Since Jesus taught us that the way to the kingdom was to become like a young child, the question made me wonder - are we asking the right questions of the right people about the wars of our world? If you want to know about boot camp, your Mom who’s a pastor might not be able to tell you very much. If you want to know about war, is it best to ask your congressman, your colleague at work, or even your church leaders? Perhaps if we want to know about war, it would be a good idea to ask a few soldiers who’ve been there. What was it like for you, for your family? What did you learn? What made it worth risking your life for?

In Presbyterian-land where I live, I know a number of very successful people who believe that if you work hard enough and long enough - anyone can make a good living. It’s the Protestant work ethic married to the complimentary concepts of capitalism and consumerism that make it seem that way. Just recently a Time magazine article asked the question on the front cover, "Does God want you to be rich?" and even for those of us who’s gut reaction would be "no," we are secretly glad and feel blessed to have what we have. We worked hard for it, earned it, and feel deserving of what genuinely seems to be God’s good gifts.

But I wonder, in the child’s eye view, when we see someone who comes to any one of our churches for help, or when we see the homeless person on the street, or when we see the picture across the globe of the child with no hair and a distended stomach, do we bother to ask them, "What’s it like to be poor?" The child in us sees something that concerns us. Our hearts go out to the person in need, but too often we write a check, or say a prayer, or worse yet shake our heads and go on. Instead maybe we need to talk with the poor, to ask them some questions. What’s it like for you, for your children? What have you learned? What makes your life worth more than the things you have?

God only knows there will be war, there will be poverty, there will be the fear of powerful forces in our world and there will be lust and desire to control those forces. There will be people in the way, and most of the time the disposable ones will be sadly trampled underfoot. But God also made it so there will be children asking lots, and lots, and lots of questions. God, in God’s ultimate wisdom, knew that children would “get it” even if the adults forgot, so God sends the world a gift of Peace, and how does God send that gift? God sends us a baby, an inquisitive child, to be our savior.

As Mary welcomed this savior of the world into her heart and into her body, her soul is magnified, and it seems as though she becomes privileged to hear God’s game plan for the new world order. It turns out that this baby Prince of Peace has a pretty scary job ahead of him. It’s not the kind of peaceful job that means sipping an iced tea on the beach of life. In bringing peace, this child will topple the seats of power by listening to the forgotten ones and life’s foot soldiers. He will side with the poor. He will push away the rich. He will help the people remember God’s purpose for them, and they won’t like it much. In the end they will crucify him - not a very gracious end for a diplomat.

But this diplomat does things differently. If he wants to know about human pain, he talks to those who are blind and lame. If he wants to know about rejection, he starts conversations with tax collectors or with women who have bad reputations. If he wants to know about mental illness, he goes to the far side of town to meet the man chained up because of his demons. If he wants to know about the poor, he calls humble fishermen to be his disciples. On and on it goes. Peace talks to the pain in our lives and may not be able to make it better, but God’s peace says, "I understand and I walk beside you."

Today, our world is full of devils and demons. War, poverty, and cynicism are all around us. There seems to be no hope for the future. We have forgotten the promises made to us, to Abraham and his descendants forever. Is God’s mercy anywhere to be found in this picture? Will soldiers keep being sent off to war? Will civilians keep dying in the aftermath? Will the rich get richer and the poor get poorer? When will we take notice enough to make some changes? Are we simply powerless to the ways of the world?

Unfortunately, I don’t know the answers to these burning questions. We want to know what to do about the problems that plague our world, but for many of these issues, there are no simple solutions. Should we wish to pray for peace, I think we need to remember that God started the conversation through Jesus. And Jesus, our peace, is there to talk with us. Peace talks to the soldiers who fight for freedom and to the civilians who live in fear. Peace talks to power but casts its vote with the powerless. Peace says that all our sons and daughters matter. Peace talks to the poor and invites the hungry to be filled with good things. Peace remembers the promises made to our ancestors and gives us joy in the midst of our despair. Peace talks; and peace also has the good manners and benevolent heart to listen to our deepest pain.

In this broken and difficult world we live in, there is someone out there, a soldier, a beggar, a child in Darfur, a widow in your own neighborhood who needs to hear that hope is not lost – that there’s joy today. There’s peace today. There’s a reason to go on living. What do we need to hear on September 17, the first Sunday after the anniversary of terrorist attacks on our own nation? We need to hear Mary’s revelation that the savior has been promised and he’s here now. Joy to the world, the Savior reigns – not just on December 25, but now, here, at John Knox Center at a family picnic on a September Sunday afternoon even after the Vol’s lost last night. There is joy and peace and hope in our world. See it. Believe it. Trust in it, and if you don’t believe me, talk to someone who’s been there and back again. God sits with us in our pain. Peace is knocking on our door, open yourself to the conversation, and sing with me of Joy – Joy, yes, in OUR WORLD.

Amen.