This poet evidently felt a
bit like he was suspended between two realities – one that was visible, and
another that he saw and heard with the eye of faith and wanted others to pause
and recognize. Edmund Hamilton Sears wrote “It Came Upon the Midnight Clear” in
1849 as the Christmas season was upon him and others in Massachusetts (see its
seal here). It wasn’t just a Christmas merrymaking sentiment that was on his
mind, however. Were the words he crafted also the thoughts of a friend who
coaxed Edmund to write something for an upcoming celebration? Were one or both
of these men contemplating and feeling anxious about other circumstances in the
land in which they lived? One or both of them wanted their fellow men to
overcome earthbound troubles by listening to angel voices, a tonic that Edmund recommended
at the end of each of his verses.
Edmund Sears was a 39-year
old Unitarian minister who nevertheless believed not just in the one God – a central
tenet of Unitarianism – but also in Christ. So, when asked by a friend (William
Lunt), who was also a minister, to craft something to commemorate the Christmas
season, Sears agreed. Perhaps he imagined the angel chorus singing about Jesus’
birth, inspiring the many varied references to angels providing music to
fascinate humanity and calm events terrestrially. There are hints in Edmund’s
poetry that he was pondering conditions prevalent at the time, situations that
caused no small amount of concern. It was 1849, and gold rush fever had struck,
so was that on Edmund’s mind as he penned the words ‘…the age of gold’ in his
last verse? Many have also speculated that the growing polarization of the
issue of American slavery and the oncoming Civil War compelled Edmund’s words
about ‘Peace on Earth’ (v.1), and ‘the woes of sin and strife’, and ‘man, at war
with man’ (v.3). This Unitarian minister’s deep-felt desire for unity is plain
throughout his poem, especially as he envisions all earth’s inhabitants pausing
to listen to the heavenly creatures’ quiet but penetrating strains. Did the
people of Sears’ era on that Christmas in 1849 grasp his meaning? Indeed, though
the lack of peace has often betrayed the Christian believer’s disobedience to this
foundational principle – peace, harmony with fellow mortals – maybe the delay of
war for another 12 years suggests many heard and joined in singing Sears’ words
with sincerity for a time.
Do the angels still bend over
the earth, looking over you and me, today? Frankly, many corners of the planet
might grunt negatively, if asked this. Conflict is normal, someone might even
say ‘human’, while Charity is divine, otherworldly. Edmund Sears, judging by
what he wrote, probably would have agreed. Did that mean he was a pessimist,
unable to vocalize a hopeful note? His song is a resounding ‘no’ to that
question. He saw what was going on around himself, but chose to look deeper and
listen for the song others could not hear. Maybe that tuned his ears and
allowed his eyes to perceive more and more the angels’ song. Don’t wait until the
Christmas season to try out this Christmas song.
Information on the song was
obtained from the books Amazing Grace
– 366 Inspiring Hymn Stories for Daily Devotions, by Kenneth W. Osbeck,
1990, Kregel Publications; 101 More Hymn Stories, by Kenneth W. Osbeck, 1985,
Kregel Publications; The Complete Book of Hymns – Inspiring Stories About
600 Hymns and Praise Songs, by William J. and Ardythe Petersen, 2006,
Tyndale House Publishers, Inc.; Then Sings My Soul, by Robert J. Morgan,
2003, Thomas Nelson, Inc.
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