Peace! A Sermon for the Second Sunday in Advent

Isaiah 40: 1-11
Psalm 85: 1-2, 8-13
2 Peter 3: 8-15a

I’m willing to bet that if I picked several of you in the congregation and asked you to define the word peace, I’d get a variety of answers. In fact, I probably wouldn’t hear the same definition twice. We use the word peace to mean lots of different things, don’t we? If I asked you, “What’s the opposite of war, you’d probably answer ‘peace’”. Sometimes mothers are heard to say in a loud voice, “Can I just have some peace?!” And by peace they may mean that they want the TV, video game, or stereo turned down or they may be asking their children to stop bickering. When someone says, “Leave me in peace,” he may feel that too much of his attention, effort or resources are demanded.

I was raised in the 60’s and 70’s which was a time when folks liked to sport peace signs around their necks or as bumper stickers on their cars. It wasn’t uncommon to see people flash the peace sign. Hippies and flower children sprung up during those years advocating peace and love as the antidote to social or political problems. That was a particularly angry time. A time filled with many conflicts. The Vietnam War was being fought and the Civil Rights movement was going strong.

I think most of us would agree that 2008 has been a very challenging year. We’re currently fighting two wars. We just finished a protracted and bitter election year. We’ve struggled with soaring prices for commodities like food and fuel and plummeting home prices. Those of us lucky enough to have retirement accounts have recently suffered serious losses. And just last week it was announced that we are officially in a recession. How’s that make you feel? Peaceful is probably not the word that comes to mind.

The desire for peace hasn’t simply been limited to our times, though. The truth is that throughout history, peace has been a commodity in short supply.
We all want peace. But what is it? Let me read you some definitions of “peace”:
· the state prevailing during the absence of war
· harmonious relations; freedom from disputes; the absence of mental stress or anxiety
· the general security of public places; "he was arrested for disturbing the peace"
· a treaty to cease hostilities; "peace came on November 11th"

The Hebrew word for peace is “shalom”. Shalom is a comprehensive well-being that encompasses the fulfillment of every individual and corporate need, as well as the health and fertility of the natural order. It’s not just the absence of conflict, but the fullness of life.

It is the Shalom sort of peace that Advent calls us to both anticipate for the future and receive as a part of our present reality. Best of all, it’s not a peace that depends on every temporal circumstance being perfect. We can experience Shalom today – in the midst of two wars and a recession; in spite of conflicts at work or within our families. And although peace is a part of what we anticipate during Advent when Christ returns and establishes his Kingdom, it can be a part of our lives every day.

The scripture passages we heard read to us this morning speak of peace, and although a sermon could easily be built around any one of them, I want to point out three things that jump out at me when they are taken together.

The first thing is that real peace is predicated on the love of God: His love for us, and ours for Him. In Isaiah 40 the prophet is told to speak tenderly to Jerusalem. During this time the Israelites were in exile, dejected and feeling forsaken and hopeless. They were there as a result of their own sins. They had not loved God as they should. They had broken covenant again and again, but they were sorry. The Lord is pictured here as a shepherd who will gather his lambs in his arms and gently lead them. God’s loving intention is to restore his people and bring them peace, rest, and comfort.

In Psalm 85 we’re told that the Lord will speak peace to his people. And again to people who have sinned, and been pardoned. In this passage, the vision is carried even further to see a land and a people permeated by God’s own character: steadfast love and faithfulness, righteousness and peace - all dynamically interrelated. This is the future (and if you will, the present) for those who turn to God in their hearts: for those who receive salvation. These qualities become more and more a part of the lives of those who are working out their salvation in fear and trembling.

That sounds nice and theological and theoretical doesn’t it? In your life, have you ever found yourself in a place of much inner turmoil, stress, and strain as a result of your poor choices, your sin? It’s natural to feel forsaken, dejected, and trapped when you find yourself suffering the consequences of your own actions. And I’m not just talking about the big things like breaking the law or committing adultery, or having addictions. How about the relationships that seem enmeshed in a cycle of conflict – or worse, cold silence and indifference? Whatever the situation, the good news of Advent is that God still speaks peace to his people – He speaks peace to you. And remember, God’s peace is not simply the absence of conflict, but the fullness of life – enriching relationships, love and mutuality.

