nabeepchen

Certainly, Christmas didn’t seem like a time of hope and love, and peace on earth for a large chunk of the people living on our planet. The poor soldiers in Iraq, fighting a senseless war with no end in sight and who our nation doesn’t see fit to at least give them the proper supplies (or at least, Rumsfield doesn’t, the big experienced paper soldier that he is); and there are endless other wars raging in other spots across the globe–take your pick–Chechnya, Darfur, Ivory Coast, Congo, Indonesia, Israel/Palestine, etc. Hundreds of millions on the globe not only didn’t get a frivolous gift from Santa (what, no Rolex this year?!) but lack even clean water to drink. The current disaster in South Asia just seems like the icing on the cake.

But I just came across a poignant essay written by Marianne Williamson, which appeared on Christmas Day in the Detroit News, asking us not to “lose the hope of Christmas to the sound of war.”

Reading some of her words should help all of us see that no matter how bad things get, or seem to be, there is always hope. This is just an excerpt, but I advise you to read it, if you want to get a feel for what Christmas is truly about.

The joy of Christmas is not a response to how the world is, but rather to how it can be and shall be when our hearts have been transformed by love.

The significance and power of the light of Christmas is that it emerged into the midst of darkness. The birth of Christ two thousand years ago did not occur at a time when things were good, but at a time when things seemed hopeless - as to many they seem now. Suddenly, there was hope and its name was love.

The star of Bethlehem led to our salvation in the tender scene of a mother having given birth, not to a council of men planning war. It bespoke the miracle of love, not the willfulness of brute force.

Yet be not dismayed, for the light of Christmas is a light that emerges into the darkness. There is no greater darkness than hatred, yet there is no greater light than God’s love in our hearts. And the light shall shine away the darkness. That is the promise of Christmas. If hatred is the greatest sin, then who among us is not a sinner? May God forgive us for our hatred, have mercy upon us and show us His love. Having felt it, may we learn to share it.

And war shall be no more.

As the death toll in Asia rises, on this third day of Christmas, perhaps we can see some glimmer of good in this tragedy. The world is coming together to offer support and help for those afflicted. While disasters have happened many times before, this one is unique as it has spread far beyond the borders of one nation. Maybe it is just wishful thinking on my part, the part of my brain intoxicated by Christmas, but imagine if this spirit of goodwill, help and sharing continued, and became a real part of everyday life.