From the Staff of the Presbyterian Peacemaking Program
Christmas, 2003

And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host, praising God and saying, "Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace among those whom God favors!"

—Luke 2:13-14

But we believe that these times, so full of peril and tragedy for the human family, present a special call for obedience to our Lord, the Prince of Peace. The Spirit is calling us to life out of death.

—Peacemaking: The Believer's Calling
The 192nd General Assembly (1980)
The United Presbyterian Church in the United States of America

As we prepare to celebrate the birth of Jesus, the staff of the Presbyterian Peacemaking Program holds you in our prayers. We give thanks for you and for your ministries of peace and justice. We are grateful that in troubling times in a troubled world you seek to follow Jesus and to live tomorrow's life today. We provide the following reading for Christmas Eve to use in your personal devotions or to adapt for use in worship. May God who came to us in the child of Bethlehem come to you anew to provide grace and love and all you need for the living of these days. May God guide us all in the paths of peace.

Christmas Eve, 2003

On this night

bellies spasm with hunger
winter seeps into the bones of people with no homes
soldiers seek "enemies" in Afghanistan, Iraq, the Congo, Colombia, and places unknown
people plot violence because they see no other way
children watch parents die of AIDS, wondering when their turn will come
relationships fray and come apart
children and women and men endure abuse
economic uncertainty undoes nations and households
nuclear sabers rattle
drugs surge through veins to allow escape from reality's pain
death comes calling — sometimes welcome, sometimes not
sorrow and suffering spread around the world
trouble and turmoil touch us all
evil stalks the earth
Yet
in the midst of all that
in the face of all that
in spire of all that
because of all that
on this night,

we gather

to sing
and pray
and read ancient words
and light candles
and celebrate again
the birth of a child — 
— nothing more and nothing less
than the every day miracle of childbirth —
except that this child — this Jesus —
tells us
teaches us
shows us
life does not have to be the way it is
but that it can be filled
with
hope and
faith and
grace and
sharing and
commitment and
community and
justice and
righteousness and
well-being and
wholeness and
peace . . .
. . . on earth . . .
. . . for all!

Glory to God, may it be so.

—W. Mark Koenig