Peace On Earth
2003 Advent Devotional Collection
Wednesday, December 24
Reading for Today: Luke 2:13-18
Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among men with whom he is pleased! Luke 2:14
Tranquility and serenity are at the heart of the Christmas
story, peace of mind and soul in its message, but there are hurry, worry
and frustration in our celebration of Christmas. Shailer Matthew once
remarked sagely that God at Christmastime has become “God Emeritus,”
as if God started something he couldn’t finish and someone else took
it off his hands. We seem to have taken God out of Christmas and Christmas
out of God’s hands.
Hurry, worry and tension seem to brood over Christmas and
not very much tranquility and serenity and even less of the peace of God.
In more ways than one, Christmas seems to leave us poorer than it found
us. When it is over we breathe a sigh of relief and say, “Thank heaven
it won’t come again for another year.”
Possibly it is too much to expect Christmas to change our
lives radically. Actually, Christmas as we know it merely intensifies
a perpetual state of hurry, worry and tension. We could manage even our
celebration of Christmas if we approached it from a leisurely spiritual
stance. The trouble is that the normal tempo of our lives is so furious,
so devoid of spiritual poise that the added strain of Christmas frays
our nerves. When we are constantly under pressure, the added demands seem
impossible, and Christmas becomes not a blessing but a burden.
It may be that this is a time to look at our lives as we live them 365 days a year. Are we relaxed and poised as we venture into the Christmas rush? Did we have ourselves under control in September and October? Or have we felt fatigued and “heavy-laden,” pushed and driven as long as we can remember? Have we known through the days that are past that God is our “refuge and strength?” Christmas only serves to intensify our tensions unless through the days of the past we have been answering the summons, “Come unto me.”
Prayer for Today: Teach us to greet the days with poise and self-possession, our Father, and to be serene in the midst of frustration, in the knowledge that in all things thou art our refuge and our strength. Amen.
Harold Blake Walker Inspirational Thoughts for Every Day
Central Christian Church (Disciples of Christ)
(217) 428-4336