Whose Peace?

What is peace? Is it peace when, for a brief moment, there are no arguments in the household? When in a city makes it through a day and there are no murders, is that peace? When there a day with no war in the world, is that peace?

During the sixties and seventies, people would say to one another, “peace.” In the eighties and nineties, it became “peace out”.

For centuries and even today, in certain traditions, during church, people would, instead of “meet and greet”, they would “pass the peace”.

Jesus’ birth happens during the Roman Empire, which had a kind of peace, often called Pax Romana. Luke starts off this morning’s passage setting the stage of which Romans were in power. These men would often kill innocents with impunity, justifying it as “keeping the peace”.

God’s peace, on the other hand often starts in lonely places. Luke introduces John the Baptist as being called from the wilderness. When the scriptures talk about the wilderness, they are really speaking of places where the wild rules, and there often not others to interact with. It can be a true desert; it could be a remoted and wooded. Without others around, a person can deepen their relationship with God, and can begin to live the life filled with God’s peace, responding to God to God’s will in their life. Thus, the Holy Spirit, through that relationship nudged John the Baptist out of the wilderness to announce the coming of the Messiah

Centuries before Jesus, Isaiah foretold that the Jews would return to Judah, from their captivity in Babylon, which they did. These verses from Isaiah were a foretelling for the Jews in exile, that they would return home, which they did. Generations later the Jews that believed Jesus was the Christ, perceived this passage as relating to John the Baptist’s announcement of the coming Messiah, which is quoted here by Luke.

Have you ever been on one of those roads with lots of curves, that go up and down. Accelerate, brake, hard right, hard left…What insane person made this road? That is the road that we have without God. The road started by the Original sin of Adam and Eve, not part of God’s desire for us.

The Father God, the architect and engineer of our faith, through Jesus Christ, the Son, had a plan, designing the road of faith. Because of the grace that goes before us, the Holy Spirit nudges the saved and unsaved alike to accept help to fill the potholes and flatten the mountains of our lives and souls. It is not that the craziness around us stops, though that would be nice, but that storms inside us become calm. Piece by piece, the Holy Spirit works on us to make our spiritual lives level and smooth. Then we can begin the walk on the road of faith. It is through this walk that we begin to gain the peace that God intends us to have.

In religious traditions, the Hebrew word Shalom means a lack of war, a deep abiding relationship with God and others, compassion, equality, loving—yet correcting—acceptance, and the desire for the well-being of others. It is not just on the surface, but includes, body, heart, mind, and soul. But like our word “peace”, has become a pale shadow of that, being used as a greeting and farewell

During Advent, we often emphasize Jesus’ title, “Prince of Peace”. Yet, do we really allow his peace to rule in our bodies, our hearts, our minds, our souls, and how we react to others? Rev. James Eaton of Albany, New York, shared this story with a group I’m part of:

“A number of years ago at a declining urban church in Norwich, CT, a mid-life woman wandered in off the street. I discovered she had just left her third time in rehab. That day a bright young woman greeted her warmly, made her feel welcome and when the woman was surprised, said, ‘Oh, we are told that we’re supposed to greet every visitor as if they were an angel; I guess you’re today’s angel.’ That message stuck with the woman. She came back. With the help of that congregation, she stayed straight. In a couple of years, she was able to get her children back, and the congregation helped her get a house through Habitat for Humanity. Ultimately, she became a Deacon in the church.”

God’s Peace, the Peace that Jesus brought with his birth, and bought with his death on the cross, is Peace the world has no clue about, but deep down, unconsciously knows it needs. We are the ambassadors of the Prince of Peace, who are to carry the message to each other, our families, and ultimately, the world.