Do You Hear What I Hear?

 

Message of the Angels

“The angels wish peace for people who, in the original Greek, are pleasing, who present themselves as good. I translate it somewhat freely as people with compassion because the people you want around you are compassionate. To call them ‘pleasant’ would be too weak. They please because they have good feelings toward people. That is probably the thought behind the common translation, ‘peace to men of good will.’”

Thomas Moore (The Soul of Christmas, p.90-91; Franciscan Media, 2016)

In the Christmas story, the herald angles sing to shepherds in the fields outside Bethlehem saying, “Glory to God high above, and here on earth, peace to people of compassion.” (Luke 2:14) Some translations have it this way: “Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace among those whom he favors.” And yet other translations say, “Glory to God in the highest and on earth, peace and good will toward men.” However you translate the Greek, this song of the angels establishes the connection between God and humankind. God above, we, below. As above, so below. We are connected.

In Thomas Moore’s translation, which I trust, he suggests that this blessing is qualified, not by belief system, not by religion, not by color of skin or ethnic origin, but by compassion. Peace to those who have compassion. That’s an important and relevant piece of the communication. Not because the angels were sent to bedevil and revile certain people, but because they knew that unless we have compassion, we are not at peace, ever. Being a compassionate person who can take the world view of someone else—walk a mile in their shoes—is a prerequisite for living in peace.

If we want a more peaceful world, compassion is the key. It begins with compassion for self. Those of us who are hard on ourselves are most likely to be hard on other people, too. Those of us who grew up with shame, who were made to feel ashamed of ourselves, find it hard to shake it in adulthood. We are far more likely to use shame as means of controlling others—after all, it worked on us. Shaming is a toxic weapon that should be eliminated. No one benefits from it, and it can disfigure one’s personality and undermine their self-esteem.

Compassion is made more difficult these days by our entrenched biases and our inability to care about anyone who disagrees with us. That’s why it is now so important to become conscious of those biases and do our best to overcome the hurdle they pose. We don’t have to agree with everyone, but if we can understand them and feel compassion (not pity) for them, that’s half the battle.

The angels have declared it—"Peace on earth to people of compassion.” Now it’s our turn to live it.

                                                  In the Spirit,

                                                  Jane