In line with yesterday's post/rant, here is one of my favourite Christmas poems, written by Henry Longfellow after watching the devastation of his nation and his family during America's Civil War:

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!

    Till 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!

    Then from each black, accursed mouth
    The cannon thundered in the South,
        And with the sound
        The carols drowned
    Of peace on earth, good-will to men!

    It was as if an earthquake rent
    The hearth-stones of a continent,
        And made forlorn
        The households born
    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 doth He sleep;
        The Wrong shall fail,
        The Right prevail,
    With peace on earth, good-will to men."


Longfellow's wife died in a fire, and his son joined the Union army without his permission, and was soon severely wounded. Longfellow looks at a situation in which both armies were claiming the blessing of God on their endeavour, and despairs of the idea that we could ever see peace on earth, goodwill to men.

Sound familiar?

I'm not sure the Church is helping with its words in our world today. Our words are all conflicted, and are filled with anger and hate and bigotry and self-righteousness. We echo the words of our chosen political champions, and we let our words run over the poor and vulnerable. Hate does seem strong, and it mocks our Christmas carols.

I am firmly convinced that the Church needs to find its way again, and needs to stop following the whims and dictates of political ideology. It is nearly impossible to have a discussion between Christians on matters of violence, hospitality, racism, etc...because people are so deeply entrenched in political positions and allegiances that are at the very least extra, if not opposed, to the Gospel.

It is possible that Christians need to learn to be silent for awhile, as we learn to love one another and listen to one another again, as we learn to pray together, as we learn to obey our Lord together and form radical communities of loving witness and hospitality together. We need to learn to talk to one another, not at one another. Let's do better than the absurd media-driven political debate that plagues our nations.

Just a thought.