Expect The ExtraordinarySample

Expect peace 

“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 Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Of the greatness of his government and peace there will be no end.” (Isaiah 9:6–7)

I guarantee that this Christmas you will see the words “Peace on earth”. You’d be forgiven for letting the words pass over you as nothing more than sentimental. But peace is so much more than tranquility and goodwill. True peace is not passive, it is active and dynamic – it is not the absence of something, rather the creation of something. 

When the prophet Isaiah spoke of the Prince of Peace, he described the “peace [that] will never end” in terms of the Messiah’s governance and acts of justice. He outlined how the land would be radically transformed, bringing light to the darkness and ending war. 

We may be hoping for some peace and quiet this Christmas, but if we are to truly welcome in the Prince of Peace this Advent, it means welcoming in the type of peace that will transform conflict. As God reconciled himself to us through Christ, we should expect God’s spirit to activate a desire to pursue reconciliation and peace – not just for ourselves, but for the world we live in. True peace on earth. 

Rebecca Brierley, St Ethelburga's Centre for Reconciliation & Peace