What kind of peace are we talking about?
“All I want for Christmas … “so goes the song, and countless jokes. What do you want? What do you need?
In Luke 2:14 we read: “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men on whom his favour rests” (NIV). TheMessage version of the Scripture reads: “Glory to God in the heavenly heights, Peace to all men and women on earth who please him.” Peace on earth seems to be the one of key customary themes of Christmas cards, carols, tree ornaments and kindergarten plays. I wonder what we mean when we say it, or write it, or sing it. I also wonder what the angel, whom we quote so liberally, meant.
It that is meant as a statement of fact then it is a lie; if that is meant as a prophecy (in a future-telling way) then it has not yet come to fruition. Peace, when you look around the world, is in a rather short supply. Yet I believe peace is exactly what we need and what we ought to want. The challenge is to recognise what kind of peace we are talking about. I fear that too often we think of peace as this short sighted, instant gratification kind of reality, when there is no shouting, no conflict, no bad news, and we are left alone to watch TV. Very much a selfish kind of peace. Yet the peace, that is part of our Christmas story, the peace that began with an angel appearing to Mary andcame into our midst in baby Jesus, is a much different kind of peace. Peace that Jesus brought is what happens when lives are changed by being loved no matter what; when the anxiety of self doubt or self hatred brought about byjudgement disappears. It happens when the uncertainty of being welcomed is transformed into sigh of relief by a smile and open arms. There could be a deep sense of peace in the assurance that the God Christians believe in conquered death and secured us a place in life after death. There is more to the meaning of peace than meets the eye, like the cursive on the Christmas card. And that desire for peace ought to be alive in our hearts all year round, not just when we hear some Christmas Carols and see Christmas trees. I am thinking, in the same way, of the catchphrase “putting Christ back in Christmas.” As if suddenly all those “Christian values” were important …
We are the heirs of that peace that began in the Christmas story. Peace that Jesus left His disciples when He said: “Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid” (John 14:27). The challenge is to honour that legacy and inheritance with all of our lives, all of the time.
So at this Christmas time I wish you courage to embrace that peace with your entire selves. I wish you a conviction and commitment to carry the meaning of Christmas, with your lives into the next year and beyond. I wish for you to be the people the God I believe in meant for you to be.
Happy Christmas!
With blessings
your brother in figuring it all out
The Rev. Piotr Strzelecki, St. Paul’s United Church
