“I will declare Your name to my brethren: in the midst of the assembly, I will praise You.” Psalm 22:22
With neither his knowledge nor permission, I am submitting for our Advent reading today, the lines of a dear friend and brother entitled “From the Pastor’s Pen.”
Although several of Henry Wadsworth Longfellow’s poems have a distinct religious nature and purpose.. Not many of them have been given a musical setting. One noticeable exception is the familiar hymn “I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day.” This hymn was written on December 25, 1863, just six months after the Battle of Gettysburg, when the Civil War was at its height. Longfellow was saddened by the horrors of this senseless conflict and bloodshed because “hate seemed overstrong at the moment.” Also, his own son had been wounded and almost lost his life while serving in the Army of the Potomoc. With weight of all this upon him, Longfellow was almost despairing on the gray Christmas of 1863, But then suddenly the bells from the village church pealed forth with Christmas cheer. Then Longfellow took up his pen, wrote the words to this hymn:
Then 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.
Then how apropos are the words with which this pastor concluded this message to his congregation “O God, grant that amidst the despair of our times, this message will stir new hope within—that we may be instruments of Thy peace on earth.”
The pastor who wrote the above is a beloved brother of mine, resulting from an enduring friendship, fostered from the time we were college roommates at old Pasadena College. At the time of this writing, Jim Bond was pastor of the Lake View Park Church of the Nazarene in Oklahoma City. He and his lovely wife, Sally, are some of the dearest friends Norma and I have to this day. Many in our congregation will enjoy welcoming, renewing acquaintances or making them your new friends as they become part of us. The Bonds have moved into their new home in Liberty Heights and will enjoy a home again here in Colorado Springs where they have lived before. How providential it is that all of this transpired on the first Sunday of the Holy Advent Season. A Blessed Christmas to all.
Garth Hyde
Garth Hyde has been a part of Trinity since 2012. After 52 years of ministry, pastoring 12 churches and as an associate in 3 others concluding with 4 years as a hospice chaplain, he finally retired in January 2014. As a father of 4 children, 4 grandchildren, and 7 great-grandchildren, he enjoys writing and has been published in several denominational periodicals over the years. He and his wife, Norma, will celebrate their 65th wedding anniversary in April of next year. His testimony: “God is good and I am grateful!”
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