It is a time of year when we reflect in special ways on Jesus' birth and what it means for our lives and our world today.

We ask ourselves, how is Jesus being birthed in my heart and in my world today, at this time critical juncture in U.S. and world history? How will there be peace on earth when there is so much pain, death, violence, injustice, and disease? How is the God of nonviolence, love, justice, and compassion being birthed in my heart and in the world today?

Our beliefs teach us that God lives in each human being and that God desires the fullness of life for everyone, as well as for all of creation.

If we focus on the well-being of only one part of the world, we forget that we are all members of one body. When one part of the body is hurting, the whole body is hurting, whether recognized or not. Conversely, when one part of the body is strengthened or healed, it affects the whole in positive ways.

In reflecting about how to bring about "peace on earth," these words in the U.S. Pledge of Allegiance come to mind: "with liberty and justice for all." What if this vision included all peoples of the world, not just for those in the U.S? What if a shared international focus was freedom from war, diseases, injustices, devastation, poverty, dominance, pollution, and inequalities for every human being?

As Jesus is birthed in our hearts, we interact with and love each other as he would do -- in today's world. The God of love and peace seeks to move in each of us in building a peaceful world with liberty and justice for all.