The NEW YORK TIMES one Christmas carried a picture of a priest walking through a metal detector manned by Israeli troops on the occupied West Bank. As soldiers looked on, the elderly priest, cane in hand, walked solemnly through the security device. As paradoxical as this picture is, one is inclined to say that some things never change. The imagination would say that this is perhaps something like it was on the first Christmas morn. The caption for the TIMES picture read like this: "In Bethlehem, Christmas is marked by tension . . . ." (1)

In Paul's letter to the Philippians, we find one of the most popular benedictions in the church. Verse 7 of chapter 4 reads: "And the peace of God, which passes all understanding, will keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus." Then in verse nine, Pau…