Second Sunday in Advent 2023

What a year to contemplate peace! What a time to reflect on this word! I heard somewhere that at this moment, there are 185 conflicts in our world. More than the last three decades. These are in addition to the two horrible ones that fill the news and media - the Ukraine/Russia war and the Israel/Hamas (Palestine) war. War, I believe, regardless of the reason, is wrong. And yet our world is full of hatred and animosity. How do we seek peace in the middle of this? If peace was ever needed, it's now. But with our world, our culture, our society today, it gets harder and harder to imagine peace at all, much less for all. 

Let me also say that at the time we are looking at in Jewish history, this very same land was under much duress. Palestine (present-day Israel) was a poorly run, repressive Roman colony that had been conquered by Pompey. At this time, it as run by a Roman-Jewish government under Herod the Great. (The same guy who was threatened by Jesus' birth and slaughtered all male children under the age of 2.) About 2 million of the world's five million Jews at that time lived in the Jerusalem area. The Jewish leaders were puppets of the Roman government. A handful of merchants, high priests, and leaders lived in luxury, while the vast majority of the population lived in crippling poverty, slavery, and bondage. The local government was corrupt; inflation and landlessness were high; peasants paid huge taxes to absentee landlords and corrupt priests. Safe to say, this was a very different land (and maybe in some ways not so different?) than what there is in the same area of the world today. With all the poverty and horrible living conditions, with the animosity and control, peace was a foreign word then, too. 

And yet, this is a major message in scripture of this story. Reflect and notice: Jesus's entire life begins and ends with this message: the angels announced peace at his birth "Peace on Earth!" and Jesus, in his resurrected state said, "Peace I bring you." 

Note this further on; this is interesting and bears some reflection. Shortly later, Simeon, a devout Jewish man, met the young family at the babe's dedication and made a proclamation. He said, "Now that I have seen him (meaning Jesus), let your servant (meaning himself) die in peace." He does NOT say 'now Israel will be freed from Roman bondage and slavery, freed from the political system, social injustices will disappear, problems and climate change will be resolved' ... no, he does not celebrate any of those. Instead, he focuses on peace. That peace has come. What is this about? 

It seems to me that what Christ brings to us is not about solving our problems, about giving us a ticket to Easy Street. We are still to work at life, at the tasks and living day-to-day with what life gives us. Sometimes it seems we are giving more than we get - giving more to relationships, giving more to our jobs, giving more to our children and family and friends, giving more to the government. Giving more to life. It seems to never end. And especially at this time of the year - give, give, give, give. Everyone wants something. We are being pulled apart. We are being fractured. We are going in circles and can't get out of the rat-race, no matter how hard we try.

But when you look at the Bible, and how it speaks about peace and salvation, whatever emptiness and fragmentation you experience, peace and salvation will make you whole again. You will feel complete again. That's why Simeon can say he can now die - he has been made whole again. Note, this 'salvation' is more than just for sin; this salvation is for now, not for when you die. NOW, he at peace, NOW he can fully live the time he has left. This peace passes human understanding and changes us from the inside-out. We are never fragmented again. We might feel that pull, but when we stop and turn inward and upward, that peace will wash over us. It's ok. We are whole. With ourselves, with our Creator, with Creation.

At the heart of all the violence and unrest, hatred and anger that surround us is a sense of turbulence in our souls. This is what the world brings to us and what fuels our feelings. Yet, Simeon paints another picture - something that can shift our souls, from the inside-out, that nothing else can touch. This peace, this salvation brings forgiveness - it's about becoming whole again, about reconciliation, about healing the broken relationships. We become a new creation. Things change. We have been given the Spirit of God, wholeness and completeness gives us a sense of peace. The Peace of God. 

As life tries to tear us apart, as things seem to never go our way, as we are surrounded by doom and gloom, as fear runs rampant, this is where real peace comes in. Slices through, and in. Note: it doesn't change our circumstances, but it changes our heart, our soul. Our perspective to those circumstances change. Therein lies the shift. This is Peace. 

Christ did not come to divide the world, to fracture it more; He came to bring peace.  He came to give peace. This is central to who He made us to be. Children of Peace. Life will always be tough, but in our hearts, we can be reassured. We can experience that peace that passes human understanding. Because it is given from beyond us. 

At this time, this year, may your heart be calmed, may your soul be filled with peace, may you be whole. May we experience the One-ness with Christ; and in that find true peace. 

Shalom. God be with you. 

(Thank you to J.Korkidakis for his message at Village Green Community Church on this day.)