Kerby Anderson
During the Christmas week, I like to revisit some of the Christmas carols we sing at this time of year. In this case, I not only want to talk about one of those songs, but also point you to a film that gives you the back story.
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow was known as America’s poet, and is known for the song, “I Heard the Bells.” His story is faithfully told by the ministry, Sight & Sound, which is best known for their live theater productions. “I Heard the Bells” was their first-ever theatrical release shown in theaters December 2022. It is now available for you to purchase or stream into your home.
His song came at the end of tragedy. In 1861, two years before writing this poem, his life was shaken when his wife was fatally burned in a fire. Her dress caught on fire, and he tried to extinguish the flames as best he could. She died the next morning, and his facial burns were so severe he couldn’t even attend her funeral.
He grew a beard to cover his burns, and often feared he would be committed to an asylum due to his grief. His oldest son Charles joined the Union Army without his father’s blessing. After the Battle of Chancellorsville, he fell ill with typhoid fever and was sent home to recover. He was able to rejoin his unit and was severely wounded at the Battle of New Hope Church, Virginia.
Longfellow, a widowed father of six children, the oldest nearly paralyzed, reflected not only on his grief but a country fighting a war against itself. He wrote a poem to capture the dissonance in his own heart and the world around him, as he heard the Christmas bells.
This Christmas season, we need to reflect on the hope we have in Christ even in the midst of trials and tragedies that surround us.

Kerby Anderson
The carol “O Come, O Come, Emmanuel” is an English translation of a Latin hymn that is sung during Advent and Christmas. The text goes back to at least the 18th century (and perhaps much earlier) while the music put to it goes back to the 15th century.
“O come, O come, Emmanuel, and ransom captive Israel, That mourns in lonely exile here, until the Son of God appear. Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel shall come to thee, O Israel.”
Emmanuel means, “God with us.” Even before the coming of Christ, we see passages in the Old Testament that remind us that God was with Israel. In 1 Kings 8, we read, “Praise the Lord who has given rest to his people Israel, just as he promised. Not one word has failed of all the wonderful promises he gave through his servant Moses. May the Lord our God be with us as he was with our ancestors; may he never leave us or abandon us.” In Psalm 46, we read that “The LORD of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our stronghold.”
One of the most visible reminders of God’s presence was during the Exodus. God was with the Israelites as a pillar of fire by night and a pillar of smoke by day. His presence was with them in the Tabernacle and later the Temple in the Holy of Holies.
But the most important aspect of Emmanuel is found in the New Testament. John tells us in his gospel, “The Word became flesh and dwelt among us” (John 1:14). This is the miracle of the Incarnation. God put on human flesh and came to Israel so that He might give His life for all of us. Paul writes to Timothy, “Here is the great mystery of our religion: Christ came as a human” (1 Timothy 3:16). This is what we celebrate at Christmas.