Child of Light

“Imagine”

“Imagine there's no heaven
It's easy if you try
No hell below us
Above us only sky
Imagine all the people
Living for today... Aha-ah...

Imagine there's no countries
It isn't hard to do
Nothing to kill or die for
And no religion, too
Imagine all the people
Living life in peace... You...

You may say I'm a dreamer
But I'm not the only one
I hope someday you'll join us
And the world will be as one

Imagine no possessions
I wonder if you can
No need for greed or hunger
A brotherhood of man
Imagine all the people
Sharing all the world... You...

You may say I'm a dreamer
But I'm not the only one
I hope someday you'll join us
And the world will live as one.”

John Lennon (“Imagine”)

I consider this a great Christmas song. Especially, this year. I spoke with some friends of mine yesterday about the lack of enormous light displays around the neighborhood. People are feeling cautious and concerned, not joyful and optimistic. The Child of Light is born this year into a world at war, bristling with weapons, with some leaders discussing the benefits, and not the disastrous consequences, of nuclear proliferation. It's easy to feel anxious and afraid.

One thing that should be remembered is that the child, Jesus, was also born into such a world. He did not change it, but he highlighted what it could be, what it should be—an oasis of peace in the midst of chaos. “My peace I give to you.” “Be at peace, for I am with you.” His coming, and His going did not keep the Romans at bay, did not forestall the destruction of the temple seventy years later, did not keep the various tribes from killing each other, and yet His was, and still is, a message of peace. Be at peace in your heart. “My peace I give to you—not as the world gives...Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.” (John 14:27) Imagine that this Christmas Eve.

                                                               In the Spirit,

                                                                  Jane