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| Call to Receive God's Promised Peace in the Midst of Yearning 2009 Christmas Message from the LWF President |
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GENEVA – In his 2009 Christmas message, the President of the Lutheran World Federation (LWF) Bishop Mark S. Hanson urges Christians around the world to celebrate God's promised peace in expectant hope, despite moments of fear and yearning. Hanson, presiding bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, points out that while the first Christmas was also marked with uneasiness, ordinary shepherds in Palestine received the glad tidings about peace that human hearts longed to hear. "God's peace is promised in the person of the Savior Jesus. The Word made flesh is the very embodiment of God's goodwill, not an empty abstraction. The one born at Bethlehem is God's promise made good in flesh and blood," says Hanson. "God's peace has come and will make its home in you. Join your voices in the song that is itching to be sung and the whole world deserves to hear," he adds. (171 words) The complete text follows: 2009 Christmas Message from the In that region there were shepherds living in the fields, keeping watch over their flock by night. (Luke 2:8) God's people had heard from the prophet Isaiah to keep watch, to be alert – not in fear but in expectant hope – even in the deepest silence of night. To those who watched confidently the promised reward was to see their redemption approaching and sing joyously. "The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; those who lived in a land of deep darkness – on them light has shined. Listen! Your sentinels lift up their voices, together they sing for joy. ‘See, your salvation comes.'" (Isaiah 9:2; 52:8; 62:11). So, while Caesar Augustus, his Syrian governor Quirinius, and the Judean king Herod shepherded the peoples of the Roman empire, counting and keeping an uneasy watch over the Mediterranean world, more ordinary shepherds in Palestine received the glad tidings that human hearts yearn to hear: the promise of God's own peace. God's peace is promised in the person of the Savior Jesus. The Word made flesh is the very embodiment of God's goodwill, not an empty abstraction. The one born at Bethlehem is God's promise made good in flesh and blood. God's peace has come and will make its home in you. Join your voices in the song that is itching to be sung and the whole world deserves to hear. Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace among those whom God favors! (Luke 2:14) Bishop Mark S. Hanson November 2009 The 2009 Christmas message is available in English, French, German and Spanish in PDF format on the LWF Web site: • http://www.lutheranworld.org/LWF_Documents/LWF_Christmas_2009-EN.pdf • http://www.lutheranworld.org/LWF_Documents/LWF_Christmas_2009-DE.pdf • http://www.lutheranworld.org/LWF_Documents/LWF_Christmas_2009-FR.pdf • http://www.lutheranworld.org/LWF_Documents/LWF_Christmas_2009-SP.pdf |
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