The Christmas story does not initially appear to have much to do with peace. Zechariah and Elizabeth’s news comes as a great shock. Then we have the angel Gabriel appearing to Mary, a young girl in Nazareth. (Luke 1:26-38) She is a virgin who is pledged to be married to Joseph, but she is told she will conceive and give birth to a son. (Luke 1:31) She shows great maturity and faith in accepting this truth, but Joseph (not surprisingly) finds it incredible. He has to wrestle with feelings of rejection and betrayal, assuming she has been unfaithful to him, musing about what to do and how to divorce her without causing disgrace to her. (Matt 1:18-19) Their happy relationship is under threat. God’s intervention in their lives must have meant great upheaval and very little peace initially.
Jesus, one of whose names is the ‘Prince of Peace’, does not always seem to bring peace to us (see Matt 10:34). He disturbs our routines and our everyday lives; He makes demands on us that can seem utterly unreasonable. He tells us to forgive our enemies and to bless those who persecute us. (Matt 5:43-48) He urges us to love the unlovable and to do good to all. He reminds us that everyone is our neighbour and that we have a responsibility to all. (Luke 10:25-37) Those of us who become Christians are sometimes surprised by the animosity this arouses in friends and family. Peace can seem a long way off, an unattainable goal.
And yet as we continue, we will see that peace does come. If it’s not yet yours, wait for it. God brings peace into turbulent situations.
