CHRISTMAS AND THE
VICTORY OF GOD
The Rev. Harold Shepherd, CD, M.A., S.T.M., LL.B., LL.M.,
Ph.D.
Sermon from December 28, 2003
But the angel said to them, "Do not
be afraid; for see--I am bringing you good news of great
joy for all the people: to you is born this day in the city
of David a Savior, who is the Messiah, the Lord. This will
be a sign for you: you will find a child wrapped in bands
of cloth and lying in a manger." And suddenly there was
with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host, praising
God and saying, "Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on
earth peace among those whom he favors!" Luke 2:
11-14.
The Palestine Jesus was born into was a troubled place.
After the successful revolt against the Syrian King
Antiochus IV Epiphanes in 167 B.C., the descendants of
Judas Maccabaeus assumed leadership of the nation as High
Priests. Because they were not descended directly from
Aaron, a group rejected their right to hold this office and
relocated to a community at Quman near the Dead Sea.
Although Jewish, they adopted a solar calendar with
different festival days. They viewed the High Priest in
Jerusalem as being the “wicked priest” who
would eventually be banished with the two Messiahs arrive
(one of the house of Levi to exercise religious leadership
and the other of the house of Judah to exercise political
authority). This group may be the Essenes referred to by
Josephus, although this point is debated. In any event,
they were a counter-cultural organisation that withdrew
from the world into the desert to establish a more perfect
way of life. The Sadduccees, on the other hand, held the
reigns of power on local and religious issues through the
Sanhedrin- the ruling Counsel. They had achieved a peaceful
co-existence with Hellenistic culture and Roman rule. The
Pharisees were more conservative from a religious point of
view and had deeper roots in the countryside. They did not
see eye to eye with the Sadduccees. Herod the Great seized
power from the Hasmonean descendants of Judas Maccabaeus
and ruled Palestine until his death in 4 B.C. on behalf of
the Roman Emperor. His son assumed the throne after his
death, but was unable to successfully rule. This led to
direct rule by the Romans on all but local and religious
matters that where given to the Sanhedrin to deal with.
Resentment of foreign occupation led to the growth of a
national aspiration for independence and autonomy under
God. In accordance with the Hebrew Scriptures, they were
looking for the Messiah to achieve this end. Many false
Messiahs gathered followers in the desert while attempting
to raise an army against the Romans. A group of militants
known as Zealots or Sicarii decided to take matters into
their own hands and began to assassinate Romans and Jewish
sympathisers in order to pressure the Romans to leave the
country. Acts of terrorism became common place to end the
Roman occupation. Two thousand years later, the world does
not appear to have changed much. This sort of thing still
goes on today. Acts of violence are perpetrated on a daily
basis somewhere in the world.
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow reflected about this many years
ago. This poet was born in 1807 in Maine and went on to
become a Professor of Modern Languages at Harvard
University from 1836 to 1854. His second wife, Frances
Appleton, died in 1861 from burns received in an accident
while applying sealing wax to a package. In the same year,
the Civil War broke out. In November of 1862 one of his six
children, Lieutenant Charles Appleton Longfellow, was
seriously wounded while participating in the war. In July
of 1863 over 40,000 soldiers were killed in the battle of
Gettysberg. About six months latter on Christmas Day of
1863, Longfellow reflected on the strangeness of the bells
wringing out to celebrate the birth of the Prince of Peace
when the nation was torn apart by a bloody and brutal civil
war. In response, he penned the well-known poem I heard the
Bells on Christmas Day. Although there is no peace on earth
and hate is strong, he proclaims: Then peeled 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.' Jesus’ birth and ministry
did not mark an end to evil through divine force of arms.
Rather, by turning the other cheek, rewarding evil with
good and giving oneself sacrificially to the service of God
and others, evil is disarmed. The child of Bethlehem
confounds the wisdom of those who champion violence to
achieve goals. We, as Christians, affirm that in Christ,
God’s victory has been won and right will prevail.
The way God achieves this is counter-intuitive. Those who
try to exalt themselves will be humbled and those who
humble themselves for his sake will be exalted. So it was
with Jesus born in a manger and so it is with us.
I HEARD THE BELLS
ON CHRISTMAS DAY
Henry
Wadsworth Longfellow
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.
2. I thought how as the day had come,
The belfries of all Christendom
Had rolled along th'unbroken song
Of peace on earth, good will to men.
3. 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.'
4. Then peeled 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.'
5. 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.