12-08-23

​ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGS
December 8, 2023
Jesus said, “Peace I leave with you. My peace I give you. I give to you not as the world gives. Don’t be troubled or afraid” (John 14:27). God said to King David, “A son has just been born to you. He’ll be a man of peace, and I’ll give him peace with all his surrounding enemies” (I Chronicles 22:9). Zechariah spoke a prophecy: “Because of our God’s deep compassion, the dawn from heaven will break upon us, to give light to those who are sitting in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide us on the path of peace” (Luke 1:78-79). Again and again, we read of God seeking to give us peace or to provide the tools to get us to a place of peace. This coming Sunday is Peace Sunday in the Advent experience. Let us remember that in the gift of Christ Jesus, God’s peace has come into the world. It already exists, yet it has not yet been fully known or embraced. Our work is to take what has been given and find new and creative ways of living it for the sake of all creation. We have some work to do. 

In Christ Jesus, you have given us the great gift of peace. Lord God, guide us to places where we might experience this gift, claim it as our own, and then allow its power to radiate from us and into the world. Amen.