Homily

“Glory to God in the highest and peace on earth to those on whom God’s favor rests.” That’s what the choir of angels sang on the night that Christ was born. This phrase “peace on earth” is often used during the Christmas season, pulled out from the whole song of the angels and it’s applied to the idea of peace between countries and nations. Well, that certainly would be a very good thing, peace between people who are fighting, or at war. But as is so often the case when the world quotes Scripture, it is not what the angels meant. “Peace on earth to those on whom God’s favor rests.” It’s about the peace of people, the peace in the lives of people, and if there is one thing I have learned in 36 years as a pastor, the one quality that most easily slips away from Christians who are celebrating Christmas is peace.

What is the very first petition of the Liturgy? “In peace, let us pray to the Lord.” It’s not “when you feel like you are at peace, or, when peace finally comes let us pray to the Lord.” The petition assumes that we can actually provide the peace we need to pray to the Lord. There are other petitions that ask the Lord for the gift of peace, and rightly so, but the first request of the Liturgy is that we do our part to be in a state of peace. I’ve been a priest for a while now so one thing I know is that peace is a state of mind and heart that is not always found among Christians as they prepare for and as they celebrate Christmas. And because of that the grace which should come our way is blocked and sometimes Christmas becomes instead an opportunity for sin and frustration. If becomes a holiday instead of a holy day. And we let it happen because we have not exercised or worked at peace for the celebration of Jesus Christ’s birth.

The first place to work for peace is in the area of material things. Think of all the stuff that surrounds Christmas, the items and the goods, the presents, the food, the decorations, and everything we think we need to have, or that we genuinely want to have for the holy day. And of course, material things can be very helpful to us in celebrating the feast. But they do not help us if we allow them to rob us of peace. If the turkey is not thawed out, if the tree is losing needles faster than the government is spending dollars, if the electrical power is out (as I know it is for some of you), if you haven’t gotten the shopping finished or the house cleaned the way you want it to be, do not let things, goods, possessions, stuff or the lack of stuff take your peace away. Goods can be good and even a godly help, but we should never allow them to get in the way of our peace during this great time. One great way to keep this from happening is to think back on years past and remember some times when we might have allowed things to get in the way of Christmas. And then let’s prepare ourselves that it won’t happen again.

While things can work against our peace, a bigger source of trouble is other people. We allow other people to steal our peace, even when they are not trying to! They may be fellow shoppers, fellow drivers, people on TV, people on Facebook. They may be your own family and relatives, it may even be your pastor, as impossible as it seems. But do not allow other people to steal your Christmas peace and they will not be able to if you carefully guard it and pay attention to it, and treasure it as it deserves to be cared for. If you need to make peace with someone, now is the time to do it. If people have disappointed you now is the time to let go of the hurt. If someone has wronged you, pardon them and be free from the offense. If someone is frustrating you find a way to get ‘unfrustered’. And you should never get together with relatives because you are bored fighting with the same old people at home and looking for other opportunities. They may be strangers, they may be co-workers, they may be your flesh and blood, but do not give your peace away because of other people.

And lastly, do not lose your peace because of you—because of your fears, your worries, your insecurities, your weaknesses, your disappointments. Ask pardon for your sins and clear your hearts. Pray every day this week for a special Christmas grace, not only for yourself but for those you love as well. We should not allow our personal weakness and failings to keep us from the One Who lifts us out of our weakness and pardons our failings every time we ask Him. Although things and other people can create trouble and problems for us, so often it is we ourselves who are responsible for our own inner turmoil and dissatisfaction. We point there and there but maybe we should be looking to our own selves instead. If the monk or the nun who is living as a hermit in a cave somewhere on the other side of the world can have a great celebration of the Nativity, if Christians living under the threat of Muslim violence can rejoice on the day of Christmas, I think we too can do the same if we prepare and make peace so there is greater room in our lives for the Prince of Peace.

So please don’t wait for it to happen. Make it happen. Be at peace with all the material things that will contribute to the holy day even if all does not go as planned. Be at peace with other people even if they chafe your spirit, and be at peace within yourself especially by trusting in Christ our Lord instead of in yourself. And then how great will be our rejoicing on the Day of Jesus’ birth.