Christmastime can be summed up in one word, peace (Luke 2). The multitude of Heavenly Angels announced the birth of Jesus, proclaiming, “Glory to God in the highest; and on earth peace to men of good will.” The word peace is found about 429 times in the Old and New Testaments combined. There are quite a few variations of the word peace in the dictionary. There is the peace that is the absence of war or other hostilities. My personal favorite definition, which is the pinnacle that leads to all forms of peace is: freedom from anxiety, annoyance, or other mental disturbance. So why is it that Christmastime can also be the most stressful, least peaceful time of year? Work and family obligations, parties, financial strain and lack of sleep can make life pretty miserable. Throw in stressful family situations that some people have to deal with during the holidays and many just want to bury themselves under their blankets until it’s over.

It’s a paradox that the very time of year that brings peace, can bring anxiety for many people. There is a certain closeness this time of year to the Divinity who came to save us from anything harmful. This kind of closeness leads us to an awareness of a personal love and care. It can also be a giant spotlight for every imperfection or sin that we have ever committed. Some hide themselves in legalism, thinking that if they dot every ‘i’ and cross every ‘t’, they will become worthy of the love and peace that is offered. Or perhaps some think they are doing everything mostly perfect. Others think that they do not deserve peace because of the harm they have caused others. In all of these cases, they miss the message of Christmas, not to mention commit the sin of pride which is arguably worse than any other sin, and the one sin that doomed us all (Adam and Eve). Pride causes us to look down and only see ourselves. Our God asks us to look up and see the star of hope.

Jesus came for sinners (Mark 2:17). This means that the worst sinner who is sorry, is worthy of the most mercy or love from God. We see this time and time again in the Gospel story, yet many of us get it wrong by pushing perfection. Should we be sorry for not being perfect? That is one option. It is more realistic though, to just realize that no one is perfect and get on with it. Dwelling on past mistakes is a waste of time and robs of any good that we can still do. It also steals any happiness the future may hold.

There was once a man, an atheist, who unintentionally ended up working on a slave ship. Given the choice between being beaten and abused or beating and abusing the slaves, he chose the later. After a short time, he was guilty of beating, raping and killing slaves. He even fed an injured slave to sharks. One day, when his own life was threatened, he cried out to God with all his might, “God if you’re real, save me!” Against all odds, the man was saved. As soon as he could, he confessed his sins and began to follow The Lord. He didn’t change over night. In fact, it took some years for him to turn his life around. Once his life was free from corruption and serious sins against others, the man was still haunted by dreams and images of what he did in his past. Driven to make the best of the remaining time he was given, he wrote down his honest and self-incriminating account of his life as a slave trader. This document was exactly what the British parliament needed to vote to end the slave trade in Britain, a victory that was witnessed by the former slave trader just before he died. This man’s name was John Newton, the author of the song, AMAZING GRACE. Newton was able to climb out of the evil pit of his life and do something “amazing” because he understood that “grace will lead us home.”

The keys to open us up to the ingredients needed for peace are love and acceptance of who we are and who God is. Once we reject self-pity or loathing for wrongs we have done, legalism to try to make up for the wrongs we’ve done, or thinking we haven’t done any wrong at all, we open ourselves up to the love that can transform us into a life of peace. God frees us from our past. What better way to open us up to this love than a little baby in a manger at Christmastime? The baby who is heralded by Heavenly Angels proclaiming peace.