Unity, Peace And Love

Unity, Peace and Love

Christmas 2023

Matthew 1:18-25

Rev. Dr. Michael H. Koplitz

Matthew 1:18 Now the birth of Jesus 1Christ was as follows: when His amother Mary had been 2betrothed to Joseph, before they came together she was bfound to be with child by the Holy Spirit. 19 And Joseph her husband, being a righteous man and not wanting to disgrace her, planned 1ato send her away secretly. 20 But when he had considered this, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, “aJoseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife; for 1the Child who has been 2conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit. 21 “She will bear a Son; and ayou shall call His name Jesus, for 1He bwill save His people from their sins.” 22 Now all this 1took place to fulfill what was aspoken by the Lord through the prophet: 23 “aBEHOLD, THE VIRGIN SHALL BE WITH bCHILD AND SHALL BEAR A SON, AND THEY SHALL CALL HIS NAME 1IMMANUEL,” which translated means, “cGOD WITH US.” 24 And Joseph 1awoke from his sleep and did as the angel of the Lord commanded him, and took Mary as his wife, 25 1but kept her a virgin until she agave birth to a Son; and bhe called His name Jesus.

It is a few days away from the beginning of the Festival of Lights, Chanukah. This year, 2023, it is difficult to feel festive. October 7th saw the most horrific attack on the nation of Israel by Hamas terrorists. The terrorists videoed almost every horrific thing that they did. Now the IDF (Israel Defense Forces) are holding military operations in the Gaza strip. Unfortunately, Hamas took hostages and in a brokered deal, they released almost all that they promised.

It is incredible that there are protests around the world to support the terrorists. What choice does Israel have but to destroy Hamas? For decades Hamas has attacked Israel. This time they went too far. The raping of women to their death and the killing of babies is too gruesome.

This is not the only conflict occurring in the world. Russian troops are pounding Ukraine. The question for both conflicts is why? We filled human history with wars and battles because different tribes of humans cannot get along. There have been several prophets sent from the LORD to teach us how to get along with each other. Every major world religion has such a prophet. The LORD acknowledges that we have different ways of worship and different customs which set our religions apart from each other. What is so wrong with that? It is when humanity brings its differences together that we will create the utopian world that God wants for us.

I have studied the core doctrines of several world religions and found that at the core, they are the same. We are not as different as we like to think. I pray that one day we will get over the differences and work together for peace and unity in the world. Think about it this way. If you adapt a unity of world religions, you get to celebrate a lot of days of the year! That can easily translate into a lot of presents. We all like to get presents, right? Seriously, there is so much beautiful heritage associated with all religions and the customs of all the peoples of the world.

As a Star Trek fan, I love the idea of a United Earth, where our goal is to be united in love and peace. According to Star Trek, by the end of this century, the people of the world will live in peace and unity. I would love to see that sped up and I am sure you would like that too.

No matter what religious celebration you are holding in December or January, well actually in any month of the year, why not commit to doing your part to create peace and unity in the world? That sounds like an enormous task. However, you can start in your neighborhood. If every person on the planet practiced peace and love, that love would multiply and encompass the world.

We could end homelessness, hunger, disease, and possible cancer if the governments of the world could focus their money from war to peace. World War II finally destroyed the idea of world dominance. The ambition of a single race trying to control the world ended then. There have been empires that comprised the known world when the known world was small. This was always accomplished through war and oppression. Since that never worked for long, it is time to think differently.

Instead of dominance by war and oppression, how about world dominance by peace and love? Human life is too precious to continue the attitude of killing. Enemies need to learn to become friends.