Peace
It’s December 13, and in eighteen days, the year 2025 will be over.
The rapid passing of time, like the relentless waves of the sea, brought events that in one way or another, caused uncertainty, distress, confusion, division, anger, and fear.
But the human mind can only handle the onslaught of desperation with a limited capacity, and so, we long for peace, hope for peace, and —strangely, a paradox— fight for peace.
But what is peace?
Let’s go back to a period in human history when angels (not human beings, angels!) declared … “and on earth peace,” at the birth of the Messiah, Jesus Christ —foretold by the prophet Isaiah as the “Prince of peace”.
And since this took place in the land of Israel, let’s revisit the Hebrew word for peace: shalom.
The word shalom is more than just a greeting of “hello” and “goodbye.” Shalom signifies wholeness, completeness, harmony, health, prosperity, and over-all well-being.
Shalom is not the absence of problems, tribulations but having peace in spite of them.
How do we achieve this state of being in “shalom?”
I would like to quote a well-known advocate of peace Pope Leo XIV who said:“Peace is not an end-game. It is a vocation. Peace is a lifestyle.”
Think about that for a moment.
A lifestyle is a confluence of many factors, such as genetics, culture, society, money, and other influences, but at its root, our lifestyle is determined by our beliefs, and it answers to the question: what or who do we worship?
Matthew records that when the wise men who followed the star, arrived in Jerusalem, they asked around, “Where is the newborn King of the Jews? We have come to worship Him.”
As Christians celebrating Christmas, we will hear the same carols, listen to the same bible texts - again - about the story of Jesus’ birth. But as we sing the same songs, listen to the same readings, the sameness, that, perhaps has dulled our sensitivities toward matters that ground us—may we have the humility of the shepherds, and the consuming desire of the wise men to worship the Prince of Peace, Jesus Christ — the Giver, the only Giver of shalom.