Dear Friends,
“So this is Christmas and what have you done, another year over, a new one just begun. And so this is Christmas, I hope you have fun, the near and the dear ones, the old and the young” – and so sang John Lennon.
2024 has been a difficult year with the terrible wars now raging in the Middle East and in Ukraine and, tragically of course, with many other wars being fought as well. The unfolding news on the environment is also deeply concerning to those who are now under twenty and will, without doubt, encounter the consequences of climate change and of species extinction during their lives; climate change will affect every part of every corner of this beautiful planet. Two thousand years ago a baby was born; it was said that he was born in a stable, that a previously unseen star appeared to hover above it, that astronomers from the East followed that star to bring gifts to mark this auspicious birth. It was Saint Francis of Assisi who was first to reconstruct what we now know as “The Nativity” where, in every church throughout the world, there are statues big and small of this well-known scene.
But what is for certain is that this baby, whom his mother and father named Jesus, was born into a world in turmoil. What is now Israel was then under occupation from the forces of Rome. The religious establishment was shamefully compromised to ensure it believed its own survival. There was a huge divide between those who were wealthy and those who were living a very hand-to-mouth existence and, in the absence of modern medicine, life expectancy was a half of what it is today. Human beings, it seems, still have not devised a way to live in peace, both with each other and with the natural world, but that is surely where you and I come in.
It is said that this baby born two thousand years ago was, and is, of divine origin. This baby grew into a man, whose words have been spoken down the generations, now two thousand years later, reaching us, reaching into our consciousness. “Love your neighbour as yourself”, “Love your enemies”, “Love those who speak ill of you”, “Forgive those who hurt you”. These words, these teachings, are still the greatest teachings we have about what it is to love and what it is to follow the path of love, neither of which is an easy thing to do.
Peace surely begins in your heart, in my heart. If we all committed to following the path of love, to forgiving, really forgiving, to making peace this Christmas with one person from whom we are currently estranged, what a gift. I cannot expect to live on this planet at peace unless I take on responsibility for that reality, unless I act in love.
I wish you all a very merry Christmas and a very happy New Year. Let’s hope it’s a good one – without any fear.
All my love, Pete