Christmas Greetings

Dear Supporters of the Peace and Justice Support Network,

Greetings of joy and peace in the name of Christ!

Each holiday season when I receive cards, I yearn to send notes to all the people-you! who have generously supported our work the past year. Sadly, I never think far enough ahead to budget the time and money. In the past I've ended up feeling negligent-this year I've discovered the answer! A card on our website! Here is glorious and deep thanks to all of you who have made Mennonite peace and justice work possible this year. Feel free to forward this to others who are a part of our work, along with our thanks!

For fifteen years, our congregation has sponsored "Search for the Christ Child," a live walk through the Christmas story. I guide people through the scenes, receiving the story anew. Each year I focus on different parts of the story. Sometimes I feel the discomfort of the parents as their young child in the manger howls inconsolably. One year I focused on the wise ones (often played by women) who pursued a baby king by crossing geographical and religious boundaries. I help groups wonder why the angels sang to the shepherds, known to be smelly liars with lice, rather than to the righteous high priest who had better access to getting the news out in a respectable way.

The scene that always upsets the youngest children comes when we kneel before Herod the King on his grand throne and ask if he knows the whereabouts of the newborn king. Herod slams his enormous book (Yes, an anachronism) to the ground and shouts at us, "I am the only king here. Get out, GET OUT!" Often a young child bursts out screaming as we scramble from the room and I am frustrated with the teenager who scares such precious ones. When we're outside the throne room and have caught our breaths, I remind the group of the saying that it was safer to be Herod's pig than relative, since he killed even wives and sons out of fear of insurrection.

He also killed babies under the age of two in the region of Bethlehem. That part of the story is rarely told as we gaze in reverence at the nativity scene. I catch my breath as I suddenly grasp why in the midst of the tranquility of the evening, Herod must shriek at us and make children cry: to force us to recognize the agony of the story. Precisely because of the birth of the savior of the world, infants and toddlers died in terror to the screams of their parents. The Prince of Peace didn't bring a calm silent night to those grieving families. I struggle against this part of the story. Why didn't the coming of Jesus make the world a safer place for the infants of Bethlehem? Why does work for peace not stop the horrors? How can glorious birth sentence innocents to death?

Relentlessly since September 11, 2001, peace folk have been asked, "WELL?! What would YOU have done to (fill in the blank-stop the terrorists, make streets safe, etc)?" To my great frustration, I haven't found a quick and satisfying answer. The world is full of people who seek angry revenge and absolute power and there is no uncomplicated way to change them. Because God pursued peace with the world by sending a babe to teach us compassion and grace, the ruling tyrant killed children unmercifully. That doesn't mean God made a mistake; it doesn't mean God's ways don't work. It does mean Herod had the privilege to make horrid choices.

My awareness of the pain of the world makes it tough for me to celebrate Christmas. This year, amidst Christmas glitter, my feelings clash with the knowledge that Vietnamese pastors are being persecuted, that the people of Bethlehem suffer occupation, that mutilated bodies are being pulled from the Opon in Colombia, that occupation soldiers are raiding Iraqi communities and terrifying children.

But I was blessed with a new insight this year as I walked through our live nativity. This year I'm beginning to grasp that Mary's delivery was not blessedly comfortable, that angels sang to the poorest of the poor without feeding them, and that almost certainly the wise men journeyed away before understanding God's saving message delivered through the Christ child. I'm glimpsing that the coming of Christ doesn't answer all our earthly "whys?" or fix our problems.

The Christmas story illustrates that our work for peace isn't going to have a flashy and fast resolution with no ghastly side effects. Rather, in the midst of our peace work, we're often confused and always without painless answers. Our decision can be to patiently nurture the baby's growth and protect the infant as God suggests in the mystery of dream. At the same time that we cry out for justice in the name of murdered infants, we realize that peacemaking is a choice and some people choose against it. Thus, we will never have an answer that makes the world cozy and rosy and safe for all. We will only have the living presence of the babe grown to manhood and crucified because the powerful chose against his vision. In the dark despair of questions with no simple solutions, we are given shining radiance-surety that death is not the last word. This knowledge is our joy to world.

PJSN is giving birth!
Yep! Mid-January our peace and justice e-zine will spring forth! Contributors to this prototype issue include Myron Augsburger, Kristi Bahrenburg, Daryl Byler, Max Ediger, Cynthia Friesen, Stan Harder, Leo Hartshorn, Carol Rose, Karl Shelly and Melanie Zuercher. Our goal is to offer a look at the news through a Mennonite lenses. This issue is a trial run; sign up will be available soon on our website. The publication will be available only through e-mail and the PJSN website, beginning in March.

Peace Cranes
I rummaged through the office basement of peace resources this morning to find something to put in a thank you box for a colleague. I stumbled on a box of peace cranes folded by Japanese students and peace fellowships while they offered prayers for peace. Unfortunately, this prayer is increasingly necessary as our government writes policies allowing for offensive use of nuclear weapons. Here are directions if you'd like to fold cranes.

My favorite Christmas poem is available as a bookmark from Baptist Peace Fellowship:

Work of Christmasz
When the song of the angel is still,
When the star in the sky is gone,
When the Kings and princes are home,
When the shepherds are back with their sheep,
The work of Christmas begins:
- to find the lost,
- to heal the broken,
- to feed the hungry,
- to release the prisoner,
- to rebuild the nations,
- to bring peace among people,
- to make music in the heart.
     Howard Thurman

Prayers for Bethlehem
Through December 24, you may send words of comfort to our sisters and brothers in Bethlehem. (44k PDF)

We've been through a great deal together the past few years-globally, domestically, institutionally Thanks for sticking with us, for sending notes of encouragement and financial donations, for contributing your time and energy, for supporting us with your prayers.

May God bless you richly with the spirit to seek peace through discouragement, the energy to do what needs doing and friends to join you on the journey.

I'd love to hear from you!
Pray for Peace,
Act for Peace,