In December 1914, World War I was only four months old, but
already it had become a dark and bloody mess.
On France’s Western Front, soldiers of Kaiser Wilhelm II and
George V faced off with one another from rows of frozen trenches.
The cold winter rains had chilled them to the bone, and
there was no relief from the endless mud and constant sniper fire.
On Christmas Eve 1914, Scottish troops looked out across No
Man’s Land and noticed lights in the German trenches. In the evening twilight, they made out the
silhouettes of Christmas trees.
Laughter drifted across the darkening sky. The lights of
those Christmas Trees burned brighter and pretty soon the Scottish troops heard
a rich baritone voice begin to sing: “Stile Nacht, Helige Naucht.” Silent
Night, Holy Night.
One Scotsman who saw and heard these things said: “It was strange, like being in another world, to which we
had come through a nightmare, a world finer than the one left behind.”
That Christmas Eve in 1914, in the midst of all that power
and warfare, the sounds of a world bent on destroying itself, there appeared an
unexpected gift, the gift of song, the gift of tenderness, the gift of peace on
earth breaking forth into the dark chaos.
On Christmas Day, The Royal Flying Corp got into the
Christmas spirit. A plane was sent up over the German lines and dropped a
padded case of brandy-soaked plum pudding behind the German trenches.
The German troops seemed to appreciate this, so they sent up
their own plane with a careful airdrop of a bottle of rum. The Allied soldiers really appreciated that.
It was not long after this, we are told, that all the
shooting stopped, and soldiers on both sides gathered to celebrate Christmas,
singing Silent Night.
The Christmas Truce of 1914 spread up and down the Western
Front, and for several days the fighting and killing stopped. Soldiers traded
tobacco and photographs, a football game even broke out between the Germans and
the Allies. In fact, so much “good will” occurred across the lines that generals
on both sides finally issued orders forbidding what was going on, after all,
they claimed, “it discouraged initiative and destroyed morale in the ranks.”
On this Christmas Eve, the ways of the
world are once again turned upside down. In a world consumed by never-ending violence and
life-shattering warfare, the soft cries of Mary’s child fill the air, and we
see that power, real power, is not found in the weapons of war, but belongs in
the small body of a new-born baby.
No longer does the world bow to Caesar Augustus, or
Quirinias of Syria, or Herod of Judea, or Kaiser Wilhelm, or George V, or any
of the politicians, kings, generals, or CEOs that normally command the world’s
attention.
No, for tonight, the King of kings is born in a stable with
a few lowly shepherds as the guests of honor.
The gift of this day is God’s love for the world and the
package is a small baby cradled in a young girl’s arms, the most powerful force
that the world has ever known. And we who have been hardened by the difficulty of
our lives, bruised and scarred by shattered dreams and broken hopes. We who
turn on the television, listen to the radio, read the newspaper each day, and
hear painful news of bloodshed and sadness, of poverty and illness, we who have
become calloused to the brutal stories of the world around us, who are saddened
by the dark places in our own lives, we need this gift of tenderness, mercy and
love.
We need this gift of a baby born among us named Immanuel.
We are like shepherds in the dark night, scanning the
horizon for any signs of hope, for the promise that this world is not all there
is, that the darkness will give way to a light that shall not be overcome.
Following the birth of Jesus Mary and Joseph brought him to
Jerusalem in order to present him to God as the Law commanded. Here the first prophecies of the time of
Jesus are fore told
And behold, there was
a man in Jerusalem whose name was Simeon, and this man was just and devout,
waiting for the Consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was upon him. And it had been revealed to him by the Holy
Spirit that he would not see death before he had seen the Lord’s Christ. So he came by the Spirit into the temple. And
when the parents brought in the Child Jesus, to do for Him according to the
custom of the law, he took Him up in his arms and blessed God and said:
“Lord, now You are letting Your servant depart
in peace,
According to Your word;
For my eyes have seen Your salvation
Which
You have prepared before the face of all peoples,
A light to bring revelation to the Gentiles,
And the glory of Your people Israel.”
And Joseph and His mother marveled at those
things which were spoken of Him. Then
Simeon blessed them, and said to Mary His mother, “Behold, this Child is
destined for the fall and rising of many in Israel, and for a sign which will
be spoken against (yes, a sword will pierce through your own soul also), that
the thoughts of many hearts may be revealed.”
Now there was one,
Anna, a prophetess, the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher. She was of
a great age, and had lived with a husband seven years from her virginity; and
this woman was a widow of about eighty-four years, who did not depart from the
temple, but served God with fastings and prayers night and day. And coming in that instant she gave thanks to
the Lord, and spoke of Him to all those who looked for redemption in Jerusalem.
The New King James
Version (Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 1982), Lk 2:25–38.
The first prophecies spoken of
Jesus after His birth are for both “a rise and a fall” as well as “redemption”. As we celebrate Christmas this year let us
approach the coming of this New Year with a heart of Christ – a heart of
redemption and celebration of the life that we can only find in true salvation
through our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
Let us be like those Soldiers on
that cold Christmas Eve, forgetting our differences and joining together as one
true Body of Believers showing the World that only through Christ can evil
finally be defeated and Hope restored.
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