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| Sleep in Heavenly Peace |
"Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called children of God" Matthew 5:9
In the late 1960s, Simon and Garfunkel made a recording of 'Silent Night' superimposed over the typical 7 o’clock news over the US TV channels. One cannot miss the sarcasm, sleeping in heavenly peace at such times?
Things have not changed. On the 16 Dec 2012 the world woke up to the headline news, 'Gunman kills 26 in US elementary school massacre'. What is so disturbing is that the victims included 20 five-year old children. On the 28 Oct 2018 a shooting in a Jewish Synagogue in Pittsburgh killed 11 victims while they were worshiping. One year earlier in Las Vegas 59 were shot dead and more than 500 injured after a gunman using automatic weapons fired on the crowd at a country music festival. On the 24 Dec 2019 protesters in Hong Kong who held a Silent Night protest march clashed violently with the police. This Christmas, the Covid-19 variant, Omicron, threatens the world.
We may cynically proclaim the irrelevancy of Christmas and its message of peace and goodwill among men.
The cornerstone of the United Nations quotes from Micah 4:3, 'They shall beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks; nations shall not lift up sword against nations, neither shall they learn war any more.'
But can peace can be achieved between nations when it cannot be achieved between individuals? Can peace between individuals be achieved when it is not found within a person?
A Chinese proverb reads
'If there there is a light in the soul,
There will be beauty in the person,
If there is beauty in the person,
There will be harmony in the house.
If there is harmony in the house,
There will be order in the nation,
If there is order in the nation,
There will be peace in the world.
Is there light at the end of this dark tunnel?
'You (God) will keep in perfect peace him whose mind is steadfast, because he trusts in You. Trust in the LORD forever, for the LORD, is the Rock eternal.' Isaiah 26:3-4
An individual at peace with God, is at peace with himself and with others. That peace frees us from fear and removes the barbs of our anxieties. This personal peace bring the most satisfaction, the greatest relief and the deepest comfort. There will be tranquility within.
'The fruit of righteousness will be peace; the effect of righteousness will be quietness and confidence forever.' Isaiah 32:17.
In World War I, a Christmas Truce of 1914 was declared and the carol 'Silent Night' was sung. Along the war front, German and Allied troops downed their weapons and reached out their hands toward each other and exchanged Christmas greetings.
Let's make peace with each other, for God has given us this Benediction, His blessing of peace
'The Lord bless you and keep you; the Lord make His face to shine upon you and be gracious to you; the Lord lift up the light of His countenance upon you and give you peace." Numbers 6:24-26
Merry Christmas Everybody!
Lionel
Updated article. 1st Published 17 Dec 2007
