Peace on Earth
At His birth, the angels said, “Glory to God in the highest, and peace on earth, goodwill to men.” And so from the beginning, angels proclaimed the Gospel message. The message is that God is glorified through Jesus, and that He came to bring peace on earth, and to reconcile men to God.

Many men have come before and since Jesus, all with a goal of world conquest. Nebuchadnezzar, Tammerlane, Attila, Alexander, Mohammed, Napolean, Hitler, Stalin and others have all come with warfare as their means of achieving world peace. Kind of backwards, isn’t it? Waging war to bring peace. But Jesus stands alone as One who came to bring peace on earth through personal sacrifice and love. Peace on earth has always been central to Jesus’ mission in this world.

It is no coincidence that many of our songs refer to reconciliation and peace, because when we reflect on God coming to earth as a baby, and we hear the song of the angels, we are moved to join in that song.

And so, during the days of Abolition, such lines were written as,
“Chains shall He break, for the slave is our brother.” (O Holy Night, 1847)
“Then in despair I bowed my head. ‘There is no peace on earth,’ I said. ‘For hate is strong and mocks the song of peace on earth, goodwill to men.’” (I Heard the Bells, 1864)

A century later, songwriters were still writing about racial reconciliation because of Christmas.
“Some children see Him lily white . . . bronzed and brown . . . almond-eyed . . . dark as they . . . like theirs, but bright, with heavenly grace. ‘Tis love that’s born tonight.” (Some Children See Him, 1954)

And still today, we sing. After all, “Christmas is a time to love.” Let us pray that the angels’ song will at last be realized in our generation.