Christmas is the time to spread the message of love, harmony and peace. Of course, it is a time we are showered with gifts and wishes, but in the midst of all commercialism, we should not forget the spirit of Christmas. The real spirit of Christmas is God’s love to all humanity, as He himself came into being in the person of Jesus, his Beloved Son, so that we can live in peace and in harmony with one another. We can say that the world never lives in peace as we have currently experienced in our time. But, unless the people of the world sit back, swallow their greed and pride and humbly acknowledge the Prince of Peace, who came so that we can be together as children of God the Creator.
The prophet Isaiah demonstrates this, as his people were longing for peace and harmony. He predicted that; “That the wolf shall live with the lamb. the leopard shall lie down with the kid, the calf and the lion and the fatling together, and a little child shall lead them. The cow and the bear shall graze, their youngs shall shall lie down together, and the lion shall eat straw like the ox. The nursing child shall put his hand on the adder’s den. They will not hurt or destroy on all my holy mountain, for the earth will be full of the knowledge of the Lord as the waters cover the sea.” (Isaiah 11:6-9) So we should keep up our hopes and prayers, together with our witness that the people of the world would be full of the knowledge of the Lord. Unless we do acknowledge God’s precious gift of love in the baby Jesus, not just at Christmas but everyday, we will be unable to fulfil the promise from prophet Isaiah for all creation to live together and be reconciled with one another and enjoy our diversities culturally and our creeds, and most important, our relationship with God and with one another. Peace is not the absence of conflict or turmoil, but it is in our relationship with God and one another. George F McDougall said, “Best of all, Christmas means a spirit of love, a time when the love of God and the love of our fellow beings should prevail over all hatred and bitterness, a time when our thoughts and deeds and the spirit of our lives manifest the presence of God.”
We again journey through this Advent Season. A Season of preparing ourselves mentally and spiritually as we celebrate with joy the coming of Jesus into the world, the coming of the Light into the midst of darkness, and we pray that this Light keep shinning and penetrates through our darkness world. Friends, keep the focus to the theme of the Advent Season; Hope, Peace, Joy, and Love and keep in mind; We are the people of hope who keep striving for peace in the world and to celebrate the love we have in Jesus and the joy of being part of his mission in the world.
Rev Samata Elia