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Tuesday Morning Epistles
Welcome to "Tuesday Morning"
for the week of Christmas, 2009.
The week of Christmas, 1864,
was a tragic week for Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. The
American Civil War was still in progress. It would end
months later on April 9, 1865, with Lee's surrender to Grant
at Appomattox Court House. But on Christmas Day of '64 the
end of the war was a very distant hope. In frustration and
anger over the crippling injury of his son Charles from war
wounds, Longfellow wrote the words to a poem that would
later become one of America's most loved Christmas hymns, "I
Heard the Bells on Christmas Day." The original words of the
poem included two stanzas referencing the war, neither one
of which is included in the current use of the hymn. Here
are the five stanzas of the hymn that have remained to the
present day:
I heard the bells
on Christmas day
Their old
familiar carols play,
And wild and
sweet the words repeat
Of peace on
earth, good will to men.
And thought how,
as the day had come,
The belfries of
all Christendom
Had rolled along
the unbroken song
Of peace on
earth, good will to men.
Til ringing,
singing on its way
The world
revolved from night to day,
A voice, a chime,
a chant sublime
Of peace on
earth, good will to men.
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."
Then pealed the
bells more loud and deep;
"God is not dead,
nor does He sleep;
The wrong shall
fail, the right prevail
With peace on
earth, good will to men."
"Peace on Earth" is
not being proclaimed in the halls of Congress this week. Our
nation's leaders are sharply divided along partisan lines as
a controversial bill is scheduled for a vote in the U.S.
Senate on Christmas Eve. The words of Longfellow seem
appropriate—"For hate is strong and mocks the song of peace
on earth, good will to men."
What do Christians have to say
to our politicians this week? Perhaps we should send them
the affirmation of this great hymn's closing stanza: "God is
not dead, nor does He sleep; the wrong shall fail, the right
prevail with peace on earth, good will to men." It's time
for Christians to sing again.
"Tuesday Morning" is attached
below. It is entitled, "The Mystery of Christmas." Read on
when you are ready, and begin to sing. Christ has come!
Hallelujah!
Tom Barnard
A Serious Believer
________________________________________________________________ The Mystery of Christmas Ed Jordan
robably one of the most beautiful terms associated with Christmas is the word “mystery.” In English, the word mystery refers to something that is a secret and needs to be explored and figured out. However, in the Greek New Testament, the word “mystery” means something that used to be hidden, but has now been brought to light so it can be experienced and understood clearly.
Can you remember some Christmas experiences that meet both the English and Greek definitions of the word “mystery”? Much of the anticipation and excitement of Christmas is caught up in the secret aspect, like wondering what is in the gift-wrapped boxes. What were some of the things your parents purchased, hid, or kept a secret until that Christmas morning when you found the package under the tree?
Did you ever play the “shake it, weigh it, and guess it” game with wrapped packages? Even after shaking the package, many gifts remained a secret until you opened them. That is, of course, unless the gift was something impossible to camouflage with wrapping paper. For example, an assembled 7-foot-long fishing pole, with a permanently attached reel, was pretty easy to identify, wrapped or not.
Since our family played the “shake it, weigh it, and guess it” game, we all took extra steps to keep the gift’s contents a secret. Sometimes we would wrap a small gift in a huge box, and pack a few rocks in the box as well. Sometimes the gift was not brought out until after all the other gifts had been opened, so the recipient would assume that the long-anticipated gift had not been given. Then suddenly, one of my parents would say: “Oh, I forgot this,” as the hoped-for gift was brought out of its hiding place.
The Greek definition of “mystery” is understandable whenever we think of a gift’s contents that had remained unknown because it is encased in wrapping paper, but then is suddenly revealed in all of its clarity and reality as the gift is opened. I remember one such gift I received, in a heavy, large box. Opening the large box revealed a series of smaller inner boxes (and rocks), until I opened the innermost little box to reveal my first pocketknife. The mystery was exciting while the contents of the package were still unknown. The mystery became even more exciting as I explored the reality of my brand new, high-quality pocketknife.
Similarly, Christmas celebrates
the greatest mystery, the greatest gift ever given. God,
through the Old Testament prophets, foretold a day when his
anointed Messiah King would arrive and inaugurate the
Exactly how God would bring alienated people back into friendly relations with Him was a mystery, until Jesus was “unwrapped” that first Christmas morning. Jesus came to bring the peace of God to people as they enter into a relationship with Him. In the person of Jesus, that which had been a mystery for centuries was finally manifested as real and present, and available to each person who would receive it.
If you have never met Jesus, he
is still a mystery to you. Christmas is a wonderful time to
discover the mystery and reality of God’s gift—Jesus
Christ—and eternal life in the
This week’s guest writer is Dr. Ed Jordan, Senior Pastor of
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