reaching effects.
[If you would like to know more about my thoughts on Spiritualism then read my book “Why I am a Spiritualist.” Obtainable direct from me. E-mail me at
[email protected] .]
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