The theme of the second week of Advent is PEACE. How do we find and/or foster peace in a time when many are feeling anxious, overwhelmed, despondent, fearful, and generally ill-at-ease? The news cycle continually reminds us of all that’s happening around us, and what we are shown doesn’t necessarily foster a sense of peace.
Its into this kind of setting and feeling, Advent bursts on the scene and calls us to experience peace. But how can we? Can you just simply force yourself to be at peace? Can you turn off all the other noise around you and declare you’re going to have peace?
I’m not sure, but I don’t believe that’s how peace works. Peace isn’t something that is simply generated, but I do believe it something that can be sought and nurtured in how we relate to others and the world around us. A definition of peace says: “Peace is a state of tranquility and harmony, often characterized by the absence of violence or conflict. It can also be described as a relationship between people that is characterized by respect, goodwill, and justice.”
So how do we get to this state of tranquility and harmony? How does a relationship end up with the qualities of respect, goodwill and justice? This is the tricky part, we can’t manufacture peace, but we can seek it and nurture it in ourselves and others.
Whenever God breaks into the world with some pronouncement or manifestation of God’s presence, we hear the words “Fear not, do not be afraid.” When the angel Gabriel came to visit Mary, those are the words he spoke, “Do not be afraid Mary, for you have found favor with God.” When an angel of the Lord appears to shepherds out in the fields, the angel says, ”Do not be afraid; for see—I am bringing you good news of great joy for all the people”. When Joseph was conflicted about Mary’s pregnancy, an angel visits him in a dream and says, “Do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife for the child conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit.”
It seems to me, even in the strangest, conflicted, confusing of times, peace can be found. Sometimes we let our emotions and fears get the best of us, and we are consumed by all the negative potentialities and possibilities our minds can conjure up. No different than when angels appear to ordinary people in the Bible. They are fearful, they are confused, they are anxious. But God speaks the words for them to put aside those feelings. God’s presence is meant to quash all of those negative feelings rising up in us. God’s presence is in itself a form of peace. Where God is, all reason to fear should be extinguished.
There are plenty of reasons for a great many people to be on edge and in turmoil over right now. If recent events have us a little worked up, that’s understandable. If the recent election didn’t come out the way we hoped, or if it did come out the way we hoped but now we’re still on edge about what this will mean for the future, those feelings are legitimate. If the news telling us about some horrific occurrences happening in our city, state, country, have us feeling uneasy, that’s reasonable. If the wars and turmoil in other places around the world drive us to worry about the future, that makes sense.
What we need to remember amidst all of the circumstances swirling around us, and in our relationships with others, God is never absent from us. The whole point of Advent leading to Christmas was to convey the understanding of God as Emmanuel, God with us. When Mary could have been depressed and feeling her world was crashing in on her, feeling as if she would be seen as unacceptable, God was with her. When Joseph could have been angry, or feeling betrayed, or wanting retribution, instead Joseph found God was with him. When the shepherds could have scattered out of fear at the approach of the angel, instead they were filled with awe and understanding because God was with them. The same is true for us. No matter what we experience in our lives, we need to know God is with us. When God is with us, there is nothing we have to fear.
As I said earlier, peace can’t be manufactured or forced, but it can be found when we acknowledge God is with us. As the Apostle Paul reminds us in Romans 8:31-32, “What are we to say about these things? If God is for us, who is against us?” We need to know, even in the midst of the most anxious and fearful of times, God is always with us. Emmanuel never leaves or forsakes us. We need to remind ourselves every day of the presence of Emmanuel. When we acknowledge God is with us, we will find peace. We will find peace in stressful situations, in times when we experience anxiety, when we are at odds with others, when the world seems to be spinning out of control, Emmanuel reminds us God is here. It reminds me of the saying, “No God, no peace. Know God, know peace.”
Let’s you and me begin to know God is with us, and let peace come dwell among us.
Your companion on the Way,
Pastor Tom