One of the most used words in Israel is ‘peace’.  We read about it in the newspapers, politicians promise peace and we all hope to have it.  But we find that peace is far away from us. Instead of peace, our world is full of violence, hatred and revenge; more now than any time before. With the dawn of a new year, we may stop and wonder, where is peace? Where does it come from?  Through mankind’s confusion and search for peace and in the midst of the darkness of despair and the night of failure, a great host appeared to them.  This was not an earthly host carrying weapons to fight with. This host came to proclaim peace. It did not come from east or west to pass this message; it came from heaven.  It is a host of angels, which appeared to shepherds on the first Christmas Eve, bringing the good news to them and to all human kind, the news of the birth of the Lord and Prince of peace.

These words were not for a certain people or a certain time. These words were the universal proclamation about the peace that became available for every one in this world, through the incarnation of our Lord and savoir Jesus Christ. Mankind lost its peace by turning away from God and disobeying Him.  But at the first Christmas God came close to man once again to restore his peace. John tells us that "The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth." John 1:14.

Yes God came down to our world, became one of us, felt with us, and was able to sympathize with our weaknesses and our pain and give us true and everlasting peace. We find that the peace the Bible speaks about, does not start between fighting nations, but rather between God and man. This peace does not depend upon our human circumstances, but it is a peace in spite of our circumstances. This peace we experience when the Lord and prince of peace comes and lives in our hearts.  Then we are filled with peace. Yet this peace goes beyond our individual selves and God. It reaches out to and becomes peace between man and his brother. When we experience God's peace in our hearts, our hearts become full with God's love for all the people around us. Then we can understand the real meaning of the angels’ song "…and on earth peace to all men …", as we experience this real peace in our hearts, homes, churches and community.

Beloved, real peace exists only with this Person, whose birth the angels proclaimed. In His teaching we read "Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid." True peace comes only from the Lord of peace, the Lord Jesus Christ. So let's turn back to Him with all our hearts, and the song of the angels will not be words that we merely repeat but an experience which we live.

Amen.    

By Pastor Azar Ajaj
Dean of Students of Nazareth Evangelical Theological Seminary