Notin no de weh God cyaan du.

Monday Reflection –  2017

Watchword for Christmas Day (American Version)

Jesus is the reflection of God’s glory and the exact imprint of God’s very being, and he sustains all things by his powerful word. Hebrews 1:3

Notin no de weh God cyaan du. Luke 1:37 (Patois)

Merry Christmas my dear Brothers & Sisters!

As this Season began, I started, as usual, to reflect on the nativity story. I listened yet again to the same story but for a new word. It is these words in Luke 1:37 that came home to me anew. And this time, not in English, “For nothing is impossible with God” but in our own Jamaican language, “Notin no de weh God cyaan du.”

These words were offered to Mary by the angel Gabriel. The angel reveals to her that she will bear a son name Jesus. Understandably, Mary queried how such a thing can happen since she is a virgin. The angel reveals that it would be by the Holy Spirit. Gabriel also reveals that Elizabeth, though past child-bearing age, is also six months pregnant. With that revelation, Gabriel declares, “Notin no de weh God cyaan du.”

Jesus, the reflection of God’s glory and the exact imprint of God, transcends space and time. His sustaining power is beyond boundaries and he has absolutely no limitations. Isaiah confirms this in one of his prophecies about Jesus: For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called…Mighty God… Of the greatness of his government and peace there will be no end…The zeal of the Lord Almighty will accomplish this.” (Isaiah 9:6-7)

On this day when we pause to celebrate the birth of the Christ, may we recognize that he is the almighty omnipotent God for whom nothing is impossible. Whatever the challenges of life may be, we cast our cares on him since, “Notin no de weh God cyaan du.”

Only last year as some Elders and I went to visit some shut-in members did I first encounter the hymn, “I heard the bells on Christmas Day”. It is such a beautiful, yet powerful hymn. By divine providence, last week I came upon the story behind the hymn (approximately one year later). This heightened my appreciation of it. I share it with you.

In the summer of 1861, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow’s wife, Frances, died tragically in a fire. That first Christmas without her, he wrote in his diary, “How inexpressibly sad are the holidays.” The next year was no better, as he recorded, “ ‘A merry Christmas,’ say the children, but that is no more for me.” In 1863, as the American Civil War was dragging on, Longfellow’s son joined the army against his father’s wishes and was critically injured. On Christmas Day that year, as church bells announced the arrival of another painful Christmas, Longfellow picked up his pen and began to write, “I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day.”

The poem begins pleasantly, lyrically, but then takes a dark turn. The violent imagery of the pivotal fourth verse ill suits a Christmas carol. “Accursed” cannons “thundered,” mocking the message of peace. By the fifth and sixth verses, Longfellow’s desolation is nearly complete. “It was as if an earthquake rent the hearth-stones of a continent,” he wrote. The poet nearly gave up: “And in despair I bowed my head; ‘There is no peace on earth,’ I said.”

 But then, from the depths of that bleak Christmas day, Longfellow heard the irrepressible sound of hope. And he wrote this seventh stanza. The war raged on and so did memories of his personal tragedies, but it could not stop Christmas. The Messiah is born!

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!

And thought how, as the day had come,
The belfries of all Christendom
Had rolled along, the unbroken song
Of peace on earth, good-will to men!

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!

Then from each black, accursed mouth
The cannon thundered in the South,
And with the sound, the carols drowned
Of peace on earth, good-will to men!

It was as if an earthquake rent
The hearth-stones of a continent,
And made forlorn, the households born
Of peace on earth, good-will to men!

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!”

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!”

Till next week, let’s entrust our entire lives to God, for “Notin no de weh God cyaan du.”

Jermaine Gibson