Those Who Have Seen His Glory

Today, there are more than 110 international armed conflicts that are regularly monitored: more than 45 armed conflicts in the Middle East and Northern Africa, more than 35 armed conflicts across Africa, 21 armed conflicts in Asia, seven armed conflicts across Europe and six armed conflicts throughout Latin America. Some belong to recent history while others have persisted for decades. And this is only a survey of the past 50 years.

The promise of peace is a predominant message especially during Christmastide, when we reflect on the birth of Jesus. There have been countless wars and armed conflicts throughout human history. In fact, war and conflict often seem more consistent than peace throughout our world. In addition to the reality of war, we all experience disruptions to the reality of peace experienced in our lives. This being so, how can one honestly claim that the Nativity of Christ was and is a significant, relevant and pervasive announcement of peace, especially here and now in our present times?

John the Apostle gave witness and testimony to an event in history that far supersedes all else, including the atrocities of war, human suffering or any other power. In the fifth verse of the opening chapter of his gospel, John writes, “The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.”

But what does this mean for us? How does it inform who we are and how we live? Why not simply fast-forward to Easter? In the tension between good and evil, what should the Nativity of Christ mean to us today?

How we live very much communicates what we actually believe—and not merely profess—in response to the birth of Jesus. The truest truth here is that our Savior has indeed come among us to free us from sin and death and establish peace in the intimacy of our hearts.