Peace on Earth

“I heard the bells on Christmas day, Their old familiar carols play, And mild and sweet their songs repeat,
Of peace on earth good will to men.” Back at the last church I served as the youth pastor we used to do a thing called ‘McPrayer’. Yep, it’s exactly what you think. We met at McDonald’s on Friday mornings, bought the youth breakfast and prayed. It was actually a rather neat way to start our Fridays and we had quite a few kids come out…probably mostly for the free breakfast.
But one youth, every single week, had the same prayer request: ‘Peace on earth’. And we prayed that prayer, often with a certain amount of skepticism, but we prayed it. And I don’t think any of us, including that kid, really anticipated to ever see peace on earth but that doesn’t mean the prayer wasn’t worthwhile, maybe just not practical. Even the Bible tells us that we won’t see peace on earth the way we desire before Jesus comes back.
I mean peace on earth is a huge request, right? This year alone has revealed to us so clearly how very divided we are. If we didn’t have enough issues and topics to argue about, we now have a significantly larger number. Vaccine or not. Mask or not. Personal liberty vs social good. Trump vs Biden. I mean try bringing any of those topics up this week (if you even get to see your family) and see how it goes.
Peace on earth sounds like a ridiculous dream at this point. I mean, taking 7.7 billion people and getting them to live in peace with each other is impossible. I can’t even get 5 kids in my house to get along more than a few minutes at a time (and that’s usually only when they’re sleeping!). And then we have the natural chaos, the loss of health, status, job, resources and life that simply happens because of the world we live in. How can we ever imagine having peace on earth?
But that’s the promise we’re given, too. When the angels came with the very first announcement of the birth of the Savior, they told the shepherds, “Glory to God in the highest heaven, and peace on earth to those with whom he is pleased!” (GNT) Peace on earth. It’s a promise given by God to humanity. It’s the promise given through his son, Jesus.
And I think we’re all looking forward to a time when we have even just a little more peace, right? But, the reminder in the midst of the promise of peace on earth is two-fold. First, that Jesus alone brings that peace through his life, death and resurrection. But second, that peace on earth can only happen if we seek peace within ourselves…through that Savior’s life, death and resurrection. Merry Christmas.