THE first Carol, sung by the Angels, couldn’t be more relevant.

Not that people sing carols for their relevance. We sing them for their tunes, their familiarity, for the atmosphere they conjure up, for the memories they stir.

But the next carol you hear will probably have in it some echo of the first one when the angels sang about “peace on earth”.

For 2,000 years and more, the human family has dreamed through songs and poems and prayers how this might come about.

Leaders of the nations came together in Copenhagen to find a way to save the earth.

The scenes of political infighting resembled a family of children bickering among themselves while the parents were out of the room.

What seemed to me to be missing from the international gathering, where every nation was understandably protecting its own interests, was any sense of accountability to our Creator.

The leaders failed to recognise that, unless we all have a future, none of us has a future. Equally missing was the humility that comes from the truth that this creation does not belong to us or even our grandchildren.

“The earth is the Lord’s and everything in it”. The exclusion of God from our lives seemed to me to come to a head at Copenhagen.

The essence of Christmas is that because we cannot save ourselves we need a Saviour to save us from ourselves.

“Peace on earth” is the very reason that God sent Jesus into the world which is why the angels went on to sing “For unto you is born this day in the City of David a Saviour who is Christ the Lord.”

May our hearts and minds this Christmas be open to the gift of peace that the Saviour brings.