All nations will come to the house of the Lord, says Isaiah. It is only after he makes this pronouncement that he goes on to express his beautiful image of world peace: They shall beat their swords into plowshares..." The message is clear: all nations must come to the house of the Lord before there is the wisdom and courage to beat swords into plowshares. Only when everyone turns to God will there be true peace on earth. We approach Christmas as the great feast of peace, when we celebrate the birth of the Prince of Peace. This is a reminder that there is no true peace except God's peace. This is repeated by Jesus at the end of his life: "My peace I give you". The peace which Jesus brings is the peace of God, a peace which the world cannot give. During Advent we prepare for Christmas. This should mean that we prepare our hearts to receive with joy the gift of God's peace in Christ. As Jesus is born to redeem us, God's justice transforms our lives so that, in union with Jesus we can become channels of God peace and justice in the world.