Prince of Peace?

We still laugh when we think about it. Our first Christmas together came during my internship year at Prince of Peace Lutheran Church. It had been a busy week. In truth, it was crazy. There were parties and get-togethers, church activities, Sunday School Christmas program and some gift wrapping. On Christmas Eve we had two services, the latter one at the traditional 11:00 p.m. There was also a Christmas morning service, which seemed to come too early.

By the time we got home from church on Christmas Day, we were both exhausted. We looked at all the fixings and trimmings we had readied for our first Christmas dinner and could not muster the energy to cook. Instead, we went to bed and slept for a good part of the day.

When we awoke from our naps (slumber would be a better description), we each felt as if we had been run over by a herd of the shepherd’s sheep. For dinner, my wife pulled a box of fish sticks from the freezer and served them with spaghetti because that is what was pictured on the front of the box.

For a moment or two we wondered if that congregation had been misnamed. Perhaps it should have been called Prince of Chaos, Prince of Busy, Prince of Perpetual Motion, or Prince of Exhaustion. But, there really is no better name than Prince of Peace.

This Christmas, before you are too tired to appreciate the magnitude of God's incomprehensible gift, hear and celebrate the good news:

For a child has been born for us, a son given to us; authority rests upon his shoulders; and he is named Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. (Isaiah 9:6, NRSV)

On behalf of Bishop Gary Wollersheim and the entire staff of the Northern Illinois Synod, I wish you a very Merry Christmas! --JC