Let the Bells Ring Out for Christmas

Let the bells ring out

for Christmas.

Not to cover the silence,

but to name it.

Not to distract us

from the dark,

but to announce the light

that has entered it.

Let them ring

for the mystery

we return to again—

God with us.

Not above us,

not beyond us,

but here.

The Word becomes flesh.

Not an idea,

not a symbol,

but a person.

Fragile.

Dependent.

Fully divine,

fully human.

The Creator

steps into the creation,

not as a king,

but as a child.

Not to watch,

but to walk with us.

To stand in

what we’ve broken.

To carry

what we cannot fix.

Let the bells ring

for the world

as it really is.

Violence still breeds violence.

Power still protects itself.

Greed wears the mask

of progress.

The planet groans,

its beauty scarred

by our refusal to care.

We have not lived up

to our calling.

We were made to bless,

but we often curse.

We were made for communion,

but we often choose control.

And still—

He comes.

Not because we asked.

Not because we deserved it.

But because love

will not remain distant.

Let the bells ring out

for hope.

Not the kind

we manufacture,

but the kind

that breaks in.

The kind

that comes

wrapped in swaddling clothes,

laid in straw,

held by a teenage mother

on the edges of empire.

Hope with a heartbeat.

Hope that bleeds.

Hope that does not leave.

Let the bells ring out

for a different kind of power—

one that heals

instead of harms,

restores

instead of conquers.

A kingdom

that is not imposed,

but revealed.

Already here.

Breaking through.

Let them ring

for Jesus—

born in Bethlehem,

executed by the state,

raised in glory,

now reigning—

not in theory,

but in truth.

Let them ring

because nothing

can stop this story now.

Not the silence.

Not the sorrow.

Not the systems.

Not even death.

Let the bells ring out

for Christmas.

Not as a tradition.

But as a testimony.

He is here.

And nothing

will ever be the same.

- Rev’d Jon Swales , Christmas 2025