From the Bridge Pastor
Christmas. I have heard this story before and found a copy of it. It is one of my favorite Christmas stories.
Retired Presbyterian Pastor John Buchanan is the editor of Christian Century. Much of the content of this homily is based on his article in the December 18, 2014, edition of that journal.
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!”
These words from Luke’s account of the first Christmas are put on the lips of huge number of angels. They are reminder of God’s intention for the world in which we live. Yet, as we hear or read the news in the various media, Buchanan suggests that “peace on earth and goodwill among humans is remote. In fact, it sometimes seems that hoping for peace, expecting peace, and praying for peace is a hopeless human project.” And yet, we continue hoping, expecting, and praying for peace.
The year was 1914. The war had been going on since July 28 of that year. There are several versions of the story of what happened one hundred years ago on that night: Christmas Eve 1914. Details might be different between versions, but the point of the story is what illustrates a glimmer of what peace could look like.
Two great armies faced each other across a front that extended along the French-Belgian border. Troops were hunkered down in trenches cut into the soggy soil, with only candles, lanterns, and flashlights to give them light. It was a constant struggle to keep the mud walls from collapsing and the trenches from flooding.
Between the trenches was 50 to 100 yards of ground called “no man's land.” Snipers posted on each side had orders to shoot anything that moved in the opposite trench. Hand grenades were thrown, artillery shells lobbed, and occasionally soldiers charged up out of the trenches.
As Christmas approached, troops on both sides received packages from home. British troops received cigarettes, a greeting card from King George V, an individual plum pudding, and Cadbury chocolates. A German package included tobacco and a pipe, a profile of Crown Prince Frederick Wilhelm, and sausages and beer. The German government also sent bundles of Christmas trees to the front.
Sometime on December 24, the shooting began to slow down and then stopped altogether. It wasn’t official; No orders for ceasefire were given. Soldiers simply stopped shooting at one another. In the early evening, British troops were surprised to see Christmas trees with lighted candles near the German trench. In one spot, a German voice called out: “A gift is coming now.” The British lunged for cover, expecting a grenade. What came across the divide was not dangerous, however, It was a boot filled with sausages. The British troops responded by sending a plum pudding and a greeting card from their king.
Then the singing started: patriotic and military songs at first. When each song was over applause was heard from the opposite trench. Then there was an eerie silence. Suddenly the Germans began singing “Stille Nacht, Heilige Nacht,” and the British joined in, all up and down the front, singing “Silent Night, Holy Night.”
The unofficial truce continued on Christmas Day as opposing troops ventured out to extend greetings, awkward handshakes, and small gifts. In several places soccer games were played.
After a week or so the shooting resumed, and there were 6,000 deaths each day for the next 46 months.
Historian Stanley Weintraub recounts this incident in his book entitled: Silent Night: the story of World War One Christmas truce. He reflects: “The Christmas Truce has lingered strikingly in the memory.... [It] remains a potent symbol of stubborn humanity within us.”
The Christmas truce is almost too good to be true, and yet is it any more unrealistic than the angel announcing that a newborn baby is the Savior? And is it any more naïve than our faith that the birth of the promised Messiah means that peace is always possible, and even close at hand?
When is peace close at hand for you? When you've held a sleeping baby? When you've sat on a beach and listened to the waves ebb and flow? When you’ve shared Christ’s peace with someone at church? When you’ve extended your hands to receive a morsel of bread and thimble full of grape juice? When your house is quiet and you’re all alone, and you think of all the blessings God has given you?
The peace about which the angels sang is here and is yet to come. The peace about which the angel sang is not an historic ceasefire in the midst of a war. The peace about which the angels sang will come when God recreates the world; when time and all of the things as we know them will be no more and the New Heaven and the New Earth will be forever. In the meantime, remember events like Christmas Eve 1914 on the French-Belgian border as a glimpse. We also remember Jesus’ words to his disciples shortly before his death: “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you I do not give to you as the world gives.” (John 14: 27)
Siblings in Christ, a blessed Christmas to you all.
Bible Study at Pierce Street Coffee Works. Please join us for a weekly Bible study at 1920 Pierce Streets on Thursdays at 1:00 PM. I will be leading a study on nine women in the Bible and the God-given traits that made them stand out in a male-dominated culture. Weather permitting, we will have our first meeting on January 5. The study is open to female members of First and any guest they would like to invite. Please bring a Bible and your curiosity for details of these women.
