Advent 2016 - The Season of Peace

By -

Advent Week 2 
This week we light the second candle on the Advent wreath.
“We light this candle in peace; Jesus is our peace.”

Isaiah 11:1-10
"A shoot shall come out from the stump of Jesse, and a branch shall grow out of his roots. The spirit of the LORD shall rest on him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and the fear of the LORD. His delight shall be in the fear of the LORD. He shall not judge by what his eyes see, or decide by what his ears hear; but with righteousness he shall judge the poor, and decide with equity for the meek of the earth; he shall strike the earth with the rod of his mouth, and with the breath of his lips he shall kill the wicked. Righteousness shall be the belt around his waist, and faithfulness the belt around his loins. The wolf shall live with the lamb, the leopard shall lie down with the kid, the calf and the lion and the fatling together, and a little child shall lead them. The cow and the bear shall graze, their young shall lie down together; and the lion shall eat straw like the ox. The nursing child shall play over the hole of the asp, and the weaned child shall put its hand on the adder's den. They will not hurt or destroy on all my holy mountain; for the earth will be full of the knowledge of the LORD as the waters cover the sea. On that day the root of Jesse shall stand as a signal to the peoples; the nations shall inquire of him, and his dwelling shall be glorious."

Reflection
Peace is more, 
More than the absence of conflict;
     Peace is presence.
Peace is more,
More than an external force "out there" exerting its power; 
     Peace is internal.
Peace is more,
More than personal contentment. 
     Peace is transformation.

The peace the Advent of the Christ Child brings is more. More than simple definitions. More than holiday cards covered in glitter and illuminated lawn signs. More than tie-dyed symbols and two fingers lifted skyward. The peace that comes with the birth of this awaited one changes everything. This peace turns that which we thought we knew upside down. This peace threatens to break through our fractured existence and birth wholeness, completeness, shalom. This peace is for all of creation and for every creature. This peace is the way of the Lord where all things are brought together and there is no more division. With the advent of this peace "the wolf shall live with the lamb, the leopard shall lie down with the kid, the calf and the lion and the fatling together, and a little child shall lead them. The cow and the bear shall graze, their young shall lie down together; and the lion shall eat straw like the ox." This peace will not allow anything to remain the same...not me...not you.

"On that day the root of Jesse shall stand as a signal to the peoples; the nations shall inquire of him, and his dwelling shall be glorious."

Activity
This week, make a list of those people and situations in your life, your neighborhood, and your world that need peace.  
Make a second list throughout the week of places where you see or experience peace.
Consider how you might be someone who brings witness to peace.  
Find a service project to participate in that gives birth to peace.

Christmas Benevolence
Christmas Benevolence needs your help shopping with our neighbors. There are opportunities throughout week. 
Check out all of the opportunities to serve throughout December at www.secondchurch.org/cb.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Persistence is her name (a poem)

By -
Persistence "firm or obstinate continuance in a course of action in spite of difficulty or opposition." Persistence is her name. She stands when it would be more convenient to sit. She sits when others wish she would move. She moves when action is demanded. She speaks because her voice shall not be silenced nor stolen yet again. Persistence is her name. She has birthed nations. She has ended wars. She has toppled empires. She has nursed change. Persistence is her name. Mercy is found in the milk of her breast. Empathy is seen in the tears on her cheek. Justice is felt in the sweat of her brow. Righteousness is coursing in the blood in her veins. Persistence is her name. Difficulty will not stop her. Obstacles will not stand. Opposition will not cause delay. Trouble will not linger. Persistence is her name. Nevertheless, she persisted; for Persistence IS her name. — bshivers
Read more

Lent: Walk - John 5:1-18

By -
Image
JOHN 5:1–18 1 After this there was a festival of the Jews, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem. 2 Now in Jerusalem by the Sheep Gate there is a pool, called in Hebrew Beth-zatha, which has five porticoes. 3 In these lay many invalids — blind, lame, and paralyzed. 5 One man was there who had been ill for thirty-eight years. 6 When Jesus saw him lying there and knew that he had been there a long time, he said to him, “Do you want to be made well?” 7 The sick man answered him, “Sir, I have no one to put me into the pool when the water is stirred up; and while I am making my way, someone else steps down ahead of me.” 8 Jesus said to him, “Stand up, take your mat and walk.” 9 At once the man was made well, and he took up his mat and began to walk. Now that day was a sabbath. 10 So the Jews said to the man who had been cured, “It is the sabbath; it is not lawful for you to carry your mat.” 11 But he answered them, “The man who made me well said to me, ‘Take up your mat and walk.’” 12 They a
Read more

Actively Giving Thanks

By -
Image
Land acknowledgement: I live on the ancestral lands of the Kickapoo and the Miami. They were forcibly removed from their ancestral lands. This Thanksgiving, I have found myself thinking about what it means for thanksgiving to be an active exercise instead of something akin to a passive counting of blessings.  What if my thanksgiving were not just a self serving activity?   What if my giving thanks actually led me to something more than keeping a tally of the ways in which I have been #blessed throughout the year? What if it was more than a naming of the results of my privilege and advantage? What if it was more than a list of the same old things that I know I should be thankful for but often take for granted because I can? What would happen if my thanksgiving actually spurred me to action? What would that look like? Perhaps an active thanksgiving would result in a process of discovery of who/what is on my list, of who/what isn't on my list, of who/what is ignored, of who/what I hav
Read more