Advent – Peace
Let me begin by saying it is good to be back. My time away was wonderful and I am happy to recommend an Atlantic crossing to anyone.
It felt odd to begin the church year with the second Sunday in Advent but I have been in this position before so it isn’t completely new. Nor is the general topic of this Sunday. The liturgical year has us talking about peace every second Sunday of Advent. Some years the repetition of the “same” Sundays is a chore and some years it isn’t. I am endlessly fascinated by how the Holy Spirit takes familiar texts and draws new aspects of truth from them.
This year I was reflecting on my impatience with the reign of peace so frequently promised in the Bible. What drew me up short was the comfort I take from our Philippians reading were we rest confidently on God’s promise to complete the good work he has begun in us. If we can wait for that completion, why is it so hard to wait for the completion of peace?
I don’t have any final answers to that question but I do have some thoughts on what it might mean for us to all want peace.
Blessings,
