How beautiful on the mountains are the feet of those who bring good news, who proclaim peace, who bring good tidings, who proclaim salvation, who say to Zion, "Your God reigns!" – Isaiah 52:7

Today's Scripture Reading (December 25, 2023): Isaiah 52

On December 24, 1865, Phillips Brooks found himself in Israel. Depressed and defeated, he had journeyed to Israel to try to gain a bit of perspective on his life. And so, on Christmas Eve 1865, he had traveled to Bethlehem on horseback. He had been warned not to go; the area was filled with thieves and murderers; it was not the kind of place that a depressed Pastor should try to get to, yet Brooks went anyway.

Three years later, in 1868, he was back home in the United States, and as he looked toward the Christmas Eve service that year, he remembered Christmas Eve 1865 and that scene he had witnessed that night. And then, he put pen to paper and wrote his famous poem, "O Little Town of Bethlehem."

The poem talks of a peace that existed over the town of Bethlehem on that night, which Brooks describes as lying in stillness, even though something significant was happening within its borders on that night so many years ago. It was a peace that was conspicuously absent on the night that Brooks penned his poem. The area was a dangerous place to be on that night in 1865, with thieves hiding around every corner. Today, Bethlehem is located in the West Bank, and it remains a dangerous place. The peace of Bethlehem almost seems to be a cruel dream.

And yet, on that first Christmas Day, peace entered into the world, but we were so busy looking for that peace that we missed it. And we continue to suffer from the same paradox. In our frantic search for peace, we continue to ignore the peace that has been born to us.

For most people, today will also be a busy day. For some, it is a sad day in which it is too easy to reflect on what we are missing and feel a similar despair to that suffered by Phillips Brooks in 1865. In both circumstances, it is too easy to miss the peace.

Today, in the town of Bethlehem, a child is born. A child who brings peace and good tidings designed to benefit all the people, regardless of their skin color or nation of origin or what they believe. He is our salvation. His name is Jesus. And "Where meek souls will receive him still, the dear Christ enters in" (Phillips Brooks).

Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: Matthew 1

Originally Published on December 25, 2010