Peace on Earth?

Over the last few days there has been one Christmas song that has continued to come up in different settings. But always with reference to the state of the world today.

Many Christmas carols speak of peace on earth. That Jesus came to bring peace on earth.

But, when we take a look at the world we live in, peace seems far away.

Nations are warring against nation. Or against the people within their own nations. Shootings happen in elementary schools and shopping malls. And conflict occurs regularly in everyday life.

Peace on earth . . . it kind of seems like a dream.

I love the words of this song that has kept coming up. It acknowledges the mess in our world and still holds out hope that all will be right in the end. That peace on earth is possible.

I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day

(Henry Wadsworth Longfellow)

I heard the bells on Christmas day

Their old familiar carols play

And mild and sweet their songs repeat

Of peace on earth, good will to men

I thought how as the day had come

The belfries of all Christendom

Hod rolled along the unbroken song

Of peace on earth, good will to men

And in despair I bowed my head

There is no peace on earth, I said

For hate is strong and mocks the song

Of peace on earth, good will to men

Then pealed the bells more loud and deep

God is not dead, nor doth He sleep

The wrong shall fail, the right prevail

With peace on earth, good will to men

Till ringing singing on its way

The world revolved from night to day

A voice, a chime, a chant sublime

Of peace on earth, good will to men

Humility

My soul lifts up the Lord!

My spirit celebrates God, my Liberator!

For though I’m God’s humble servant,      God has noticed me. Now and forever,      I will be considered blessed by all generations.

For the Mighty One has done great things for me;      holy is God’s name!

From generation to generation      God’s loving-kindness endures      for those who revere Him.

God’s arm has accomplished mighty deeds. The proud in mind and heart,      God has sent away in disarray.

The rulers from their high positions of power,      God has brought down low; And those who were humble and lowly,      God has elevated with dignity.

The hungry – God has filled with fine food. The rich – God has dismissed with nothing in           their hands.

To Israel, God’s servant      God has given help,

As He promised to our ancestors,     remembering Abraham and his descendants           in mercy forever. (Luke 1:46-55 The Voice)

Mary's song of praise in these verses has always been a passage I loved in the accounts of the Christmas story. She had accepted a message and a task from God that would have been hard to take on in the culture in which she lived. And then she praised God because of Him fulfilling His promise.

She declared Who God is and what He had done. How He had kept His promises. How He had cared for His people. How great and mighty God is.

Over and over in her song, Mary talks about how God lifts up the humble and brings down the proud. This is something that plays over and over elsewhere in Scripture as well. Jesus modelled this time after time in His ministry.

Even Jesus' birth in humble circumstances speaks to how God raises the humble and brings down the proud. Instead of being born in a nice place withe the appropriate welcome for a King, Jesus was born in a stable.

Jesus' welcome in that stable was by animals and shepherds. Hardly the people you would think would welcome a King. But the humble shepherds heard the message from the angels and went to welcome the King. Then they spread a message of the birth of the King as they went.

The humble person is the one who can be used by God. The humble person is the one follows God's plan not their own.

I don't always do it well, but I pray that I learn to walk humbly before God better every day.

What about you?

Recapture the Wonder

Sometimes I find myself stopped somewhere in awe of the beauty that surrounds me. Usually this happens when I'm outside somewhere.

It could be overlooking a lake.

Or looking down from a mountain top.

Or looking up at the night sky.

Or watching a sunset.

Or standing in the middle of an open space in the snow or rain.

Usually the place is quiet - at least from the noise of people or vehicles or TVs or phones. All I hear is the wind and the birds in the air.

In those moments I feel a sense of wonder. A sense of awe as I do what I can to take enough in to never forget the moment.

That sense of wonder isn't something I feel often. And it's often fleeting. A few moments and then I'm back to all that's going on in life.

But this Christmas, I want that sense of wonder again. The sense of wonder that comes with the story of Jesus' birth.

It's a story I know well. I've heard it read hundreds of times in my life. But I want to look at it with fresh perspective this Christmas.

I imagine there was much wonder at it all that night all those years ago when Jesus was born.

Wonder for Mary and Joseph as they looked at this tiny baby they had been told was the long-awaited Messiah.

Wonder for the shepherds as they saw the angels and heard their message.

Wonder for the shepherds again as they too looked upon the tiny baby in the manger who was supposed to be the Messiah.

That's something I don't want to miss this Christmas. Wonder over how God chose for His Son to enter our world to save us. I think it's something needed in the midst of a busy season. It makes us take the time to reflect on why we celebrate.