14th December
Written by Louise Richardson
It came upon a midnight clear
‘Peace on earth, goodwill to all, from Heaven’s all gracious King.’
The Christmas Carol, ‘It came upon a midnight clear’ was written in 1849 but has remained a favourite with many due to its profound and timeless message – a message of hope, peace and divine grace. A message that is as relevant today as it was 175 years ago – perhaps even more so.
Whilst this carol and in particular this sentence reflects the message brought by the Angel to the shepherds tending their flocks on the hillside that starry night – that a new era, a new time of peace was to come about through the birth of the Messiah, a peace that would surpass that brought by the absence of conflict, I find myself asking what this means right now?
As I look around me at the world today with wars raging in the Middle East in Israel, in Ukraine, and in Yemen, for example, I find myself thinking about the individual, innocent lives affected by these acts of destruction, the children, the mothers, fathers, grandmothers, grandfathers and wider families who have lost their lives or lost loved ones and are suffering from loss of homes, lack of food and mental and physical injuries caused by their traumatic experiences. And closer to home, the daily impact on individuals and groups affected by hatred and violence, much of gone unnoticed. I ask myself - what would the world be like if there truly was peace on earth and goodwill to all - rather than war and conflict born out of hatred, greed and difference. I look to a world where there is no war, where all children can grow up experiencing joy not pain, where there is no hunger.
So my prayer (and hope) for Christmas is a simple one – that the divine grace of Heaven’s all gracious King shines down upon the whole world bringing an end to all conflict, hatred and greed, for a world where there is peace and goodwill between all nations, races, religions and peoples and where difference is celebrated not a cause for scorn. Peace be with you.