"Peace on earth." It makes a lovely greeting-card message. With Christmas approaching, who wouldn't love to feel this peace settle over our world, embracing and comforting all mankind? Perhaps at this season more than any other, the human heart yearns for the spiritual stillness and peace that the angels promised and that Christ Jesus so beautifully exemplified in his life.

True peace isn't so much a result of peaceful circumstances as an inner conviction of God's unerring control over all circumstances. Even in the midst of a raging storm or an angry crowd, Jesus maintained a calm, clear conviction of God's presence and sure control. Not only was his inner peace preserved in these situations but his certainty of this peace protected him from the threatening crowd and silenced the storm that endangered others as well as himself.

Is it possible to bring this unshakable peace to a hectic (or barren) holiday season? Yes, but first we may need to ask ourselves, What is this season into which we are about to enter? Is it a season of intense consumer activity, or a gentle, inner stirring? Is it twinkling lights and jingle bells, or the glimmering of hope in the omnipotence of God, good? Is it constant companionship and revelry, or quiet communion with God?

Our concept of Christmas determines our Christmas experience. We can get swept away on the current of seasonal emotions and festivities or we can establish, through quiet, earnest prayer, Christ's eternal, healing presence. This is what Christmas means in Christian Science—that Christ, Truth, is dawning in human consciousness, redeeming thought from worldliness, greed, and mindless ritual. Christian Science finds the real meaning of Christmas in the spiritual understanding that God, Spirit, is All, that man is Spirit's pure likeness, and that matter is insubstantial and unreal. With this spiritual understanding comes a peace that cannot be dashed by crass commercialism or human woe—a peace that permeates and transforms the simplest human experience.

For instance, do we think of Christmas as mainly gift-giving? Generosity is a lovely sentiment, but mere human sentiments, however well-intentioned, can end up leaving us feeling burdened and disappointed. Why? Because they tend to secularize human life, leaving us feeling separated from God. Through prayer our generosity can reflect more of divine Love and thus be less materialistic and more unselfish and impartial.

Do we think of Christmas as a time for children? We want their Christmas to be happy and memorable. We love to see that glow in their eyes when we drive past a house sparkling with lights or when they discover a new gift under the tree. Can prayer and study of the Bible story of Jesus' birth compete with that kind of entertainment? If we make room in our own lives for spiritual growth, and desire to share this understanding with our children, we will be guided to share the spiritual gems that make Christmas special. In prayer we can cherish that Christly meekness and receptivity which God imparts, and which enables children to discern and to value the deeper beauty and meaning of the Christmas season.

The Founder of Christian Science, Mary Baker Eddy, a woman of deep spirituality, loved children and loved the spiritual significance of Christmas. As the Discoverer of the laws of God demonstrated by Jesus, she brought a unique perspective to Christmas. She writes, "I celebrate Christmas with my soul, my spiritual sense, and so commemorate the entrance into human understanding of the Christ conceived of Spirit, of God and not of a woman—as the birth of Truth, the dawn of divine Love breaking upon the gloom of matter and evil with the glory of infinite being." ^{The First Church of Christ, Scientist, and Miscellany, p. 262.} This vision of the eternal Christ, dawning in universal understanding, opens up new views of what this season is and what it can mean to mankind. Every fresh inspiration we have uplifts the general atmosphere of thought and makes Christmas more meaningful for everyone. In fact, discontent and dissatisfaction with the commercialism and materialism of the holidays is evidence that the dawning of this Christ-idea is stirring human thought, awakening it to higher ideals and purer visions. It's our privilege to affirm that man's spiritual innocence naturally resists whatever would try to corrupt Christ's healing and peace-giving presence.

I learned something of the importance of this prayer a few years ago, when my little boy woke me in the middle of the night complaining of a tummy-ache. Christmas was a few days away; we had been to a very festive Christmas party that evening, and on the way home the children had delighted in seeing all the Christmas decorations and lights on the houses in our neighborhood.

As I bundled that little one up in my arms and we sat on the sofa together praying, it occurred to me that the real problem was not the tummy but the sense of excitement, of unsettled anticipation. And so I asked myself what my concept of Christmas really was. I thought deeply about it and prayed that my sense of Christmas be purified and uplifted. I thought of the angels' promise that first Christmas, "on earth peace"; ^{See Luke 2:14.} and I realized that only when I could affirm the healing presence, the peace-giving presence of the eternal Christ, was I truly commemorating Christmas.

In the stillness of that early morning hour, I began to pray that all mankind would feel the peace that Christ inevitably brings. I prayed to know that wherever there seemed to be the most turbulence—crowded airports or malls, broken homes, grieving hearts—right there was Christ, bringing a peace and stillness that could not be shaken or disturbed. I prayed until I felt certain of the Christ presence and was healed by it.

About that time, my little boy sat upright and said, "It's all gone in my tummy." After a hug I sent him back to bed with gratitude for the lesson I had learned and for the peace that I, too, felt.

The birth of Jesus of Nazareth signified the power of spiritual illumination breaking through the dream of life in matter, revealing man's eternal sonship with God. It ushered in a new era of hope and healing for human ills of every kind. It is Jesus' life—not just his birth—his living demonstration of the power of Spirit over material beliefs, that we commemorate whenever we pray to understand his teachings and follow in his footsteps.

Studying and praying for a more spiritual understanding of Christmas, we will find it. This doesn't mean that our holiday need be any less festive. But we may find that our priorities change and celebrations take on a more spiritual, peaceful tone. Following Jesus' example, we can celebrate Christmas every day by seeking the understanding of man's spiritual sonship that heals and brings lasting peace.