In this season of Advent I’ve
been thinking about the greeting of the angels to the shepherds
heralding “Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth
peace, goodwill among people” (Luke 2:14). Many of us so
casually wish peace upon our loved ones and friends, and so palpably
experience peaceful moments: in a warm snuggle with a child or
spouse after an argument, in a good conversation with a treasured
friend, in the bounty of food on the table at Thanksgiving dinner,
in a candlelight service on Christmas eve. But what about this
“Peace on Earth”? Are we meant to await Christ’s
second coming to experience a reign of peace among all people?
As gloomy as the Monday morning updates on the state of Nicaragua
are, I ask myself, “Where in all of this do we find hope?”
And the answer is there is hope in the very people who are so
downtrodden by the current situation, people in communities accompanied
by CEPAD who are working for a better world at a local level.
These people are deeply engaged in improving the quality of life
of their communities.
There is hope in the church community of which my family is a
part, where spiritual, nutritional, educational, recreational,
and creative programs offer opportunities for physical, mental,
and spiritual nourishment. Youth play soccer instead of gang warfare,
adults learn how to read and write, children go to a community
pre-school or learn to play an instrument.
Last weekend I went on a retreat with a group made up mostly
of North Americans who have gathered together for many years to
nurture one another and challenge each other’s actions for
social justice. On Sunday morning we reflected on the balance
between caring for our community and re-working the mission and
vision of our group on the one hand and going outside our group
to take action on the other hand. We read a reflection from Madeline
L’Engle that affirms a need to follow Jesus’ Way to
“go with him as universe-disturbers (butterflies)…”
and that by seeking security alone we are “closer to death
and further from life.” (Glimpses of Grace, p. 108)
It was clear that we are not all able to be universe disturbers
in the same way. For those of us raising children, it is enough
to go buy diapers, play a game with my children, wash the dishes,
find a moment to talk with my husband, and contemplate what to
have for breakfast. But when we are part of a body of people who
are “disturbing the universe” as Christ calls us to
do, we don’t all have to be hands and feet, ears and voice.
Some of us will be able to do the great work of accompanying people
in difficult situations. In my free time, I’ll make peanut-butter
sandwiches for my 4-year-old. But I can recognize that raising
my children is a way of being a “universe-disturber.”
And I am encouraged knowing that I am a part of a community that
is taking action in different, perhaps grander ways. I don’t
have to be Gandhi or Jesus—or even try to be like them all
of the time (as far as I know they didn’t have crawling
babies). And when I am through the diaper-changing and protection-from-harm
phase of child-rearing, maybe I too will have the energy and the
time to take other, greater actions, supported by the communities
of which I am a part.
We must be connected to a community to be able to fully nurture
ourselves and at the same time be challenged to step outside what
is safe and take actions toward “Peace on Earth, goodwill
among people.” We know that this peace will never be full—maybe
it was never meant to be. Jesus said that the poor would always
be with us. We can’t be movers and shakers all of the time
(nor in the same way), but we must be connected to at least one
community that both nurtures and challenges us—a community
of universe-disturbers, a host of angels announcing good change,
a sky of stars showing us the Way.
God’s true peace be with you this season, comforting you
and moving you towards the miracle and challenge of Christ’s
birth and life on Earth.
Sincerely
Ellen Sherby
The 2006 Mission Yearbook for Prayer & Study, p.
57
If you would like to support CEPAD’s work in Nicaragua,
send a check to Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) Individual Remittance
Processing, PO Box 643700, Pittsburgh, PA 15264-3700. (Contributions
from churches should be sent to: Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.)
Church Remittance Processing, PO Box 643678, Pittsburgh, PA 15264-3678.)
Write the title (CEPAD Ministries) and the ECO number on the subject
line (#347002) of the check and put it on your cover letter, too.
Send a copy of the cover letter to the Area Office for Latin America
at 100 Witherspoon St. Louisville, KY 40202-1396. Or click the
"give" button below.
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