Monday, December 29, 2008

AFTER CHRISTMAS

Christmas is a hard act to follow. For those of us who strive for peace in our lives, it is an intense, fleeting glimpse of the promise of the Christ Child. Of how it could be, of how simple it would be to have it. Is loving each other really that difficult? It is, indeed, a dangerous time. Thoughts of peace should never go beyond that brief Christmas time. A time out at the end of a chaotic year. Peace is good, war is bad. Right?

Four days after Christmas. The war gods are rumbling. Trying to get rid of that yearly pesky peace stuff. Pakistan and India gearing up, Israel and Humas already engaged, not in the peace of the Child who was born on their soil, but intent on shedding blood all over His legacy. Not even to mention Afghanistan, where 14 young students, barely older then that babe in the manger, were blown to bits on their way to school.

I sit in my warm comfortable home and wonder what it would take for you and me to influence that process, to tip the scale in favor of peace instead of war. It seems to be a daunting task. What can little people do to stand up to the power of corporations, greed, and money. War is big business and that's survival, and that over-rides peace anyday.

But, wait a minute. That little spark of hope, put there by the birth of that babe flickers in all of us. We must protect it and nurture it and talk about it loud and clear. That in itself will lead to more action, and someday good men will win. We learned recently that YES we can. If we can elect an African American President of the United States, why not decide to have a peaceful world?

Welcome to the New Year. Let us decide that it will be more peaceful for the babe in all of us.

Pax Tecum

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