Advent Week 2: Peace on Earth

Life can hit us hard. When it rains, it pours. The struggles we face in our modern 21st century are eerily similar to those experienced by people who lived centuries ago. Suffering is a common thread among humanity… and Jesus is the cure—not to remove our suffering—but to give us peace through that suffering. Jesus told his disciples the night before his crucifixion, “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid” (John 14:27). Is there really peace on Earth?

In 1863, a man named Henry Wadsworth Longfellow penned the poem called “I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day” (originally titled “Christmas Bells”) in response to the death of his wife and his son’s injury in the Civil War. It was a season of grief and wrestling with his faith. The first three stanzas present the age-old question of why bad things happen. Longfellow worded it like this: 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.

I 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.

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. In summary, he is saying, “I hear the Christmas bells (stanza 1) and all of Christendom, the whole church (stanza 2) crying out “peace on earth!” (stanza’s 1 and 2) but I do not understand it because of the death and destruction and hate surrounding me (stanza 3).” As Christians, how we answer this question can make or break us in seasons of doubt, grief, and uncertainty. How does Longfellow process this question? God is not dead. Longfellow is reminded that God lives and is active despite death, destruction and evil in 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. 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! Longfellow meditates on the promise that wrong shall ultimately fail, right will win, and there will be peace on earth if not in this world, then the next. God is alive! Jesus is our reminder that God is alive. He is not dead. Jesus’s advent was and is a reminder that God is sovereign over all and that good will prevail, that death has no power, and there is salvation for everyone who trusts him. Jesus reminds us in Matthew 16, “…On this rock, I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it” (Matthew 16:18). And finally, in Revelation, God foretells the ultimate victory. “Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God. He will wipe every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away” (Revelation 21:3-4). Jesus is your peace. A reminder that all evil will be vanquished and that the battle is already won. 

Brittany Proffitt lives in North Texas and is a writer and content manager for So We Speak.