Peace on Earth, Goodwill to Men

During this Christmas season, it seems appropriate to share about our final day in New York City when we visited the United Nations. I know many people have mixed feelings about the UN and its usefulness, but during the tour of the headquarters I was overwhelmed by the vision for peace that abounded throughout the placed. Of course, this is positive vision for humanity is a long way off, perhaps too idealistic to some, and has been thwarted even by some UN efforts, but the redemptive – and biblical – vision still exists there nonetheless.

As we walked to the building, we came across a wall with an engraving of a famous verse from Isaiah: “They shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks. Nation shall not life up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more.” A few steps further in front of the entrance, we saw a statute of a revolver with its barrel tied into a knot, symbolizing what Isaiah’s vision might look like in our modern world of warfare. This is the vision of peace all Creation groans for, that our hearts mourn for with words that cannot be expressed (cf. Romans 8).

Inside the United Nations, we observed many pictures and works of art as well as plaques explaining the UN’s work on various aspects of justice throughout the world, problems that go beyond borders – like water conservation, AIDS, malaria, caring for endangered species, addressing the issue of youth soldiers, global warming, and a host of environmental issues. I was struck by one particular quote that I read:

“Protection of the environment is often treated as a low-priority issue when compared with more immediate concerns, such as domestic security or the economy. But a healthy environment is not a luxury – it is a prerequisite for human health. The rise of emerging or resurging infectious diseases threatens not only humans – and their food supplies and economies – but also the wildlife comprising the biodiversity that supports the infrastructure of our world.”

A healthy environment is not a luxury but a prerequisite. It’s a simple distinction in one’s thinking that has dramatic consequences, much like believing that education or health care are not simply nice advantages but basic human rights we are obligated to impart.

At the beginning of the tour – which included participants from Brazil, Germany, Finland, and France as well as our guide who was from Gambia – we were introduced to a wall of artistic inscriptions of the dozens of articles that comprise the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Some of these include:

- All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights. They are endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood.
- Everyone has the right to rest and leisure.
- Motherhood and childhood are entitled to special care and assistance.
- Everyone has the right to education.
- All are equal before the law and are entitled without any discrimination to equal protection from the law.
- Everyone charged with a penal offence has the right to be presumed innocent until proved guilty according to law in a public trial at which he has had all the guarantees necessary for his defence.
- No one shall be subjected to torture or to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment.

I was impressed by the fact that all of these, and the many others that were listed, could find support from Scripture. Even more, I was convicted by the observation that the last three that I mentioned have been blatantly ignored by the U.S. in its treatment of U.S. citizens who happen to be Muslim who have been blacklisted since 9/11 as well as the horrible stories heard from Guantanamo Bay.

Next, we were taken to an area that talked about the trillion dollars being spent on weaponry in the world each year, the effects of nuclear weapons (aka the atomic bomb), and the serious problem of landmines throughout 1/3 of the world that mostly kill civilians (mostly children). In an act of resistance, perhaps we should turn our machine guns into… electric guitars.

We were then brought into the general assembly where preparations were being made for a session (had it been going on, we would’ve been forbidden to take pictures). Afterwards, we were led through a hallway of pictures of unidentifiable children separated from their families after war, pictures of the first meetings of the UN in the 1940s, and back out into an atrium where several works of art donated from various countries were on display. Finally, our guide explained to us an exhibit regarding the issue of Palestine, which the UN has been trying to address since the 1940s. To this day, there exist almost 4.5 million Palestinians living in nearly 60 refugee camps throughout the Middle East, people with no place to lay their head and call home until peace is made with Israel.

And so today, despite the UN's many efforts, we wait for that day when peace is made with Israel, when Rachel will no longer weep for her children and refuse to be comforted. We wait for the baby refugee born in a manger, for the Son of man who had no place to lay his head, for that lover of orphans and widows and aliens to come. We wait for him who will turn our military budget into a plan to feed the hungry and will offer a table for those poor, huddled masses rejected by our immigration laws. But we have more to do than just wait. We wait in hope for a promise already put into action. The spirit of Christmas lives in us. We are God's ambassadors - not to the UN, but to the world. God is making his appeal of peace and reconciliation through us (2 Cor 5:19). Creation groans waiting for the sons of God - that's us - to be revealed. Creation waits for us to act (Rom 8), which reveals that the correct contextual translation of Romans 8:28 is this: “And we know that he [the Spirit] works together with those who love God – those who have been called for the purpose of his plan – to bring all things into good.” May you work with the Spirit this new year to bring about peace and good in God's beloved earth.