Christmas Message

 Dear Friends

War doesn’t take a holiday. Bad news happens in December. Hard to read headlines and hard to see pictures appear at the same time we are celebrating the Good News of Christ’s birth.

I wasn’t around on December 7, 1941, when Pearl Harbor was attacked. But I do remember when the orders to begin carpet bombing in North Vietnam were given, on December 18, 1972. I do remember the Soviet Union invading Afghanistan on December 24, 1979. And now, Putin’s war on Ukraine continues to bring outrage throughout the world in December of 2022. Putting aside the arguments of when war is justified and when it is not, the questions remain: When will they, when will we, when will the world ever learn?

The words that jumped out for me in last night’s speech was when President Zelenskyy said, 

“We’ll celebrate Christmas. And even if there is no electricity, the light of our faith in ourselves will not be put out”.

Of course, to tweak it a bit, I would say “the light of our faith in Christ will not be put out” Similarly, Paul wrote to the Ephesians, “Glory to God whose power, working in us, can do infinitely more than we can ask or imagine…”

With all this in mind, let me share a Christmas prayer. The author is unknown, but it echoes the spirit of that prayer attributed to St. Francis about being instruments of peace:

When evil darkens our world, give us light;

When despair numbs our souls, give us hope;

When we stumble and fall, lift us up;

When doubts assail us, give us faith;

When nothing seems sure, give us trust;

When ideals fade, give us vision;

When we lose our way, be our guide;

That we may find serenity in Your presence 

and purpose in doing Your Will.

Amen.

The call and challenge for us, then, is to use the light and hope and faith and trust and vision we have been given, given by the one who is our guide and who will lift us up every time we fall. May we continue to pursue peace in the name of the Prince of Peace, Jesus, in all we think and say and do.  

John