Peace – taken from Celebrating Christmas
Peace is certainly one of the seasonal values. One of the great prophetic passages in Isaiah talks about the Messiah as being someone who can be called ‘Wonderful Counsellor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace’ (Isaiah 9:6). Jesus is the one known as the ‘Prince of Peace’. That role of Christ is echoed in the angel’s message to the shepherds, ‘Glory to God in highest heaven, and peace on earth to those with whom God is pleased’ (Luke 2:13–14 NLT).
Two thousand years on from the first Christmas and we still look for peace. In 1971 John Lennon wrote a song entitled ‘Happy Xmas (War Is Over)’. Ever since the reaction has been, ‘Sorry, John, it isn’t.’
First, what does peace mean? Here we are helped by the great emphasis on peace in the Old Testament, with the result that one of the few Hebrew words that many people know is shalom. It is something far richer than a mere ceasefire and includes such ideas as fulfilment, justice and happiness. In situations where there have been grievances or damage, shalom encourages restoration and of making whole anything that has been broken. The idea of shalom, with its proactive ideas of doing something to bring about peace and end hostility, is carried forward into the New Testament and should be part of any Christian thinking about peace. So, in other words, we are not just to enjoy peace but to help make peace. Indeed, as Jesus himself says, ‘Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God’ (Matthew 5:9).
Second, we need to recognise that there are different dimensions where peace is needed. There are three different areas that are hungry for peace: vertical peace between humanity and God; lateral peace between individuals, societies and nations; and internal peace within ourselves. At the heart of so many of the world’s problems, and perhaps deep down all of them, is the sad fact that every human being has rebelled against God and needs to be reconciled back to him. The coming of Christ and, in particular, his bearing of the burden of human sin on the cross at Easter, has broken down the barriers between us and God. The price we couldn’t pay for our own forgiveness has been completely paid by him. If we as individuals have that personal experience of being forgiven it helps us greatly when we have to deal with other conflicts. We know something of both the value and cost of forgiveness.
It is easy to despair of peace; to think that human conflict is just one of the things that is inevitable and that there is nothing we can do about it. In fact we can. One of the most famous stories of peace at Christmas involves the series of unofficial and spontaneous ceasefires in the First World War that broke out along the Western Front in 1914.
In the week leading up to 25th December, French, German and British soldiers put their rifles down and crossed trenches to share food and exchange seasonal greetings. In some cases joint carol singing and football matches occurred. The ‘powers that be’ on both sides decided that it should never be repeated – and it never was. But supposing the spark of peace that broke out that Christmas had spread? Might the appalling and largely pointless horror of the First World War – and the Second World War that followed – have been avoided?
So let’s enjoy peace at Christmas but let’s use the opportunity to give it too.
