Blessed Sunday to you all!

Pastor Joel spoke of peace today in his continuing series of messages about Peace in a World in Pieces. In his message he recounted memories of singing Silent Night as a child and how it always made his Christmas complete. As an adult he has some different thoughts on that wonderful song. Pastor has also caused me to do some deeper thinking about that night.

Let me begin with Mary. Hebrew tradition proclaimed young girls marriageable when their monthly cycles began. So Mary was quite young when she became pregnant with Jesus. She fell in love with a much older man who was probably not the man her father would have chosen for her. Then she had to explain to her mother, father and fiancé about this pregnancy. Mary and her family had to endure the shame and humiliation of Mary being pregnant without being married. Joseph had to deal with the feelings of betrayal with the knowledge that he was not the father of this baby. This was not a time of peace for any of these characters.

Fast forward to that night in the manger. Here are these two people, one very young and one about to be asked to do something traditionally reserved for only the women. Joseph would be given the task of bringing this mysterious child into the world. Would he know what to do when the time came? He would not be outside with other men waiting to be told when this child was born. The community would celebrate this birth as other neighborhood births were announced. On this night he and he alone would be there with his very young wife in a cold cave with only straw for a bed and the animals as witnesses. Not a time of peace for these characters either.

Pastor Joel then made the most profound statement. Pastor said, “Peace of the sleeping Christ child did not come until after the pain of birth.” As a mother I have given birth three times. I remember very clearly the pain of those deliveries and as soon as those children were delivered the pain was gone.

Real peace does not happen without struggle. When we become pride swallowing people Christ’s peace can happen. When we are willing to give up ourselves then Christ’s peace can happen. When we are willing to walk in faith and go through the struggle in obedience to Christ, then peace, true peace, happens. Peace costs a lot. Peace does not cost in dollars. It costs us our will and allowing Christ to be more of us than we are of ourselves.

We, too, can sleep in peace. Peace comes to us in forgiveness and reconciliation with Christ and through the sleeping baby in the manger. Give up the struggle and be born again and allow the peace of God to replace the pain.

Take joy in the journey and wear comfortable shoes. Life is too short to wear shoes that hurt your feet! Love you all so very much, Bruce, Gaylene, Geni and Travis.

Gcapplenotes@aol.com

I am not moved by what I see. I am not moved by what I feel. I am moved only by what I believe and I