The forth advent week is focused on peace.
"Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men." Luke 2:14 (KJV)
This what the heavenly host proclaimed to the shepherds. Notice I say proclaimed. I recently had it pointed out to me that despite what our Christmas songs say, the bible doesn’t actually say that the angels sang the message to the shepherds. Sorry if I ruined it for you. What matters more than whether they sang or not is what they said. They brought a message of peace. The visitation of the angels caused fear among the shepherds. Imagine how much fear God taking on human form could have caused if he had come for the purpose of judgment. Jesus came in peace. He means us no harm. The angels didn’t bring this message like some alien visitors in some cheesy science fiction movie. They brought this as a message to people who were at war. This wasn’t a physical war but a spiritual one. Humankind has been at war since the fall. We have been at war with the earth that was cursed because of us. We have been at war with each other because our sinful natures have caused us to focus only on ourselves. We have been at war with our own consciences because we do what we do not want to do and we have been enemies with God, trying to put ourselves in His place. The birth of Jesus began the road to lasting peace. The word “shalom” is the Hebrew word for peace. It means more than just not fighting. It is from the Hebrew root meaning whole. Being at peace means being whole. Jesus’ death for us on the cross brought us all the ability to be made whole again. To be the people we were created to be before we began this war with God.
How is your peace? The greeting “shalom” is not only a wish of peace it is a question: “How is your peace?” “Are you whole?” The prince of peace has come. The problem is we still live in enemy territory. We still live in bodies infected with sin. Someday we will be free from this and be made completely whole but until then we need to rest in the trust of the Prince of Peace who favours humankind.
In this Christmas season, in parking lots, lineups and stores we run into people who do not look whole. They are seeking something. Some of them even think they know what it is. But they are wrong. The new i-pod they seek, the toy their child wants, the gift that will finally make their mother accept them will not make them whole. Sadly, many of us who already know the Prince of Peace are getting caught up and looking in the wrong direction too.
Christ came in peace. Let’s try this Christmas season to live in that peace.
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