Peace On Earth

Merry Christmas
This is the first time in my memory that my wife and I have spent Christmas alone without any of the kids, or my mother and father to enjoy it with.  Being a bonafide introvert, I'm not affected by being alone, however I know my wife would be happy with a houseful of kids and grandkids.  To me it is another day.  There is a certain amount of sadness about not being able to see the grandkids open their presents, and to some degree I miss the sound of my kids voices in the house.  As I write this, my lovely bride is getting a well deserved rest.  We both still work, and she works at the hospital, so I don't mind letting her sleep away.  To kind of add to the absence of the Christmas spirit, we don't have snow on the ground, and it is unseasonably warm. 
Outside, the sky is just beginning to turn a soft deep blue, and I can hear dogs barking down the street.  There isn't the sound of one car anywhere within earshot of my home.  I don't have any sparrows in the yard, so everything is peaceful.  It is as God means it to be.  Peaceful. I know it isn't that way all over the world, which makes me feel sad. For just one day, I would love to know that there wasn't fighting, or killing going on anywhere on this planet.  Just one day where men had goodwill toward one another.  What a joy it would be to experience one day where everyone set aside their hatred, their greed, and their politics. 
In Luke 2 verse 14 when the angels proclaim the birth of Jesus, we are given the words that have been the core of the Christmas message "Peace on earth, and goodwill toward men."  Don't get me wrong, I know the angels were talking about us having peace with God.  The infant savior was the promise of a final and lasting way for man to be at peace with his maker.  Different translations give their proclamation different meanings, but the one I like most is "Peace toward men of good will." God's peace is extended toward those who have good will toward one another.  Sadly we seem to be further away from that peace than at any time I can remember.  I am not hopeful for a peaceful solution.  Even my little sparrows fight with one another for a morsel of food.  Maybe this comes with being an old man?   I don't know.  Maybe you get weary of knowing that your grandchildren will be caught up in some future conflict over something that some wicked man concocted in their imagination.  The greatest gift I could get this Christmas is the declaration that no one died today at the hand of someone else, or that all little children awoke to the glee of finding presents under a tree. 
So to anyone who may stumble upon this blog, may God's peace find you, and may you enjoy the calm before the storm of  bright paper, empty boxes, and dashed hopes.  Somewhere in that excitement there will be peace that all is well with you and your family.  Someday, all men will enjoy the peace of God. Then again, I am old, and I am just one man among billions.  I'll lay my head down some night and never awaken again to this angry world.  At least then, I will sleep in peace.