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Blog
Hearing the Angels Sing
Written by Meagan Adams, volunteer with Iron Rose Sister Ministries in McRae, AR
One of my favorite Christmas songs is It Came Upon the Midnight Clear by Edmund H. Sears. If you sing more than the first verse you realize that it’s not exactly the cheeriest holiday song. There is a poignancy to it, but also a call to something better. In the second stanza, Sears describes a scene where the angels are still singing their song of “Peace on the earth, good will to men from heaven’s all gracious king” but it goes largely unheard as it competes with the earth’s “Babel sounds.” In many ways, 2020 was a year of “Babel sounds” – confusion, conflict, uncertainty. It felt like all progress stopped and we all just ran around with no agreement on how to get anything done. Mankind’s perceived invincibility to accomplish anything it wanted was quickly derailed by a virus.
The third and fourth stanzas of Sears’s poem are the least-often sung. In years past, I focused on the third stanza:
Yet with the woes of sin and strife
The world has suffered long;
Beneath the angel-strain have rolled
Two thousand years of wrong;
And man, at war with man, hears not
The love-song which they bring;
O hush the noise, ye men of strife,
And hear the angels sing.
This verse reminds me that there is a different reality than the world that I see. I wake up to my phone’s alarm and the first thing I see are news notifications of all that is going wrong in this world. It’s easy to get discouraged by it and to be frustrated that after all God went through to try to show us the way of peace and harmony, the world as a whole won’t listen. But that is not all there is. The angels continue to sing God’s love song – His message outlasts the futile and destructive behaviors of mankind.
This year, however, the fourth verse spoke to me:
And ye, beneath life’s crushing load,
Whose forms are bending low,
Who toil along the climbing way
With painful steps and slow,
Look now! For glad and golden hours
come swiftly on the wing,
O rest beside the weary road,
And hear the angels sing!
In the past, this seemed only to apply to the oppressed people of the world, and I know that I am among the privileged. I haven’t had to experience ongoing, overwhelming injustice and hardship. Still, if anything describes the 2020 experience, words like “crushing,” “toil,” and “weary” seem to be apt descriptors. The force of the coronavirus-world weighs down on my shoulders, life seems an uphill climb, and my steps are slow and painful (both literally & figuratively!). Hmm, seems like somebody else needs to listen to God’s song, to reframe my view of reality. I need to heed the call to take a break from weariness, to rest in God’s presence, and to let God’s music fill me. I need to listen to the angels sing.
Redefining Our Steps
Written by Débora Rodrigo, volunteer with Iron Rose Sister Ministries in Spain
The past year was full of changes and challenges. Of that, there is no doubt. Much has been said about what 2020 will be remembered for. But here we are facing a promising new year that gives us some hope, although we well know that this year, like any other, will bring its own challenges.
Changes, challenges, and unforeseen events all are parts of life that have their moments, as do times of tranquility and happiness. Many things happened in our lives last year, and many others will continue this year, but all things, as Paul promises us in Romans 8:28, contribute to the good of those who love God. We can be sure that during 2020, God was working in us, refining and redefining us according to His will.
The people of God faced many changes and challenges, and were still going through them after their exile in Babylon and the subsequent rebuilding of the walls of Jerusalem, led by Nehemiah. God's people had been refined and redefined during times of great difficulty. After returning to Jerusalem, the changes would continue, and they would have to continue facing challenges; but a new stage was beginning. Led by the priest Ezra, the people decided to meet as one in the square and keep silent while Ezra read the Book of the law. The people listened carefully and worshiped God (Neh. 8:1-6).
Changes and challenges may continue in our lives, but as we grappled with them over the past months, we have been refined and redefined and we must continue to walk and move forward with every step we take. It is time to stop, reflect, and check that we have our roots well ingrained, and redefine our steps to ensure we walk in the direction God would have us go.
