I wanted peace
without pain,
but it is through the pain
that I crave Your presence
and therein lies peace
-- Lynelle Watford
At a time when it seems there is so much fear, it seems fitting that we acknowledge what was announced to us long ago: PEACE.
Of all the things that could have been said by heaven to earth, why this? We have acquired a new nature, not one designed by God, and it is fear. We are almost now even naturally afraid. We are afraid even of our fellow man, not to mention the times when man encounters the supernatural like they did in this story. Man seems to be almost always instinctively afraid of God. And, so, God seems to pretty regularly announce himself first with words designed to off-set our fear.
Perhaps he knows the energy of fear is to act, in self-protection inwardly or by striking outwardly. Perhaps he also knows that this nearly instinctive response is really what perpetuates the very energy of fear itself. Fear in fact is nothing substantive, it is the object of our fear that grips us.
So God simply pre-empts our actions-of-fear by proclaiming something in front of it, before we can react, by announcing 'peace'. And, perhaps, this is the greatest gift we have as well, to announce and live peace to those around us -- to live in good will to men. As God's presence is experienced in us, as peace, so we can be present with others.
