Dear brothers and sister in Christ,
The angels who appeared before the shepherds on the night Jesus was born announced, “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased!” (Luke 2:14) Christmas is supposed to be a season when we dwell on the peace that we receive through the gift of God’s Son, Jesus. However, the words ‘Christmas peace’ often sound like an oxymoron in our busy American way of life. We have presents to buy, dinners to plan, and suitcases to pack. On top of that, snow is falling that we have to shovel out of our driveways and sidewalks. Many of us have to start our day earlier just so we can warm up our cars and scrape ice off the windshields. We only have so much time and money, and the expectations of the Christmas season can eat up those resources pretty fast. Looking back on the last few years, peace is not the first word I would use to describe life in the weeks leading up to Christmas.
Then, what kind of peace did the angels in Luke’s Gospel declare to the world? It certainly wasn’t the kind of peace we associate with the security the world looks for: health, money, leisure. If anything, Jesus tells Christians, “Then they will deliver you up to tribulation and put you to death, and you will be hated by all nations for my name’s sake.” (Matthew 24:9) This persecution is one of the signs of the last days, but this has been true in all parts of the world for Christians at one time or another. Thankfully for us, we don’t face this level of persecution where we live yet, but it goes to show that Christians are not guaranteed an easy and carefree life.
Christmas is not about obtaining peace here on Earth. Jesus was born to give us peace with God, His Father. He came to reconcile us to God and to deliver God’s promises of salvation to us by giving Himself up for us on the cross and being raised from the dead on Easter morning, so that our enemy, death, would be defeated. That’s the peace we received at the first Christmas. God sent His Son to save us from eternal death and promised to give us eternal life through His Son, Jesus.
This Advent and Christmas season, when we feel a bit more worn and ragged, let’s do our best to dwell on the peace we have with our Heavenly Father. We can take our worries to Jesus and rejoice in the assurance that one day He will come back and raise us to a new and peaceful life. As it says in Philippians, “Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice. Let your reasonableness be known to everyone. The Lord is at hand; do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 4:4-7).
God’s Blessings,
Vicar Otterman