AND ON EARTH PEACE

AND ON EARTH PEACE!

Luke 2:13-14

13 And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying,

14 Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.

           Today is a day to remember for so many reasons. It is the birthday of a dear friend of mine. I must remember to give him a call and wish him a happy birthday. Historically it is Pearl Harbor day; a day that President Roosevelt said would “live in infamy.”

           On Christmas Eve 1941, just seventeen days after the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor, FDR addressed the nation on the radio. Winston Churchill had made a surprise trip to Washington, D.C. and joined him. Below is an excerpt from Churchill’s speech.

“This is a strange Christmas Eve.  Almost the whole world is locked in deadly struggle, and, with the most terrible weapons which science can devise, the nations advance upon each other.  Ill would it be for us this Christmastide if we were not sure that no greed for the land or wealth of any other people, no vulgar ambition, no morbid lust for material gain at the expense of others, had led us to the field.  Here, in the midst of war, raging and roaring over all the lands and seas, creeping nearer to our hearts and homes, here, amid all the tumult, we have tonight the peace of the spirit in each cottage home and in every generous heart.”

           Today we remember the attack which plunged America into an already raging world war. And we remember that Churchill was exactly right when he said that our peace comes from the “Spirit” of our God. A horse was the Old Testament symbol of armed conflict. It was, as Churchill put it, “the most terrible weapon which science can devise.” Yet the horse is an insufficient defense against evil and a poor refuge for safety. No! Our safety is in the Lord.

Prov 18:10

10 The name of the LORD is a strong tower: the righteous run into it, and is safe.

Dear Lord, with so much of our world at war and with our economy in great crisis, peace is an elusive thing. Help us to remember that the source of our peace is in your spirit. AMEN