Christmas Eve
From Wilshire Advent Devotions 2014
Romans 12:14-18 – Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse them. Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep. Live in harmony with one another; do not be haughty, but associate with the lowly; do not claim to be wiser than you are. Do not repay anyone evil for evil, buttake thought for what is noble in the sight of all. If it is possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all.
I’ve never been persecuted. Not by another person. Not really. I’ve felt pressured, taken advantage of, unappreciated and overlooked, but that’s not persecution. The only person I’ve ever had a physical tussle with is my brother, and the last time that happened was at least 50 years ago. That wasn’t persecution either; it was just brothers being brothers.
In the absence of real persecution, I’ve never had a serious desire for revenge. But I have been very hard on myself, mostly because of that word “felt” I used earlier, which means I was the source of much of my own misery. There is no peace in that, and in fact it can lead to the type of internal persecution that can start one on a dangerous journey down a very bad road.
I believe this kind of internal persecution – call it self-contempt if you wish – is at the heart of so much of the anxiety, trouble, bad behavior and hate we see in the world today. People abuse drugs or alcohol to make themselves feel better. Or they sell drugs or steal or simply spend more than they have to buy more things and feel more respected. Or they abuse someone, dominate a group of people or invade a country to feel bigger, stronger, more powerful. I know I’m over-simplifying some of that, but there is some truth there too.
The point is that to live peaceably with all as Paul urges in his letter to the Romans, you must first be at peace with yourself. And that can only happen when you embrace the truth that you are okay as you are – that you are the person God made you to be. Because despite what you may witness or think the world values in you most, nobody gets to place a value on you but the God who created you and gave you life.
This self-acceptance that leads to peaceful relationships is itself born from a peace that comes only from God through Christ Jesus. It began in the passage we read two days earlier, where Christ said to his disciples, “Peace I leave with you. My peace I give to you.” That statement is the golden key to a life of peace. If you truly believe you have Christ’s peace in you, then you can settle down, be your own true self, and let that peace flow through you and into everyone you meet.
Peace begets peace. That is the true gift of Christmas.