For years, when asked what I wanted for Christmas, I've been replying: peace on earth, good will toward men :-)
No one ever seems to recognize that this comes from the bible, Luke 2.14 to be precise!
Linus said it best in A Charlie Brown Christmas:
And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night.In preparation for the new year:
And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid.
And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people.
For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord.
And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger.
And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying,
Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.
Merry Christmas!
Marcus Aurelius
Or does the bubble reputation distract you? Keep before your eyes the swift onset of oblivion, and the abysses of eternity before us and behind; mark how hollow are the echoes of applause, how fickle and undiscerning the judgments of professed admirers, and how puny the arena of human fame. For the entire earth is but a point, and the place of our own habitation but a minute corner in it; and how many are therein who will praise you, and what sort of men are they?
3 comments:
Peace on Earth?
"Aren't humans amazing? They kill wildlife - birds, deer, all kinds of cats, coyotes, beavers, groundhogs, mice and foxes by the million in order to protect their domestic animals and their feed.
Then they kill domestic animals by the billion and eat them. This in turn kills people by the million, because eating all those animals leads to degenerative - and fatal - health conditions like heart disease, stroke, kidney disease, and cancer.
So then humans spend billions of dollars torturing and killing millions more animals to look for cures for these diseases.
Elsewhere, millions of other human beings are being killed by hunger and malnutrition because food they could eat is being used to fatten domestic animals.
Meanwhile, few people recognize the absurdity of humans, who kill so easily and violently, and then plead for 'Peace on Earth.'" C. David Coates
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The good news is that anyone can break this cycle of violence. I did and you can too. Each of us has the power to choose compassion. Peace really does begin in the kitchen. Please visit these websites to align your core values with life affirming choices: http://veganvideo.org & http://tryveg.com
What I want for Christmas: a DNA sequencing machine that can sequence a person's genome accurately for $100,
Thank you for the thought. Peace and happiness to you and yours. And peace and happiness to unhappy commentators.
The Revised Standard Version puts it,
"Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among men with whom he is pleased."
The the Catholic Study Bible has,
"Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests."
So, true peace depends on us as well.
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