Days of Indescribable Joy
As I sit here typing on this 79th anniversary of the bombing of Pearl Harbor, I can hear my Granny recounting the details of how she learned about the day President Roosevelt accurately predicted would “…live in infamy.”
Interesting word, ‘infamy’. It means being well-known for a bad quality or event. Not just well-known, because it happened, but well-known because of what happened. In other words, President Roosevelt’s words were both a warning and pleading for Americans to never forget the catastrophic devastation and brutality of Japan’s attack on the United States of America. He was warning and pleading with Americans to never forget the deaths of over 2 ,400 servicemen and civilians. Servicemen and civilians who were innocent of any act against their attackers. So, looking at it from that perspective, President Roosevelt was right. December 7th, 1941 is definitely a day in which a bad event took place, therefore making it one that should live in infamy.
As I thought about today from that right and accurate perspective, my next thoughts were of other events that should live in infamy. What were they? What events involved unjustified death and devastation?
The first such event that came to mind was Jesus’ death on the cross. It definitely falls under the category of unjustified. But does that mean it should live in infamy? No way. The word ‘bad’ should never be one we associate with the death of Jesus. Although there was suffering and grief, it was not a bad day or event. It was a day for rejoicing because the baby born in a stable, whose birth is the primary reason for celebrating Christmas, did what he came to do. His purpose in this human life was complete!
At Easter time we don’t sing, “…hallelujah, Christ arose!” because we are sad. No, we sing it because we are glad and grateful he died and was raised back to life. I guess what I’m saying is that if stop for a moment and think about it from a semantics (study of word meanings and origins), if not for Jesus’ death on the cross, our deaths would be days of infamy.
So, as we continue to find new and different ways to celebrate Christmas this year, I want to encourage you to sing glory to God in the highest for peace and good will to all because of Jesus’ birth, life, and his death and resurrection because if not for his death and resurrection, his birth and life would be no different than ours.
Pearl Harbor Day should forever live in infamy. But the day/night of Jesus’ birth, as well as the days marking his death and resurrection, instead of ‘infamy’, these days should forever be remembered as days of indescribable joy!
Be salt and light,
Darla, aka Momma D
Colossians 4:6