I... Can't... Wait

     1 to 3 inches of snow expected. I know not everyone gets excited at the prospect of snow, but I always have. As a child it meant many things. School closed, sledding, snowball fights, hot cocoa, and so much more. As an adult... the list is pretty much the same. Yes, teachers are just as excited about snow days. To be honest, my favorite thing about snow now, is the snow. I just love the way it looks, I love the cold, and I love the way snow sounds. Next time it snows, really snows, go outside where it is quiet and just listen. You won't be disappointed.

     Excited, that is what we should be. Kids get it right. Ask a kid if they are excited about Christmas and you are almost guaranteed to get an emphatic, "Yes!" for an answer. Ask an adult and the results won't be as certain. So what changed? Why do we stop looking forward to Christmas as much as we did as a child? We should try to recapture that anticipation we had as children. This season before Christmas is Advent, the time when we prepare for the coming of the Christ child. This should be a time of great anticipation. We are anticipating the day that all of history, all of eternity, changed with the birth of a baby in a backwater town outside Jerusalem. I know we are all carrying baggage as we make our way through this year. Jesus doesn't promise to take that baggage away, but He does promise to help you carry it and He promises that His yoke (future post about yokes coming) is easy and His burden is light. So I am not going to tell you to lay your burdens down, I know that is no easy task. I will tell you to let Jesus help you shoulder them. That is what we have to look forward to; that is why we should be looking forward with excitement. 

Old, Familiar Carols

     The year was 1861. Henry Wadsworth Longfellow's second wife of 18 years, Franny, was killed when her dress accidently caught  fire in the farmhouse. His first wife, Mary, had died 25 years earlier during childbirth. After Franny's death, he found it impossible to continue his writing and stuck to mainly translating works into English. Two years later his oldest son, Charles, enlisted in the army against his father's wishes and went off to war. Several months later, Wadsworth received word that Charles had been severely wounded in the Battle of Mine Run. In his despair, losing two wives and now potentially losing a son, Henry finally put pen to paper and wrote these words.

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."

Entitled Christmas Bells, it marries the despair of current circumstances with the hope that Christmas Day promises. I think the words have never had more meaning than they do this Christmas 2020. If this has been a less than stellar year for you, as it has been for me, listen, just listen. You will hear the bells playing old, familiar carols, carols that remind us what happened that first Christmas morning. The bells remind us that God is not dead, he isn't asleep, right will prevail.

I love Christmas music, always have. This year I find it having an even deeper meaning to me as it kindles memories that I desperately need this Christmas. That is my prayer for you, that these old, familiar carols kindle needed memories for you and that you are reminded of the promise and hope that Christmas brings. Wadsworth's poem was set to music and has become a much loved Christmas carol. There are several great versions out there, one of my favorites is by Casting Crowns. I suggest you find it, or whatever version you prefer, and listen for the bells and remember.

Back to Normal?

     A lot of things have taken on a new look in 2020. Many gatherings take place only in cyberspace. The ones that do take place face to face have changed; temperature checks, face masks, and social distancing are now the norm. A phrase heard frequently is, "I can't wait for things to go back to normal." but is back to normal where we need to go?

     620 years before the birth of Jesus the king of Judah, Josiah, decided it was time to get the temple back into shape. As they were cleaning out to get ready to get the work started, the high priest, Hilkiah, made an interesting discovery. He found a copy of the Law buried in a closet. He immediately took it to the king. When the king heard the words contained in the book, he tore his clothes to shreds because he realized that their normal had strayed from the path that God had laid out for them. Their normal was not where they were supposed to be. Over the course of a few generations, "normal" had drifted further and further away from where it had started, tradition had replaced scripture. King Josiah recognized a chance for a reset, to go somewhere other than back to normal. (2 Kings 22:1-20)

     2020 has given us an opportunity to make just such a reset. Back to normal shouldn't be our desire, we need to go where God is leading us and that may not look anything like "normal". "We've always done it that way." is the best way to prevent growth and progress. Let's look forward and instead of going back to normal let's go forward to better. Let's look at this as a chance to figure out ways to to do things better, not to just keep doing things like we always have.