During the long December weeks of Advent, we anticipate the joy of Christmas morning. But children experience it more deeply. Do you still remember that anticipation? That mystery?
Our traditional Christmas celebrations—the gifts, the food, the songs, the pageants, properly echo the spiritual joy we feel at knowing that God, Emmanuel is with us; that we are not alone.
But, as we have matured, we begin to long for more than brightly-wrapped gifts under the tree. With adulthood comes a keen awareness of how broken the world is. We see, in ourselves and in those we love, the deep chasms of hurt, of resignation to what we are powerless to change. We cannot wake up and turn on our phones or our televisions without being confronted by the brokenness in our world, and even within our own neighborhoods.
And so, we are filled with longing. We long, not just for joy, but for someone, something to make it all be right. We long for peace.
In God’s kin-dom peace reigns. And the peace that Jesus promises is more that the absence of anxiety or conflict. The peace Jesus promises is wholeness, radical and even a little uncomfortable.
You see, Jesus’ peace exists and spreads when the hungry are fed, when someone uses ecologically sound transport to reduce their carbon footprint, when the fatherless are cared for by a loving community, when enemies reconcile against all the odds, when someone loves their neighbor etc. You know the what I am talking about.
This week, as you walk or bike through the streets of your community, or ride the bus, look for signs of life, the presence of wholeness and the absence of darkness. Embrace the lights and decorations which you see. Let them remind you of simpler times - back to the mystery of the Christmases of your childhood. The mystery of the unknown yet expected. And, if you can, think thoughts of peace.
For this second Sunday of Advent, I offer this prayer:
Jesus, we know that we desperately need peace; the kind that transforms and lasts.
Help us keep our hearts focused on what Christmas really means.
Teach us how to maintain humility and open our eyes to see the humanity in every person.
Teach us to breath in peace and to walk in the rhythms of your peace. Amen
In peace,
Pastor Beryl