Lesson from Fr. Paulus | Christ Brings the Joy of True Peace

The angels announced to the shepherds that a Savior was born for them. They called this "news of great joy," since this Savior was going to bring "peace to those on whom his favor rests."

The peace that Christ brings is the source of that joy. The two always go together. Joy is the emotion we feel when we come into the possession of good things. But unless we have peace, we cannot really have possession of anything.

Without peace there is conflict, and conflict means that someone is trying to take away the good things we possess.That aggression causes turbulence, instability - the opposite of peace.

Without peace, there is no joy. Christ was born to give us true, lasting joy, because he came to establish true, lasting peace.

Christ is a King, all-powerful, all-knowing, and all-good. When someone becomes his subject, they no longer need to fear anything, because God is now their protector.

But Christ's Kingdom is not a material Kingdom. It is a spiritual Kingdom. He was born in a stable, not a palace.

The peace Christ brings is the interior, spiritual peace that comes from a conscience cleansed by his forgiveness and a heart which knows that our heavenly Father loves us. No one can take away a clean conscience or the knowledge that we are loved by God. That's why Christ's peace is lasting - it is unassailable.

This interior peace can also overflow into political peace when enough people in a community are filled with it. But, from Christ's perspective, that's secondary.

The earthly kingdoms and conflicts of this world will all pass away. But Christ's Kingdom, the community of his followers, the Church, will last forever.

And so the angels don't hesitate to announce their "good news of great joy," because they know that Jesus Christ truly does bring lasting peace to everyone who lets him be their King.

Following Mary's Example

We all believe in Jesus - at least to some extent. So why don't we experience his joy and peace as deeply and constantly as we would like to?

The saints give constant testimony through the centuries that a real friendship with Christ makes it possible to experience deep fulfillment and joy even in the midst of life's worst sufferings. Why don't we experience the same thing?

It's because we don't trust God enough. We are afraid to let Christ rule our lives completely - we are afraid to let him be the King that he was born to be, that he truly is.

We are like the innkeeper in the Gospel passage.Our lives are crowded –filled with personal pleasures and hopes, maybe even with unhealthy relationships and habits.And Jesus comes knocking on the door of our hearts and wants us to let Him in.But we are afraid that if we do, there won't be enough room for our little idols.

So we let him stay in the stable, out back, where we can keep an eye on him, where we can be sure he doesn't clean out our closets and junk drawers. But unless we give Jesus free rein, he cannot give us his true peace and joy.

Instead of being like the innkeeper, we need to be like Mary. When Jesus knocked on the door of her life, she put all her plans aside. She risked her reputation and her engagement; she opened every closet and every junk drawer to Christ.

Today, of all days, let's let Jesus bring us his joy and peace. With Mary's help, let's pray Mary's prayer, saying to Jesus in Holy Communion: "Lord, let it be done to me according to your word - Thy will be done, not mine."