Every year when the peace week of the Advent season comes around, I find myself overwhelmed with gratitude for its impeccable timing. Every year, I find that I need its reminders a little bit more. The longing for peace runs deep.
And what I find so comforting is that though year to year it’s different what threatens to steal away this gift of peace, the gift remains greater than our circumstance time and time again.
This week I read this passage in Luke (which I always hear in the voice of Linus from the Charlie Brown Christmas special) and I meditated on what exactly was meant by this peace that the angels proclaimed.
And in the same region there were shepherds out in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. And an angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were filled with great fear. And the angel said to them, ‘Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. And this will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger.‘ And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying, ‘Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased!’ —Luke 2:8-14, ESV
“And on earth—peace.”
Peace could mean several things. Perhaps the angels meant to evoke ideas of serenity and calm, stillness and tranquility. Perhaps it was intended to bring to mind making amends or the absence of conflict. Perhaps it was an invitation for a deep breath in the midst of their fear.
I believe the peace intended for this season is an invitation to peace of all sorts, both internal and external. But I did find it interestingthat the word used for peace here is the Greek word for “join”. The peace on earth that the angels proclaim here is one of surrenderand joining with God. It’s about oneness of heart with the divine. When we join with God (or when God joins with us) we cease thecompetition for glory and devote ourselves to living for God’s glory. This peace that we are given is found when we join God in giving life to the world.
“Peace on Earth” is rooted in the understanding that Christ came for a restoration of relationship between God and humanity. Christ came so that we might rejoin God and move together as one lifegiving force in the world. This has taken peace from a somewhat elusive idea to a very practical form. Simple, perhaps , in theory, but not necessarily easy in application.
When we are joined with God, our inner battles become replaced with peace, because our purpose is clear. Our sense of self-worth and our values are all properly aligned and we find wholeness.
When we are joined with God, our external battles become replaced with peace, because our purpose is clear. We no longer need to live a perpetually defensive life, reacting to others who bump our sensitive wounds. Because we join with God and allow him to make us whole, we can come to our relationships and to the world with a spirit of grace. Rather than continue the cycles of hurt, we can follow the example of Christ and absorb them and respond graciously. Without God’s presence in our lives, looking out for ourselves is our reflex, but joining with God empowers us to meet the hurt with empathy, compassion, grace and understanding.
Because divinity came in flesh to redeem all things, we are free to choose peace. It’s evident in the life of Christ that peace doesn’t always mean the absence of conflict. Though Christ came as a peacemaker, he encountered much resistance. We can conclude that a life of peace is not necessarily one void of conflict, but rather a way of being in the midst of conflict. We choose peace when we pursue right relationship with God. This choice is about living according to God’s intentions for all that humanity was to be. Such a life is a life of righteousness, of right relatedness.
A closing benediction of sorts for a meditation in peace:
From the inner turmoil, the noise, the hurry and the rushing—peace.
From the systems of earning and approval. From striving to prove to ourselves and others that we are enough—peace.
From the worry of what the future may hold that causes us to become anxious and greedy—peace.
From the lie that we are defined by the stuff we surround ourselves with—peace.
From feeling as if we must constantly compete for attention from others and from the fear of being misunderstood — peace.
From a life of incessant self-promotion—peace.
From the bitterness and defensiveness we might find quietly brewing in our relationships with those closest to us—peace.
From quickness of speech and quickness of temper—peace.
From assumptions of the intentions of others—peace.
From the fear of those unlike us—peace.
This season (and always) may we be reminded to embrace and embody peace of all kinds. May our oneness with God be evident in the peace of our day to day lives.