The second thing that jumps out at me from these passages is that real peace springs from a trust in God: His sovereignty, His good plan, and His timing. The exiles in Babylon were given a promise that God would restore them and bring them back. It was a promise that was being worked out in time. The first century Christians addressed in 2 Peter were awaiting a promise too. They were struggling with the delay of Christ’s second coming, which they had firmly believed was imminent. Why was Christ not coming? When would he get there? What should they expect? Will Christ’s Kingdom be worth the wait? What should they do in the meantime?

God has a plan. His plan has a macro element (the plan for the Kingdom of God in history – the big Story) and micro elements (the plan for you and you and you and me). It absolutely astounds me to think of the intricate and elegant way that he moves His macro plan forward and at the same time weaves your story and mine into it. The Story isn’t really about us, but God in His infinite love for us includes us – and uses us to move his plan forward and uses his plan to move us forward.

Let’s be honest. There is much we do not understand. In fact even the things we think we understand we’re probably mistaken about. Why are we in a recession? Why a war? Two wars? Why did this person lose their home in a fire? Why that person his job? How come the diagnosis has to be cancer? Why would God allow that person to die in the prime of her life? Or: Why are you enjoying prosperity? Health? A promotion? You name it. Isn’t it interesting how we think to question the whys of the “bad” things that happen to us and not the “good” things?

Everyone wrestles with troubling questions about the uncertainty of the future, the crises of the present, and the unknowns of the past. All of these things make it clear to us that we're not in control. The irony is that understanding that we’re not in control is really a gift. Only when we understand that can we understand reality. But just because we’re not in control doesn’t mean that life is uncertain. The good news of Advent is that our direction is very sure. God is working out His plan in His time. We don't have to understand all of the whys and wherefores. Our job is to trust God, trust his loving intentions, to trust his timing. 2 Peter makes it clear that God works things out in the fullness of time. There's no delay. There's no wavering. Only God’s patience and love and certain victory.

Finally, it strikes me that as the recipients of God’s peace, we are to be instruments of that same peace wherever we go. Psalm 85 makes it clear that as God’s glory dwells in our midst that we reflect His character: steadfast love and faithfulness, righteousness and peace. All of these qualities interconnected in dependence and symbiosis. 2 Peter also instructs that we should be found at peace and without spot or blemish.

Advent’s a good time to practice peacemaking too. Traffic's terrible. It takes more time to get from point A to point B because everyone is hustling and bustling. Do you let that person in or cut them off? We often encounter others whose fuse is short because they’re out spending money they don’t have and fighting crowds of people doing the same thing, pressured to meet their gift giving obligations. Do you scowl when someone in the mall bumps you or smile?

Advent is often a time when peacemaking comes up in families too. Families are brought together to celebrate, and it’s not uncommon for old wounds to be remembered. Broken family systems and broken relationships that can be put on the back burner the rest of the year must confronted until the celebration is over. And that’s for the families lucky enough to still be in relationship. Sometimes Advent brings to mind relationships were so broken that they no longer exist.

Reflecting the character of God, we are called to be children of peace. Where? Everywhere we go: in marriages, with children, friends, in the church, with co-workers, when we encounter strangers. Under what circumstances? Only when things are hunky dory? Only when others are doing what we want them to do or saying the things we want them to say? No. In every circumstance. Jesus said, “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called sons of God.

Many of us think about peace on earth (and in our lives) during Advent. We hear songs about it, receive Christmas cards with idyllic pictures of peaceful winter scenes or images of families together laughing and sharing good times. And that’s good. It’s appropriate. This period of waiting before Christmas is meant to be a time for us to reflect on what life in the Kingdom of God is intended to be. Let’s not leave our desire for peace when the season ends, however. Like hope, love, and joy, peace should characterize our lives in Christ in every time and season.

To God the Father, the Author of peace, to Jesus Christ, the Prince of Peace, and to the Holy Spirit, whose presence and power in our lives makes the peace of God possible for us, be all glory, honor, and dominion now and forever. Amen.