Sermons, speeches & interviews

The world of peace work

Saturday 23 December 2006

Archbishop of York writes in the York Press, 23 December 2006

The York Press, Saturday 23 December 2006.

"We need a peace that stops us being driven by our desire to consume, to buy more and to have more"

When the angels announced to the shepherds that Jesus was born in Bethlehem they declared a new era of God's blessing to humans - peace on earth, they decreed, goodness to all people.

The peace they were talking about is a peace that goes well beyond the absence of war and violence.

It means something that we can only hint at with words meaning wholeness, perfection, completion and goodness.

Their announcement was more than a greeting or mere wishful thinking - it was a prophetic declaration meaning that something actually changed as the greeting was made and those messengers from God were themselves a sign of the new thing that was to come.

In our world we know only too well of the need for peace that goes beyond the absence of violence.

We need a peace that prevents neighbouring countries killing one another's children. We need a peace that binds our communities with friendship, neighbourliness, respect and generosity.

Most of all we need a peace that stops us being driven by our desire to consume, to buy more and to have more.

A drive that is indifferent to the suffering of people in other continents, to damage to the environment or the loneliness of our neighbour.

How does this have anything to do with angels in the Christmas story? It is not possible just to declare a new era of peace and well-being. Communities in this country, affected by gun crime, have cried "enough is enough" but killings continue on our inner-city streets.

But we can start to make prophetic declarations like the angels.

We can say good day to someone and then take steps to ensure they do have a good day.

We can talk in the pub about gang violence and then make an effort to speak to the young people hanging around bored on our streets or create real jobs for those in need of employment.

We can be a sign of peace, a symbol of God's love for all he created.

We can also learn from the shepherd and listen for the echoes of the angels calling us to kneel and adore the heavenly king who came as a fragile baby but was in fact Immanuel, God with us.

For when we take time to listen, take time to kneel and pray and when we recognise that God is alongside us still through Jesus, then we may start to find the peace that is deeper and more wonderful than we can ever understand.

And then we may stop being mere hopers for peace or even lovers of peace, but we may become peace-makers, working with God to create a new era of love, justice and joy.