Bu Julie O'Connell
Associate Professor of English and Chair, Faculty Development Comm at Felician University
“Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.” Romans 12:21
The great social problems of our day, the sexual assaults, the school shootings, the systemic racial injustice, the economic inequality, the anti-immigration sentiment, the unchecked greed (just to name a few) are rooted in self-centered fear swirling in existential waves of self-determination and its inevitable resultant despair. Still, there is hope. The promise of Christmas is the promise of well-being, safety, rest, and above all, peace. It is available to all of us by trusting in Jesus.
God gave the world peace through his son, Jesus Christ. In Christ, God opened a door through which we are always free to pass.
Every appalling news story, every Internet alert to dehumanization, every act of cruelty, violence, and division, is a desperate expression of spiritual displacement – of anxiety rooted in the self-centered fear of not having enough. In America, we have become chronically fearful of others because we are seeking our own counsel. Independence is so fundamental to who we are, and yet, when independent, self-determining individuals are constantly assaulted by divisive information, the result is perpetual fear. Sure, there is plenty of blame to go around, the chief suspects being the government, the media, the Internet, and the economy. But we live in a state of fear based on what we think about these challenges. We react over and over again in a state of perpetual anxiety. America is unwell: there is a growing disconnect between our minds, bodies, and spirits, as if we are post-traumatic beings who are triggered over and over again. The message of fear that we do not have enough, are not good enough, and that others are going to hurt us has led many of us to join well-defined groups that oppose others, which leads to even more division through racism, sexism, anti-Semitism, antiestablishmentism, etc. Fear is our cultural sickness, evidenced by us feeling uncomfortable in our own skin, unable to lay down at night or not being able to quiet our thoughts and truly rest because of nightmares and panic attacks. It was recently reported that the life expectancy in the United States has gone down because of deaths from opioid addiction and from suicide.[1] Both of these societal problems are a consequence of our society’s overall sickness: fear that is self-centered and entirely out of control.
“God gave the world peace through his son, Jesus Christ. In Christ, God opened a door through which we are always free to pass.”
Still, the promise of Christmas is a promise of peace. It’s a door we can always walk through. But how? How can we embrace Christmas and walk away from a world that is in total disarray and toward God?
The prophet Isaiah looked at the world through a finely tuned vision of being able to see into the future and say what he saw as having happened. In the 8th Century B.C., Jews were being held captive in Babylonia, and Isaiah shared with the world God’s ultimate promise to change things. Throughout the Old Testament, people turned away from God and did their own thing, and there were always consequences. Isaiah had a message of hope for the hopeless then, and the message holds true now. In Isaiah 9:1, he says, “there will be no gloom for those who were in distress.” [2] Imagine our anguish and gloom have gone away. Imagine no more trouble in our towns, our schools, our workplaces. Isaiah told us that God’s promise for us was as follows: “he will have made glorious the way of the sea, the territory beyond the Jordan—Galilee of the nations”[3]. This became the land where Jesus did his work. “The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light—those who lived in a land of deep darkness, on them a light has shined”[4] By speaking with confidence knowing it had already happened even before it had happened, Isaiah used a rhetorical device called prolepsis. [5] In his imagination, it was so real and he so thoroughly knew it would happen that he was able to utilize a verb tense that spoke of the future as if it were already in the past.
God can’t be happy with the way things are now. We are walking in so much darkness today, and yet, if we remember Isaiah’s prediction about Christ and the impact that a baby in a manger would have on our world, we can find peace on earth and good will for all of humankind. Imagine our world as Isaiah imagined it, using prolepsis. Imagine that the transformation to peace has already happened: complete cooperation, abundance, and freedom. No more bombs, no more hatred, no more starvation, no more war. Imagine that we have peace in the midst of chaos and peace within ourselves.
My well-being isn’t established by my achievements or by the amount of money I have. It also isn’t something that I can figure out on my own or control: it is found in following God’s will and being the person He created me to be. This is the promise of Christmas. In Isaiah 9:6, we read, “For a child has been born to us, a son given to us, authority rests upon his shoulders.” He is named Wonderful Counselor, Everlasting Father, and Prince of Peace. Jesus has wisdom that no one else has access to. He is trustworthy, and if we rely on His good counsel, if we draw closer to Him, we will be infused with the peace that passes all understanding. If we thank Him for these hard times and we consult with Him as we trudge down these difficult roads, He can accomplish total transformation. Everyday, let us walk through the door of Christmas and be fully confident that the problems of today will pass. Knowing Christ and relying on Him, in the face of our chaotic world, is the gift above all gifts.
[1] Stobbe, Mike. “Suicide, at 50-Year Peak, Pushes down US Life Expectancy.” AP News, Associated Press, 29 Nov. 2018, apnews.com/de75909c5bcc4162b122948539ed9c6a.
[2] The Holy Bible: International Standard Version Release 2.1. 1996-2012. The ISV Foundation. Online: https://www.biblegateway.com/.
[3] Ibid.
[4] Ibid.
[5] Childers, Jospeh: Henzl, Gary (1995). “Prolepsis.” The Columbia Dictionary of Modern Literary and Cultural Criticism. Columbia University Press.
The views and opinions expressed are those of the author(s) and do not imply endorsement by G.L.O.B.A.L. Justice. We are a faith-based, nonpartisan organization that seeks to extend the conversation about justice with a posture of dignity and respect.