Reflection
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In the late 1840s, America found itself in civil unrest. We had just been at war with Mexico over a complicated conflict involving the territory of Texas, which had become a state in 1845. Many people didn’t want Texas to become a state because this would add another slave state and dramatically increase the area that wasn’t considered free.
So with slavery—not to mention women’s rights—at the surface, the country’s conversation about human rights had turned into a screaming match… a screaming match that would ultimately lead to a civil war 15 years later.
Before the Civil War, while the country was very divided in terms of its philosophy on human rights, there was a part-time pastor by the name of Edmund Sears. In the midst of seeing the country’s unrest, Sears found himself walking through his own season of personal difficulty. He was looking for peace in his life while publicly pleading for peace in the country—and peace around the world for that matter, as Europe was in a state of unrest as well. Sears saw the entire world as becoming an increasingly dark place, desperately needing to hear the message of Christmas, a message of peace in the middle of darkness—or as he puts it: peace amid a midnight clear.
You can hear his cries for peace, particularly in the third verse where he wrote:
And man, at war with man, hears not
The love song which they (the angels) bring —
Oh, hush the noise ye men of strife
And hear the angels sing!
Sears is saying to just stop with the turmoil for a moment! Stop the things that are causing strife! The angels have told us, in the middle of darkness, that there is a way (an example) that has arrived—an example of peace. May we follow in the footsteps of that example. With division all around, let us be examples of what peace looks like.
Prayer
Heavenly Father, during this season, may we be reminded of the great peace you have offered us… the peace that Jesus brought us by pointing us to you. We need that peace in the world today, so help us be instruments of peace to those around us. Amen.
