Peace on Earth

 

It’s less than a week before Christmas.  The Advent season seems to go by more quickly each year.  Plans to do less, buy less, reflect more, once again, seemed to have been challenged.  The focus of peace during this Advent did provide me an opportunity to step back and delve into the many aspects of Christmas beyond the Christmas story.  The peace that was prophesied was coming, the peace of all the blessings we receive, the peace we can gain during troubled times, and now, the peace for ALL. 

That sense of ALL seems to be missing in the world today.  The unity that comes through fellow human beings seems to be lacking.  Our ability to put aside our differences and see each other for who we are, children of God, seems lost.  We tend to focus more on the negative of what makes us different than the positive of what joins us together.  Today’s verse, from angels long ago, reminds us of the peace that He gave us here on earth.

Here, God was speaking to the shepherds.  At the time of Jesus’ birth, being a shepherd was not seen as the best career move.  Many were born into that work.  Yet, this is where God shares the message of Jesus’ birth.  To those whose peace may have been struggling.  They may have not realized the peace that was coming to them, the peace that was in the blessings they received, or the peace  they experienced during troubled times.  It was God who put that aside and shared with them that the peace that Jesus was bringing was for ALL the earth, for ALL who lived, for even the lowly shepherds. 

God’s peace on earth could seem to be missing today.  We have war, we have famine, relationships crumble, health issues arise, and dissent is upon us.  Have faith, simple faith my friends, that God’s peace is with us.  It is in the eyes of those we meet on the street.  It is in the phone call from a friend long ago.  It is in the hug of a child.  It is in the pew of a church.  It is there for us to find, as the shepherds found Jesus in the manger long ago.  Peace is here on earth.  God shared that message over 2000 years ago and He never took that away from us.  As the Advent season comes to a close with Christmas morning next week, may we feel God’s presence with us, the peace that passes all understanding, and may we be the peace that the earth is today.  Merry Christmas to all and may our Dear Lord bless you and keep you.

Dearest Lord, we thank you for giving us peace on earth.  It is that peace that we not only need to see but need to be!  We pray that your unwavering love will engulf us and help us see the peace for all that you gave us.  Amen!