May the Joy and Peace of Christmas be
with you always.
Dear Friends of Christian Unity,
As we come to the end of the year, I want to take this opportunity to thank God for you and for your support to me and to the Council on Christian Unity in its ministry of seeking wholeness and unity in our fragmented and divided world.
In his 2007 Christmas Message, Dr. Sam Kobia, General Secretary of the World Council of Churches, shared an insight from his visit to Bethlehem earlier this past year as he was shown the rolling fields where the shepherds heard the angels proclaim the astounding news, "To you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is the Messiah, the Lord!" (Luke 2:10)
Standing in the shadow of the towering wall that separates Palestine from Israel, he looked up to the open skies above our walled-in world, and recalled the majesty and mystery of the angelic anthem,
"Glory to God in the highest heaven,
and on earth peace among those whom God favors!"
(Luke 2:14)
Dr. Kobia noted in the angels' song, the two sentiments - glory to God, and peace on earth -- represent a "spiritual harmony"; that is, the revelation of God's glory inspires us to seek peace in our world. He writes, "In entering Christ's service we commit ourselves to a spirituality of challenging the spiral of violence that threatens our planet. Because God is One, and infinitely gracious, we are called to establish communities of wholeness, justice and peace."
My prayer for each of you this Christmas is that we will hear the hymn of the angels afresh and be filled with a renewed sense of God's glory, and that the peace of the Christ will transform our lives and churches, our society and world.
With all best wishes for the New Year,
Robert