We Light the Angel’s Candle
Peace on Earth
As the Advent days ease us into the Rising Sun a song of Peace descends like the dewfall on the parched earth. What would the outcome of this life-changing moment be?
Let there be Peace on earth
And let it begin with me
We are making our way today through a global pandemic. The turbulent experience has caused us to dig deep and to rediscover the purpose of life in our common home. Now it is clearer to us what the angles had in mind when they explained the achievement of Christmas in terms of world Peace. In a world threatened by a microscopic enemy, Peace begins to look like a long-term vaccine, the only enlightened way to silence the war and restore the broken relationship. The Earth is fighting back against the degradation of human warfare and Peace is offering a way forward. We may not have grasped the urgency of the angels’ message but now we see more clearly that Peace unifies, evokes the best in us, levels the playing field and raises humanity to a higher level. It will indeed require people of good will , clothed in Peace, to silence the wars of our time.
The microscopic enemy that went to war with humanity in 2020 has exposed the fragility of the systems we have created. We have witnessed, in the shortest of times, the collapse of business, education, travel, public worship and more. As the shutters pulled back, the glaring inequality in wealth distribution, in the availability of services, in the protection of persons, came into clearer focus. The Degraded Earth had released her invisible army and the war against injustice was on. We were powerless and afraid. A Treaty was required and for its effectiveness, it needed all our signatures.
On that first Christmas the Prince of Peace joined us on the Earth to bring freedom, release to captives, opportunity to the downtrodden. The Word was made Flesh to break the chains of oppression and exploitation and to allow the tsunami of love to fill a new world vision, with Peace. In his message for World Day of Prayer for Peace, 1st January 2020, Pope Francis reflected on Peace in terms of dialogue, reconciliation and ecological conversion. Peace, the pope said is “a new way of looking at life.” The Pope returned us to Peace in his most recent encyclical, Fratelli Tutti (3rd October, 2020). Pope Francis calls all people to choose Peace, to cross borders, to build bridges and to be leaders in reconciliation. In our Mercy Family our recent reflections on Mercy Global Presence invited our engagement to rediscover the heartbeat in all things and to become the new vision. As Christmas 2020 approaches we have a new and profound awareness. COVID-19 has confirmed Peace and Goodwill as the only way out of the trenches of our time.
Let there be Peace on earth
And let it begin with me
Bethlehem is different. The gathering is diverse. Animals and humans, kings and shepherds, homeless and housed come together. Separations end in the new vision of Peace. The Saviour who is born for us creates an atmosphere of acceptance and tenderness. Bethlehem is an open house and at the manger there is no fear. Peace and fear are incompatible. They found the child in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger… The Peacemakers will see God.
Let there be Peace on earth
And let it begin with me
Anna Burke
