The Child in the manger brings peace.
As on that night, the heavens above Bethlehem will be brightly lit. Unfortunately, it will be different. The star of that night kept watch silently over the crib, acting as pathfinder for shepherds and wise men, leading them to the Child that was called the Prince of Peace and Saviour.
This time the light in Israel is qualitatively different. A bright and dramatic light show will be presented, lighting the dark heavens spectacularly with fire lines before colouring the horizon for a moment in a soft orange glow. It is the prequel to disaster, tragedy, fear, anxiousness, loss of life ... the worst of the worst. The angel choirs seem to be silenced by the growls and grunts of the heavy artillery. On that night the angels sang, ‘Peace on earth...’, but people infiltrated and destroyed that peace.
Just the other week a disillusioned man on board a ship in Gqeberha tells of the intense fear that accompanies ‘navigating the Red Sea’. Another pours out the story of the still angry war in the Ukraine that now suddenly involves Northern Korea too. He explains how it affects him and his family. How we all became slaves to the macro-political regimes! How can we not but feel dejected and exposed by the sadness of the bombs and total chaos surrounding us!
Therefore, once a year, we stand silently at the Child of the Manger - as the exact opposite of the story that all had been lost. As we receive men working at sea each day of the year, with love of the Man of the Cross, in our harbours - we will remind each man working at sea of the Child of the Manger during this Christmas time. We will remind them of angels singing the alternative, ‘Peace on earth...’!
Each held captive in the claws of fear, each that trusts us enough to share their stories - whether it relates to pirate attacks, marriages on the rocks, or the isolation on board the ship that throws them into depression - will have us to hear the assurance that the Child came to change the narrative.
The people of the sea are exposed, disproportionately, to the hazards of life - war, mental health or relationships. Being a person working at sea means a very complex life. You can strengthen our hands in this time, to ensure that each person visiting our harbours in this Christmas time would experience the Child of the Manger that came to change the narrative. It is a story of peace on earth, not only on a macro-political level, but also on a deep personal level. Please consider, also in prayer, to support the CSO’s work financially this Christmas!
Also - May you experience this Christmas that the Christ Child brought you peace too.
Banking details: ABSA Bank. Christelike Seemansorganisasie. Current. 1520-230-226.