THE NEED
FOR CHRISTMAS Christmas is that time when we hear the faint stirring of a distant memory like muted bells in a silent night. There is something that is buried deep within us that tries to tell us that we are more than what we seem to be. It is only in the stillness, those momentary pauses that seem to emphasize the busyness of our lives, that we try to remember that hidden place deep within where another world is calling us home. Christmas is a season of the soul that calls us to remember our true beginning in the mind of God. This year we have been overwhelmed by the presence of evil in the world, by natural disasters in the form of hurricanes, tsunamis, and earthquakes, by epidemic diseases that have taken countless lives in Africa. Once again we have become filled with fear and apprehension. The apocalyptic horsemen of war, famine, pestilence, and death appear upon the landscape of the planet. Religion, rather than being a source of divine comfort, has been twisted, and in its aberration has instigated hostility, hatred, and inhumanity. We have forgotten who we are. We need Christmas this year. We need to remember that we are not alone in the universe. God is with us. The child of poverty lying in the straw of Bethlehem's manger is God's reminder that the Creator is not yet finished with us, for every child carries the seeds of hope and the promise that is yet to be fulfilled. Above the tumult of battle and the cries of the world's pain and suffering, the voices of angels can still be heard proclaiming God's peace to all people of good will. I invite you to draw near to the cradle of Christ in celebration
of the hope that God continually instills within us. Worship
with your family and reclaim the peace of God for your soul and
for a troubled world. My prayer for each of you is that the love
of God will surround you and fill you with grace, peace, and
joy.
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