Advent Week 2: Peace

The following is from material I prepared for our church community. It is comprised of a short homily regarding the second week of Advent focusing on peace, followed by a community prayer, then by a devotional to help people go deeper in the experience of Advent and the Christmas season.

This week in our Advent journey we are focusing on the word peace. I’d like us to think a little bit about the world that Jesus entered 2000 years ago, a world which was, on multiple levels, far from a place of peace. In the big picture, it was at the peak of the Roman Empire. Rome had conquered and subjugated the Mediterranean world including Palestine. Israel was essentially an occupied territory under the oppression and control of the Romans. There were uprisings and insurrections that Rome was continually quashing. It was not a peaceful time.

Joseph and Mary were teenagers who were engaged to be married. Mary was far along in her pregnancy. She was an unwed mother, a situation, at the time, that would have been far from peaceful. The Roman census was called, and Joseph and Mary (nine-month pregnancy and all) had to travel a several-days journey from Nazareth to Bethlehem. When they arrived they found that the city was overflowing with people arriving for the Census, all the accommodation was full. Finally, they took the only accommodation they could find which was a stable, a less than peaceful place with all the barnyard smells, filth, and sounds.

And then there were the angels! The angel Gabriel had appeared to Mary nine months earlier. Shortly after Jesus' birth an army of angels appeared to shepherds tending sheep nearby Bethlehem. In both situations the angel said, "fear not!" In other words, be at peace. The fact that they said this would indicate that in these situations there was at least an element of fear and lack of peace.

Into this far from peaceful setting, Jesus is born. The Prince of Peace enters the world he created, and like that first day of creation, he begins to bring order from the chaos, begins the process of bringing peace, shalom, completeness, wholeness to our world that is so far removed from that state.

And, just as Jesus entered a filthy stable to be laid in the dirty feeding trough, he enters our chaos, our disorder, our filth and brings peace and restoration into our lives - peace with God through his death on the cross, and peace with one another.

This year at Christmas time as we ponder peace, we long for more and more of that peace, with God, within ourselves, and with others including our enemies.

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Community Prayer: Peace

Isaiah 9:6 says:

For a child has been born for us,

a son given to us;

authority rests upon his shoulders;

and he is named

Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,

Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

Jesus, you are the Prince of Peace.

You gave up your riches and rights in heaven to enter our world - a world of disorder, chaos, war, rebellion, sin, and shame. You emptied yourself, taking the form of a slave.

Oh Lord, you are our peace.

You identified fully with us in our humanity. You were tempted in every way as we are. You were betrayed, rejected, and suffered. You humbled yourself to die a criminal’s death on the cross. You rose again to new life so that we too could live and have peace with God and with each other.

Oh Lord, you are our peace.

You’re the one who said “peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. I do not give you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled, and do not let them be afraid.”

Oh Lord, you are our peace.

You are the God of peace. You provide the peace that surpasses understanding that guards our hearts and minds in Christ Jesus, in the midst of our sometimes-troubled lives.

Oh Lord, you are our peace.

With the Angels on that first Christmas day, we say:

Glory to God in the highest heaven, and peace on earth to people he favors!

Oh Lord you are peace!

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Going Deeper During Advent: a journey with God in hope, peace, joy and love

Advent Week 2: Peace

This is the second week of Advent, and we are reflecting on “eace.” In Philippians 4:4-9 Paul describes us receiving “… the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding…” from “… the God of peace.” God is our peace.

Isaiah 9:6

For a child has been born for us,

a son given to us;

authority rests upon his shoulders;

and he is named

Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,

Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

1. Sit for a moment allowing yourself to fully arrive. Take a moment to quiet your mind, taking deep breaths, enjoying the presence of God and the feeling of his peace.

2. Think of a time when you felt particularly peaceful. Allow yourself for a moment to re-experience that feeling. What is it like? How would you describe it to someone without using the word “peace”?

3. Read this poem (based on Mark 4:35-41 but with a twist!):

The Storm The storm surges. Waves roar. Wind pummels. Straining at oars, Salt of sea And sweat join and, He sleeps And sleeps And sleeps. Annoyingly at peace, Or indifferent To my plight. Don’t you care? Don’t you care? Don’t you care? He rises. “Peace be still!” And then, Nothing happens. The wind and waves Still rage. And then I see, He speaks to me. To the storm within. To lie down with him.

4. Have a conversation with Jesus about what this poem stirs in you – are there things that resonate with you or things about it you resist? What is Jesus inviting you into in the midst of your storm?

5. Journal and/or discuss with others.