Pastor’s Perspective in a small community December 23, 2021
One of the words that can be used to describe our island home is “peaceful”. Particularly now that the weather has turned cooler and the height of tourist season is behind us, there is a calm and quietness about this place that brings peace to the soul. To be certain, there are opportunities that can be found to escape the calm and quiet, and find yourself in situations where people aren’t as concerned about peace. Yet here on Daufuskie, you have to go looking for those situations. Our default mode here, whether it is strolling down the beach, traversing our dirt roads, or simply taking in the view from the porch, is peace.
I had the opportunity to spend some time on the mainland recently, and I definitely would not lead with the word “peaceful” when trying to describe my experiences. You could say that going into stores during the runup to Christmas isn’t a bright idea in the first place, but I assure you that if that is the case, I had lots of people who had also embraced this unwise decision with me. To be surrounded by the noise, the traffic, the madness of parking lots, and all those people hurrying around, trying to get their Christmas shopping done is enough to put someone into sensory overload. Stressful might be a much better word for describing some of my recent mainland experiences. Praise God that most everyone closes their businesses for Christmas.
Perhaps this is the reality of our Christmas experience in America today. We have this hectic, stressful time leading up to Christmas, where we fill our schedules with decorating the house, attending holiday parties, and doing whatever is necessary to secure gifts for friends and family. Then on Christmas day, we collectively pause for a moment of peace, as we celebrate the day with our chosen people, whomever they may be. On December 26th, people then start thinking about cleaning up the house and taking down the decorations, and the moment of peace brought about by Christmas disappears into the busyness of our lives.
Given that this is the way that so many of us have chosen to celebrate Christmas – a day meant to be a celebration of the birth of Jesus the Christ – it may come as a surprise to hear that one of the names for Jesus as given by the prophet Isaiah is “Prince of Peace.” It was never God’s plan that we should have one day out of 365 where we could find peace, but rather the intention is that, through the birth of this Christ child, we could have eternal peace with the One who created each and every one of us.
Christmas is fast approaching. May the peace that you find that day be not fleeting, but rather everlasting as you embrace the true reason why we set aside December 25th as one of the holiest days of the year.
Peace, blessings and a very Merry Christmas – Pastor Aaron