Peace

“When Jesus told his disciples they were the light of the world, where did he want them to shine? As more beams of light that make the light shine blindingly bright on itself, or as strobes of illumination flashing radical alternative lifestyles across the darkness? Do you blame the dark for being dark, or the light for not shining?” (from "Walk On: The Spiritual Journey of U2" by Steve Stockman, Relevant Media 2005, p.11)

That is a powerful sentence, do you blame the dark for being dark or the light for not shining. We cannot bring light into the world by eliminating the darkness, but only through bringing the light. “Peace is not just the absence of conflict.” As we hope for peace on earth, let us be reminded that it doesn’t just occur because the fighting has stopped. Darkness and evil are the absence of anything good, it’s like subtracting zero from zero. When you take nothing from nothing you don’t get something, the only way to get something from nothing is to add. And this is how God began the work of bringing Peace on Earth:

The Word was first,
the Word present to God,
God present to the Word.
The Word was God,
in readiness for God from day one.
Everything was created through him;
nothing—not one thing!—came into being without him.

What came into existence was Life,
and the Life was Light to live by.
The Life-Light blazed out of the darkness;
the darkness couldn't put it out.

He was in the world, the world was there through him, and yet the world didn't even notice.
He came to his own people, but they didn't want him.
But whoever did want him, who believed he was who he claimed and would do what he said,
He made to be their true selves, their child-of-God selves.

The Word became flesh and blood, and moved into the neighborhood.
We saw the glory with our own eyes,
the one-of-a-kind glory,
like Father, like Son, Generous inside and out, true from start to finish. (from John1 The Message)

May we continue the work which God has begun in us, bringing light to a world in darkness adding goodness to squeeze out the evil. Bringing Peace, through love, grace, and mercy. May He guide our feet into the path of Peace.