Shalom

"Let there be peace on earth and let it begin with me..."

Easy to sing.  Not so easy to practice.

Especially during the hustle and bustle of Advent and the Christmas Season.

I read of a woman who was so obsessed with her holiday decorations that her husband accused her of being a "holiday hoarder".  Not much peace in that relationship.

And who among us has not experienced the Christmas Eve nightmare of putting a toy together - you know 100 easy pieces?  And how about the traffic  .... haven't you had an experience when you wanted to just give someone a piece of your mind.

Oops - wrong use of the synonym. Besides I'm talking about the word SHALOM - the expression used in ancient days when the goal is to offer encouragement and love.

One of my favorite parts of liturgical worship is the passing of the peace.  It signifies warmth and welcome.

I also love it when the words from Philippians 4:7 are used in a pastoral benediction "And the peace of God which passes all understanding shall  keep your heart and minds through Christ Jesus."

It was wartime (1863) and Henry Wadsworth Longfellow had lost his second wife and his son had been badly crippled as he fought as a Union soldier.  Christmas Day was not a happy one for the poet and he penned the words to "Christmas Bells".  This stanza is an expression of the grief he must have been experiencing.

"And in despair, I bowed my head; "There is no peace on earth," I said;

"For hate is strong, And mocks the song

Of peace on earth, good-will to men!"

And yet somewhere from deep within his spirit, he drew these words:

"Then pealed the bells more loud and deep:"God is not dead, nor doth He sleep;

The Wrong shall fail, The Right prevail,

With peace on earth, good-will to men."*

I have friends and loved ones who are feeling a little like the great poet must have felt.  Some are in trouble financially, some are unhappy in their marriage and some are going to lose a child or a parent soon (without a miracle). Not really easy to be at peace.

One of those friends has a quick answer to my question - How are you?  "Thankful".  She knows peace - and it shows.  I think it might begin with her.  I hope I can catch it!

Shalom.

May your life be filled with enough sunshine

to make you appreciate the shadows

*The information about the writing of I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day is from Wikipedia.