Anticipating Christmas: An Advent OverviewSample

Peacemaking

We often think peace is something we can secure. Some say it comes through strength. If we build the most powerful army, no one will dare to challenge us.

Others say it comes through silence. If we avoid conflict and ignore problems, maybe they’ll go away. Israel’s prophets once warned against the kind of “peace, peace” that only papers over wounds (Jer. 6:14). It sounds good, but it doesn’t heal anything.

Advent invites us to look at peace in a different way. The prophet Isaiah spoke of a child who would be called the “Prince of Peace” (Isa. 9:6). His reign would end oppression and set things right. Jesus fulfills that promise, but not by marshaling armies or by pretending everything is fine. He tells the truth about sin and division, then he heals it. On the cross, Jesus takes on the hostility and violence of the world and absorbs it in love. Through his death and resurrection, God reconciles all things to himself and opens the way to lasting peace.

Jesus calls his followers “peacemakers” (Matt. 5:9), people who join him in the hard but beautiful work of reconciliation. Being a peacemaker means telling the truth about brokenness, forgiving instead of retaliating, and choosing to love both neighbors and enemies. It means being willing to repair what we can and trust God with what we can’t.

True peace doesn’t come by force or by avoidance. It comes through the presence of the King, who makes all things whole, and through the people who choose to walk in his way.

Reflection Exercises:

• Imagine a peaceful world. What kinds of actions and attitudes would be necessary for all people to live with shalom, or peace, seeking the well-being of each neighbor?
• Where do you feel the temptation to seek peace through control or avoidance? How might following Jesus reshape your response in that area of life?