Op-ed views and opinions expressed are solely those of the author.

As we come to the end of 2024, it feels difficult to find peace. We are surrounded by news of barbaric terrorism, regional wars, and their attendant horrors around the globe.

With the fall of the tyrant Assad in the Middle East, Syria falls into another gulf of chaos; with Putin’s Russia committing over 400,000 casualties to overtake miles of ruins in Ukraine to glorify himself; with Xi Jinping’s navy prowling the Taiwanese strait in hopes of enslaving that island nation to steal its property, perhaps it is time we all breathe and consider not the acts of tyrants and their barbarities… but the Prince of Peace.

It is time to remember that babe for whom the Inn held no room, for whom the stable had to do, to deliver his birth among a circle of shepherds. It is time to remember that Jesus spent his childhood growing up in a household without luxuries and his adulthood in a home where there was an accounting for every penny: the life of a carpenter in Nazareth brought little money.

When Jesus left that home to serve the world, his life became, unlike the foxes who have their dens, unlike the birds who have nests. The Son of Man ventured where he had no room to rest his head… for he rejected a path open to him of wealth and power, and chose a path of love and suffering instead.

His ministry started as he opened a passage of Isaiah, which read, “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me because he has anointed me to bring the Good News to the Poor.” The news was that God was not as the Greeks conceived, a distant, uncaring master of geometry; nor was God as his fellow Jews thought, a demanding and exacting judge, awaiting a judgment day whereupon to scourge mankind. The Good News was that God was filled with love for humanity and a cause for celebration! So came Jesus’ first signal miracle, the happy transformation of water into wine at a wedding in Cana.

When Jesus chose his companions, he chose persons like himself, as simple and extraordinary as any could be. He chose the women who attended his travels from his mother, Mary, to Mary Magdalene, from Joanna to Susanna, and others, whom he treated as sacred. He promised his companions three things according to F. R. Maltby: “That they would be completely fearless, absurdly happy, and in constant trouble!” Where his company walked, they brought hope, cheerfulness, and kindness, and when Jesus spoke, his syllables went forth filled with the breath of Heaven.

Jesus welcomed everyone he met, whether a Jew, a Roman, a Greek, or a Samaritan; he spent his time with rabbis, tax collectors, and sinners alike. But spent his important time with those who suffered from being blind, or deaf, or lame, or lepers… healing the desperate outcasts of society. He spent his time touching those whom no one else would touch and loving those whom no one else would love.

When disciples of the prophet, John, ventured to ask him who he was, he answered: “Tell John what you have seen and heard, the blind recover their sight; the lame walk; the lepers are cleansed; the deaf hear; and the dead are raised up; the poor have the Good News told to them!”

The greatest news was in Jesus’ teaching and was opposite to anything ever heard: “To you who are listening, I say love your enemies, do good to those who hate you. Bless those who curse you, pray for those who ill-use you. As you would like others to act towards you, you must act towards them!” “You must love the Lord your God with your whole heart, your whole mind, and your neighbor as yourself!”

Jesus taught in a style that everyone could understand, through parables. Perhaps his finest story was that of the prodigal: about a son who asks for his inheritance early and then goes on to waste its entirety gambling, drinking, and womanizing. Yet, when the son returns home, the father celebrates with him! Jesus explained, “What man of you who has a hundred sheep, and who hast lost one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine… and go after the one that is lost until he finds it?” Jesus taught that God, in his love, was searching for his lost ones: a humanity that strayed, and Jesus was the shepherd sent to bring home to God all those who were lost.

When the Pharisees asked Christ when the kingdom of God was coming, he answered: “The kingdom is within you!” But you have to enter it by your own free will, not through the force of an aristocracy or Caesar. For “there is a domain in which Caesar’s writ does not run, which belongs wholly to God.”

To bring we, who are lost, to that domain of peace, Christ suffered crucifixion on a cross: the only place on earth that finally had room for one so profoundly good.

Before he left, he bid his apostles greet everyone they met and every house they entered with a prayer for peace, a peace only afforded in the kingdom he built within each of us.

It’s time to celebrate the most extraordinary child that was ever born, who offers love… and shelter from the storm!

Merry Christmas, Everyone!

Richard C. Lyons is the author of But By The Chance Of War. Lyons is a third-generation printer, whose early career centered on religious and special education publishing. Lyons has since engaged in literary pursuits as a poet, essayist, screenwriter, and indie publisher.

• About
• Latest Posts

Richard Lyons

Richard C. Lyons, author of The DNA of Democracy: Volume I and Shadows of the Acropolis: Volume II is a third generation printer, whose early career centered on religious and special education publishing. Lyons has since engaged in literary pursuits as a poet, essayist, screenwriter and indie publisher.

Latest posts by Richard Lyons (see all)

• Glory on the Fourth - July 4, 2025
• Birth rights and due process - April 25, 2025
• A time to remember - December 24, 2024

Comment

We have no tolerance for comments containing violence, racism, profanity, vulgarity, doxing, or discourteous behavior. Thank you for partnering with us to maintain fruitful conversation.