In St Luke’s account of the birth of Jesus, in the wake of the events in Bethlehem, angels appear singing ‘Glory to God in the Highest’ and ‘And on earth peace, goodwill amongst people’. Now, as then, those words, first heard by the poor and those on the margins of society, enter into a world of darkness, doubt, and violence. A reality we have needed little reminding of this year.
All year, and year after year, we have watched what feels like an ever-escalating time of violence and chaos – fuelled by racism, greed, intolerance, and selfishness. Violence in homes is epidemic across our country. Advocates of cruelty and domination spread their insidious messages through the internet and media, even to children. We have watched the systematic destruction of the Gazan strip, and even after the so-called cease fire, people are still dying. There are wars and civil strife in Eastern Europe, in the Americas, in Africa, in Asia. A few years ago the late Pope Francis spoke of a third world war that is already being fought piecemeal across the globe, with crimes, massacres and destruction across multiple theatres on every continent on earth with the exception of this one (a sentiment that was recently echoed by the new pope, Leo XIV). And yet within this last fortnight, Australians have had a horrifying instance of this madness with the violence in Bondi. Dozens of Jewish Australians gathered to celebrate peaceably by the shores of the sea, gunned down by men of violence and hate.
As we celebrate the birth of Christ amongst us, we are reminded of the real, deep, and everlasting peace that he offers. Let us allow the words of the Angels to enter in afresh this Christmastide: “Glory to God in the Highest and on earth peace, goodwill amongst people’. These are words from heaven entering into this world as it is, not as we might like it to be, but as words of promise and praise to God for what already is and will be. What does the Incarnation mean? What does the birth of Jesus mean? Does it mean another tyrant claiming divinity, promising peace through the sword. No. It means real peace and goodwill. There is peace in God, with God, from God. God has taken the initiative and with the birth of Jesus everything is changing. The Kingdom of God has come close and so now we can be assured of true peace. Not a false peace brought about through violence or the threat of violence, but real peace. Peace between God and humanity. Peace for and within humanity. Peace on earth for all creation. And so the Angels sing.
Into these days of anxiety and terror, the peace that Christ brings is God’s love and grace even in the midst of trouble or hardship. It is the promise of the Kingdom, where there shall be no tears or mourning, no violence or hatred. That peace starts in our hearts. When embraced it is a peace that transforms us, enables us to forgive, to work together in hope, to heal, and to build bridges where there is division. Many years after this nativity scene that is the focus of our liturgy at this time, this same baby in the manager would say ‘Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called Children of God’.
As Martin Luther King once said:
'The ultimate weakness of violence is that it is a descending spiral, begetting the very thing it seeks to destroy. Instead of diminishing evil, it multiplies it. Through violence you may murder the liar, but you cannot murder the lie, nor establish the truth. Through violence you murder the hater, but you do not murder hate. In fact, violence merely increases hate... Returning violence for violence multiplies violence, adding deeper darkness to a night already devoid of stars. Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that.'
Now all this might sound agreeable but you, like me, may be thinking: ‘That’s all well and good but it’s not like I can bring about world peace by myself or bring about an end to these seemingly unending conflicts’. And yes, that may well be right. None of us, I hope, will ever be called upon to rush into the midst of conflict and to try to disarm a gunman. But all of us, all of Christ’s disciples, are called to peacemakers. Called to bring forth the fruits of the Spirit in our lives which are love, joy, and peace. We can work for peace in our lives wherever we are – amongst our families, our friends, our workplaces, our schools. Bringing the peace of Christ into our daily lives and our relationships. That may be all the peacemaking we are ever called upon, but it matters and it does make a difference. We can work to end the hatred, enmity and violence in our own homes and neighbourhoods. For in so many ways that is where all conflict, terror, and all wars, begin.
We are all called to be peacemakers and we can do that in a variety of ways, as the Spirit leads us. Maybe it starts with a bit of self-reflection and examination of our own words and actions. Maybe it that starts with that phone call we have been putting off. Maybe it is apologising to someone we have hurt or extending forgiveness to someone who has hurt us. Maybe it is the patience that is shown or love that is extended during a Christmas lunch or dinner. Maybe it is working for peace and unity across our Church. Maybe it is standing up and putting an end to abuse and abusive behaviour in our workplaces, our faith communities, our schools, our homes. Through those things, perhaps only through things like those, can we break the endless cycle of tit-for-tat, of self-righteousness and self-justification, of revenge, and of cycles of violence. We cut off that cycle by becoming the place where that cycle stops and does not repeat. I suggest we best start by carrying all of this into our own prayers – asking God for his peace to fill our lives and our hearts. Asking God not only to empower us to be peacemakers but asking God’s forgiveness for the hurt we done to others, to ourselves, and towards him. In his peace and by his peace are we able to be peacemakers.
May we carry God's peace into every corner of our lives, sharing it with others and being instruments of true reconciliation wherever we go. May his peace, which passes all understanding, dwell richly in our hearts, and may we share that peace with a world in desperate need of it.
Merry Christmas.
Image source: https://kellylatimoreicons.com/en-au/products/christ-in-the-rubble
