What Have We Learned From Christmas?
Christmas is over. As we take down the Christmas tree and put away the lights that have adorned our homes, I wonder if we have learned anything during the Christmas of the pandemic? It’s been the most unusual one I have ever experienced. We took our grandchildren and children their presents, but we exchanged them outside and while socially distancing. We didn’t hug, and we surely didn’t sit down together for a big meal.
As I was thinking about Christmas, I found a story that occurred in Belgium in 1914. You may know the story about the singing that was heard rising from the trenches where soldiers were dug in. “Silent Night” was heard in German and then in English. Soldiers who had been shooting at each other laid down their weapons and emerged from their trenches to shake hands in “no man’s land.” They exchanged Christmas greetings and gifts from their rations. The ceasefire continued through the next day as the soldiers talked and laughed and even organized soccer games. The Christmas Truce of 1914 provides a glimpse of the peace the world felt on the very first Christmas. Luke 2:10-14 tells us that a multitude of angels appeared, “praising God and saying, Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace to those on whom His favor rests.”
Luke 2 tells us the shepherds were the first to hear the announcement of Jesus’ birth. Everyone thought of shepherds as members of a low social class. They worked in the field and were often thought to be unclean. The foremost reason the shepherds were the first to see Jesus was that they represented humans living their regular lives. The second reason was that Jesus came to save everyone, and probably the most important reason is that Jesus was the shepherd who came to save the lost.
My prayer as you take down the Christmas decorations is that you realize Jesus is the “Prince of Peace.” As you think about Christmas, may you be reminded that Jesus has come to save each of us. May we all get out of our “trenches” and sing together “Silent Night.” May we realize that Jesus is God Incarnate, coming to save us and to offer each of us forgiveness and peace.
Prayer: Father I thank you for sending Jesus. I praise you for the perfect peace that this world can never take away. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! Amen.
Luke2:14 – “Peace to those on whom his favor rests.”
By the Rev. Tommy Herndon
Image: Sincerely Media/Unsplash
