“How can you possibly talk about peace, joy and hope with all this going on in the World? This is the World we live in!”
These were the words of a local restaurateur that I know – his kids are in the same class at School as mine. We were standing in his restaurant watching the TV as the Lindt Café hostage crisis unfolded.
The restaurateur comes from a part of the World where violence, hostages and war are commonplace. After a lively discussion about the hostage crisis, I told him how I take great encouragement from the Christmas message of peace and that, in the face of terrorism, I have the privilege of sharing hope with the World. It was at this point he said, “How can you possibly talk about peace, joy and hope with all this going on in the World? This is the World we live in!”
This is not an uncommon feeling from people. U2 sang a song some years ago, “Peace on Earth,” which expressed it beautifully.
In that song, Bono sings,
“Jesus, can you take the time to thrown a drowning man a line … Peace on Earth …. Jesus this song you wrote; The words are sticking in my throat; Peace on Earth; Hear it every Christmas time; But hope and history won't rhyme; So what's it worth? This peace on Earth.”
It’s too easy to try to give cliché answers or trite sayings to these sorts of questions.
We need to sit with the power of these apparent contradictions and see that, rather than the Christmas message being disproved by the violence and pain in the World, the Christmas message is the perfect and unique answer to the violence and pain in the World.
That is the power of the Angelic message of Christmas: “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord.” (Luke 2:10-11)
Our whole world is weighed down by the weight of sin and we see it’s effects all around us – in our home, our lives, our community and our World. But, Jesus has come as the “Prince of Peace” (Isaiah 9:6) and He calls on us to be “Peacemakers.” (Matthew 5:9)
Let’s not fall victim to the negativity, cynicism and fear of the World but be messengers of peace, reconciliation, salvation and joy! The early Church was described as “turning the World upside down.” (Acts 17:6) Our World still needs to be turned upside down. Let’s be inspired by the Christmas message to be those people!