Advent 6: Peace

Scripture:

"For to us a child is born,
to us a son is given,
and the government will be on his shoulders.
And he will be called
Wonderful Counsellor, Mighty God,
Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. (Isaiah 9:6)

Song: Wonderful Counsellor

We live in a world that longs for peace. The newspapers scream of our need for it. Right now, it feels like our societies are more divided and hurting than ever before. This year has cracked open deep wounds of racial inequality and political injustice and we see them laid bare and exposed on our newsfeeds and TV screens. We reel from the images of an Iranian family drowned in the Channel trying to reach safety in the UK. We stagger at the thought of 6.6 million Syrian refugees fleeing unthinkable horrors in a war that has ravaged their country.

When Isaiah, one of the prophets in the Old Testament, spoke of who Jesus would be, who the waited for One was, he named him the Prince of Peace.

Isaiah said that in spite of all appearances, despite the violence and pain of the world as it is, one day someone would come to sort it out. This man would be a great judge: he would settle the disputes that ravage nations and peoples. He would ensure that every boot used for battle, every blood-stained piece of armour, would be thrown away and burned because it would not be needed any more. The people themselves would beat their swords into ploughs and their spears into pruning hooks. On that day there would be no more war. No more armies. No more child soldiers. No more refugees. No more tears and grief. No more death.

We do not live in that day. We live waiting for the fulfilment of that promise. We wait for the final day when Jesus comes back and sort things out once and for all. We live in the not yet. And it is painful.

And yet, in the waiting, Jesus is still our Prince of Peace. He still offers peace to his people. As we pray for peace between nations, and within our own nation, Jesus extends his peace to us.

To my anxious soul, which frets about Christmas presents, and what people think of me, and whether my friend is going to be ok, and what my children’s future will be like, and a thousand other unnecessary things, He says "Peace be with you" (John 20:19).

He says, "I'm leaving peace with you even though you can't see me. I'm giving you the gift of peace and I'm giving it to you in a way that the world can't. You don't need to be troubled. You don't need to be afraid." (John 14:27)

He says, "Do not be anxious. I am close. Come to me and talk to me about it. Leave it with me. And I will give you a peace that you don't understand; a peace that will keep you safe and calm your heart." (Philippians 4:5-7)

He says, "Trust me. I'm the rock. I'm the solid ground. I will keep you in perfect peace if you will just look to me. Trust that I am who I say I am and that I want to give you the peace I say I can give you." (Isaiah 26:3-4)

Reflection: Read through the verses paraphrased above, or look them up in your own bible. Remember that Jesus is the Prince of Peace today.

Lord Jesus, Prince of Peace, 

I want to know your peace today. 

I want my heart to be filled with it to the brim so that in the middle of any and every situation, I am totally secure. 

Lord Jesus, Prince of Peace, 

Please give me peace today. 

Give it to me in the way that only you can. 

Show me that my feet are standing on solid ground even when it feels like everything has given way. 

Amen