Peace on Earth, Good will to men is still the goal

We sit in the airport waiting to board a plan to Houston. It is Christmas Eve 2009. The hoard of passengers we expected at the security line at 5:00 p.m. has not materialized and we expect a pleasant journey.

Mary and Joseph arrived in Bethlehem about this time of day I imagine, They needed to find place to rest for the night. Baby Jesus must have been restless and ready to come after bouncing around on a donkey for a week as they traveled from Nazareth to Bethlehem. I am amazed at how the message of Christmas then is still the message of Christmas today. The Savior has been born; He is Christ the Lord. Jesus is still the savior of the world.

Our world is still ravaged by wars and rumors of wars; people are still subjugated to others because of military might, slavery or debt; poverty is still a human condition while at the same time immense wealth abounds to others. Some children are born in the palace; others barely off the street. In the background, the airport television is on the airport version of CNN (Consistently Negative News). They are broadcasting a documentary called "In God We Trust" discussing the how people's faith affect the way they live. Of course, they have to throw in some economic news of the recession. I am quite convinced, from what I have read, the times when God chose to send His son into this world in human form was not that much different today. For sure they did not have 24 hour cable news, internet, instant messaging, digital photography, Facebook, Twitter or fax to constantly harp on the same 10 sentences over and again for 4 to 6 hours at a time.

Peace is only attainable through Christ and in Christ. We only learn to value each other from the inside out when the love of God is spread abroad in our hearts. Tolerance does not bring peace: it is too pretentious and lacks real knowledge of the other person. Affirmative action does not bring lasting peace because it values people because of their race, ethnicity or other preference; it is not concerned with what Dr. King referred to as "the content of their character". The United Nations' dismal record for peace negotiation and peace keeping speaks for itself. Some people define peace as the absence of war. If that were true, how do we explain the 1.4 millions violent crimes, including 16,000 murders, committed on the streets of America each year or in other non war-ravaged nations?

Jesus is the "Prince of Peace". His true presence in our lives, when not filtered through the lens of tradition, nationalism, race, ethnicity, political division, religious affiliation or personal preference awakens the latent capacity in us to really live in peace with each other. Jesus never asked us to agree with each other on every topic. He asked us to love Him with all our heart, soul and mind and to love our neighbor as ourselves. Most people have learned to love themselves in spite of not being perfect. What if we extended that patience to those who may not be on our favorites list?

Maybe peace is less about the absence of war and fragile human agreements and more about our relationship with God and how we love our neighbor in relation to ourselves. We only really learn to love ourselves when we come to grips with the immensity of God's love for us and how much He wants to perfect His relationship with us.

Peace on Earth to Men on Whom God's Favor Rests.